The People Powering ADP: Luciana Ramos

Luciana Ramos moved from the research lab to the fast-paced world of new product development in 2022, and completed two major product launches so far. “I like to work on things that are new and have a challenge to piece together, to implement,” says Luciana, who is a Lead Engineer for New Product Development at Advanced Distributor Products (ADP).

Both product launches dovetail with electrification trends and the increased adoption of heat pumps: the addition of the 120V ECM Motor option for ADP’s compact F Series air handlers, with other series also in line to expand, and a new category in ADP’s ModuleFlex eFurnace™, which is a drop-in replacement for gas furnaces.

The transition to low GWP refrigerants is high on the list of priorities for the industry – and for her. “For everybody in the industry, it’s a big step,” she says. “ADP for sure wants to be at the forefront of that.”

For Luciana and her colleagues, developing products that deliver on the performance requirements and benefits of low GWP while solving the refrigerant leak mitigation challenge is key to this refrigerant transition.

The team uses a collaborative approach to follow its processes, which include weekly meetings with other functions, to get to their goal. “My responsibility is to make sure that these cross-functional teams are connected, that the needs are known by everybody, that we have resources to solve the engineering challenges,” she says.

She spends most of her time at ADP’s headquarters, but it’s clear that the week she spends each month at the factory is special. “It’s easy to innovate on paper,” she says, “but once you move to manufacturing then it’s really a new project. You have many other constraints that you need to take care of, like materials, cost, tooling, additional variables that when you are doing pure research you don’t need to consider. That, for me, is extremely motivating.”

Before moving into her current position, she was lead engineer for new product development in the commercial refrigeration segment at Lennox International’s Alternative Systems Center of Excellence. There, she contributed to the rise of low global warming potential refrigerants by leading the establishment of a first-of-its-kind testing program for a CO2 air cooled gas cooler launched in the North American and EMEA market.

Luciana earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, specializing in heat transfer and micromanufacturing processes. In Brazil, she led the establishment of a micromanufacturing lab at the Institute of Technological Research and was head of that lab for seven years. At Embraco, she led new market development projects for miniaturized compressors in the medical, military, electronics, and automotive industries, developed modular cooling systems for household and light commercial refrigeration, and coordinated industry-university research partnerships.

“Luciana is driven and very inquisitive, always looking to understand the ‘why’ of her goals and why certain processes and procedures are in place,” says Augusto Zimmermann, ADP Director of Product Engineering. “Her learning curve at ADP has been fast and effective. She is very approachable and relatable, which plays in well with her role of leading projects across several business functions.”

In the coming months, Luciana and her colleagues will focus on finishing the development of FlexCoil and air handlers for low GWP refrigerants to solidify ADPs position as the preferred partner of Distributors to navigate this industry wide transition. She recognizes though that the solutions need to be simple and straightforward, “Everything we do, it’s focused on our customers and making them successful,” she says.