IMMERGAS: ECO-FRIENDLIER BOILERS FOR CHINESE HOMES

14/10/2019

Michele Cecchi, Italy’s Consul General in Shanghai, attended the opening day of the new Immergas plant in China. A 3 million dollar investment to produce gas boilers designed for the Asian market. Production has already started with 25 workers increasing to 100 at full production capacity. First year revenue is expected to be around 20 million Euro.

 

Brescello 14 October 2019 - Immerfin has officially inaugurated its third production plant abroad in Changzhou, China’s National Hi-Tech District.

With roots established in Slovakia and the start up in Iran, we decided also to expand into China.

«Investments such as the one Immerfin undertook» - said Michele Cecchi, Italy’s Consul General in Shanghai on the occasion of the opening ceremony - «can strengthen the penetration of Italy’s System in China and at the same time boost know how exchanges in sectors like energy efficiency, environmental sustainability of and quality of life, where Italy enjoys full appreciation inside China. The bond that ties Italy and China is more than two thousand years old. Exchange of goods have always come with exchange of culture, ideas and projects. Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella has often stressed the need to strengthen a new Silk Road, to reinforce mutual collaboration and we will continue to engage in this direction».

Immergas’ new production plant in China was completed over a period of a few months, with a 3 million Dollar investment and it is dedicated to the production of gas boiler for the Asian market, designed and tested in the new Research Centre inaugurated at the end of 2018 at the Brescello’s headquarters (Reggio Emilia, Italy).

«Growth prospects on the Chinese market are tied to market changes and to legislation regarding home climate control» - Alfredo Amadei, Chairman of Immergas SpA and of Immergas China continued - «our solutions will have growing appeal because in China too there is increasing awareness towards respect for the environment and savings on energy. This factor is going to weigh in on the choices made by municipalities regarding climate management in cities and by end-users that choose comfort for their homes. During the start-up phase of the new Chinese production unit the expertise for research of products and new solutions is going to come from the Brescello’s headquarters. But in the coming years we count on transferring skills and knowledge by creating a research and development department dedicated to the Asian market. China is a vast country, but Immergas’ philosophy is not going to change: we intend to train a large number of installers with our style of pre and post sales services and this together with original spare parts will bring our products’ added value to chinese homes».

Immerfin’s investment decision fits in a phase of widespread changes for the home HVAC sector in China: «Fifty years ago Immergas changed its production from gas heaters to the first boilers, to exploit the opportunities derived from the availability of methane in the Po Plane and North Italy». - Ettore Bergamaschi, Immergas Operational Marketing and Communication Director then added - «gas turned out to be a historic game changer in the sixties and seventies in Italy and nowadays China too is choosing the path of clean heating. Li Ganjie, chinese Minister for the Environment, announced that coal heating would be progressively abandoned in favour of using natural gas and electricity for domestic heating, starting from North China by 2021. The plan is aimed at 28 among the major Chinese cities in the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Shanxi, including the megapolis of Beijing and Tianjin and the objective is to replace over 150 million tons of coal by 2021 mostly with natural gas».

Immergas China production has already started with 25 employees and may grow to 100, with expected revenue around 20 million euro within the first year of operation.

«The synergies between the Italian parent company and the new Chinese plant have proved to be very positive» – added Bruno Rinaldi, General Manager of Immergas China - «our engineering team and the operation team have looked after the start of the production line in every phase, from planning to installation and final testing. We focused also on work safety procedures and health in the work environment. The first Talos 24kW heating only boiler came out of the plant last 16 April and it has already been installed in a chinese home. We fully met our schedule and this is a good signal. The new plant with the line of boilers tailored specifically for China opens up a new phase of development, in spite of the complexity of the chinese market, which remains highly competitive».

Immergas’ presence along the Silk Road dates back to 1998 with the first exports to Beijing, followed in 2003 by the creation of the first chinese branch. The Immergas China plant is spread over a total area of 5.300 square metres (two industrial warehouses): 2.700 square metres dedicated to production, 1.300 to offices and 1.300 to logistics and storage.

«The new production plant in China, the third one abroad after Poprad in Slovakia and Qazvin in Iran» – commented Gionata Carra, Immerfin Director who managed the development of all Immergas production units abroad – «is located in a strategic area from the point of view of logistics, the Jiangsu region, easy to reach from Shanghai. This area has the highest concentration of businesses specialized in components for the manufacturing of heating equipment and it is an interesting location also from the standpoint of sales, as Changzhou is halfway between Shanghai and Nanjing, area crossed by the Yangtze river with high potential for sale of wall-mounted boilers. In Slovakia we have already 5 production lines with an overall investment of 10 million Euro, in Iran we invested 2 million Euro in our production line dedicated to that domestic market, while in China we started with a 3 million Dollar investment. Having been present in the Chinese market for twenty years has certainly made easier for us to establish the production unit, production itself and the recruitment of the Chinese human resources. We decided to be directly present on the Chinese market with a production unit because the number of boilers sold is definitely attractive, at present and in perspective. The targets set in the beginning phase have been met in a short time, therefore I want to congratulate the entire Immergas team that has developed the “China project”».

Notizie correlate

A meeting in Milan, finally held in person, marks the start of the new global development plans of the group, which is about to end 2021 with a double-digit turnover increase and opens a branch in the Netherlands.

The new production facility set up in Changzhou will be officially opened before the end of this year. The first boiler geared to the Chinese market has already been produced.

Contact

IMMERGAS S.p.A.
VIA CISA LIGURE, 95 - 42041 BRESCELLO (RE) ITALY
marketing@immergas.com