BDR Thermea – The silent power in the heating equipment market - ISH 2011 Press Release
16 March 2011 Brands such as Brötje, Remeha, Baxi, De Dietrich or SenerTec are known quantities in the specialist trade. The Group behind them – the BDR Thermea Group – has proven to be a genuine European global player, although it’s name is still not widely known. Yet this is the Group that is the market leader in the area of combined heat and power and, among the “top 3” largest concerns in the world, it is the only non-German supplier.
Frankfurt/Main, 16th March 2011
At this year’s world-leading ISH trade fair in Frankfurt the BDR Thermea Group is representing itself in its true size within the European market for heating and hot water equipment. The Group is active in 70 countries with around 6,300 employees with an annual turnover of almost 1.8 billion Euros.
In his presentation at the ISH, Rob van Banning, CEO of the BDR Thermea Group, put it perfectly when he said, “We are something like the silent power in the international heating equipment market”. One year after the successful merger between De Dietrich Remeha Group and Baxi Group, the BDR Thermea Group is the only truly European player. The difference from the other manufacturers, is that BDR Thermea Group does not have one dominant home market. As well as condensing and conventional wall hung or floor standing boilers, BDR Thermea also offer radiators, heat pumps, solar collectors and biomass boilers. CHP solutions are a special sphere of activity for BDR Thermea – and this is where the Group is already the market leader. Their offering is completed with a spare parts business and comprehensive service provision.
With the restructuring after the merger now almost complete, the market share of the new company is already showing signs of a significant increase. BDR Thermea has come out of the difficult world economic situation strengthened with a five per cent increase in sales.
The stated objective and mission of the Group is to establish itself as a well-known entity in the worldwide market for hot water and heating technology and to further develop its leading technological role in the key markets. Customers benefit from a broad spectrum of products and a complete service. BDR Thermea is focusing its efforts on research and development. The Group can then guarantee highly efficient products that set the standards for energy efficiency and environmental protection. “Our ‘multi-brand strategy’ and consistent focus on local markets allows us to rapidly respond to the requirements of the market," stressed Christophe Leroy, Marketing Director for the BDR Thermea Group. Although in Italy, for example, more and more multiple-family houses are provided with heat from a central source, the demands in Germany are perhaps very different. Here, alongside larger single-family houses, whole residential blocks consisting of many flats are heated by means of a central unit. Even the fuels used in power stations vary from country to country. Whereas in England hardly any electricity is used for heating purposes – this is not the case in France where it is widely used – yet gas on the other hand still plays an important role there. Elsewhere, although oil is still in use as an energy source, it has virtually lost its original significance as a fuel. In a number of countries hot water storage units are widely available – although in other markets they are less popular. “BDR Thermea has the perfect solution for every market and every demand,” says Christophe Leroy.
The European market leader in micro combined heat and power
BDR Thermea is already the market leader today in the combined generation of heat and power on a small scale. For over 20 years the Group has been supplying micro CHP facilities for the European market – be it for multi-family houses or for commercial operations. Compared with central mains power generation, losses in transmission are minimised, efficiency is increased and at the same time CO2 emissions are reduced.
While the Group is concentrating on the European market, its activities are not limited to Europe. “We want to grow”, explains BDR Thermea boss Rob van Banning. Already today BDR Thermea is taking on the position of market leader in Russia and the former east bloc countries. The Group is also active in China, North and South America and Australia. With different kinds of markets the advantages of a powerful, internationally operating company come into their own. In Europe as a rule, buildings are heated using water as the heat carrier, whereas in countries such as the USA or Australia air is the preferred medium. Yet BDR Thermea is able to offer the full range of technologies.
Changes in the energy market
BDR Thermea is confident about the increasing significance of micro combined heat and power and is prepared for the dynamic changes in the European energy market.
When heat and current is generated centrally in large power stations there will always be transmission losses. Decentrally installed units, however, get round this problem, also reducing emissions on the way – and this is a decisive advantage. The large energy companies are aware of this, which is why decentralised micro CHP is part of their supply strategy. “Energy providers are interested in our products,” Rob van Banning says, and they are adjusting to the changes in the market”.
At the world-leading ISH trade fair BDR Thermea has exciting new products on show. SenerTec – an affiliate subsidiary of the Group – is presenting the new Dachs Stirling SE, a micro CHP facility that is driven by a Stirling motor. Within the current range, 25,000 "Dachs" have now been installed in blocks of flats, commercial enterprises and hotels - this makes it the best-selling CHP product in Europe.
With the innovative Stirling motor, the Group is also promoting the micro CHP product for single-family homes. These mini power plants are distributed across the different country markets under the eVita and Ecogen product names – and they have so far attained unmatched efficiency values. BDR Thermea is taking things even further in terms of efficiency and minimal CO2 emissions with fuel cell technology. This technology is being pursued by Baxi Innotech, the Hamburg-based company that has been working on fuel cell heating units for around ten years and is now presenting a system that will meet all practical requirements.
With these developments BDR Thermea is responding to the growing demands, and the new alignment, of the energy markets. Efficient, decentralised heating with parallel power generation and CO2 savings are the themes of the future. Rob van Banning confirms that BDR Thermea is already addressing these themes today.