HVAC giant Daikin is ramping up its offering to customers, as it prepares to integrate its purchase of Italian refrigeration group Zanotti for €98 million.
The €1.85 billion firm is looking to offer customers an integrated approach which it believes rivals cannot match. In national markets such as the UK, the firm now is able to offer access to a one-stop shop for variable refrigerant volume (VRV), chillers, heat pumps, condensing units, and display refrigeration.
The firm reminded its D1 installers last week that it could now support activities across HVAC and refrigeration with in-house expertise.
The 54-year-old, 539-employee Zanotti business manufacturers commercial refrigerators and freezers and owns Hubbard, which alongside its commercial refrigeration range, is a specialist in transport refrigeration — and is partnering with Dearman on the trials of “zero emission” refrigeration technology. Finalization of the transaction is scheduled for the end of June 2016.
Daikin said it intends to use the merger to expand its refrigerator and freezer business in Europe while continuing to enhance its business foundation as a comprehensive air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturer.
Daikin noted that Zanotti has developed a wide range of products for the entire cold chain from food production and transportation to retail display. Its extensive sales and service networks and production facilities in Italy, UK, and Spain has enabled the manufacturer to maintain a competitive advantage in regards to logistical costs, it said.
With the European market for commercial refrigerators amounting to 4 trillion yen a year, together with “a high awareness for environmental protection” and the Ecodesign energy efficiency regulations, Daikin believes it can leverage its energy-saving technologies.
The manufacturer said that despite its previous broad portfolio, it was only occupying part of the cold chain, but it can now extend its reach to “provide customized systems corresponding to the conditions of each individual store.”
The firm added: “By applying the technologies that it has cultivated in air conditioning to Zanotti products, Daikin will be able to provide high value-added products that excel in energy savings. Even as it expands its refrigerator and freezer business in Europe, Daikin has also been enhancing its business foundation, including applied systems, as a comprehensive air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturer. Beginning with Europe, Daikin will advance forward in enlarging its refrigerator and freezer business in Asia, the United States, and China where significant market growth is anticipated.”
Content for the European Spotlight is provided courtesy of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine, London. For more information, visit www.racplus.com.
Publication date: 6/6/2016
