Heating Up

Ariston Thermo Middle East marketing manager Emanuele Stano explains why the water-heating market in the region is hotting up.

What is Ariston Thermo’s history in the Middle East?

The Ariston Thermo Group, formerly the Merloni TermoSanitari Group, has been operating in the Middle East region for more than 30 years, together with our partner Paul Weil Company LLC, which operates in some of the countries of the region. We entered the market with our historical core business product, electric storage water heaters, and have sold several million of them in our long presence in the market. Nowadays Ariston has a unique recognition in the market thanks to the proven quality shown over three long decades. In the last five to six years we have also launched new product lines such as gas boilers and solar systems.

How important is the MENA region to the global group?

We have launched our different product lines in the 13 countries that we are managing from our Dubai offices. These do not include North Africa; but from Dubai we also cover the Levant countries, KSA, GCC, Iran and Afghanistan. The Ariston Thermo Group has a total turnover of above US$1.8 billion, with a global sales network which distributes in more than 150 countries. It is the most international player in its sector, with almost 50% of sales coming from outside EU countries.

What products and services do you offer here?

In our product portfolio for the Middle East region we offer different models of electric storage water heaters with capacities from 10 to 3 000 litres. We are also commercialising instantaneous electric and gas water heaters, gas storage water heaters, gas boilers and solar systems. In 2010 we are launching a revolutionary range of sanitary water heat pumps, and as per the evolution of our water heater range, in accordance with the latest European directives on energy saving, we are introducing a comprehensive new product range with new aesthetic and technical features.

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This provides more hot water in comparison with a traditional water heater of the same capacity.

Specifically, a special water inlet pipe guarantees 10% more hot water output. It is based on improved mixing efficiency: during a water draft, normally the cold inlet water ‘disturbs’ the hot water inside the tank, so that the outlet water temperature will go below the comfort value of 40°C.

The special inlet pipe keeps the cold and hot water layers well-separated, so that the water draft can last longer (the outlet hot water will reach later a temperature below 40°C).

Your affiliation with Europe obviously means the latest trends and developments get introduced to the MENA region quite quickly?

Exactly. With six million water heaters produced a year, and 19 factories all over the world, the group must always respect the latest and strictest regulations coming from any of the major markets.
The Middle East market, being supplied from the same factories which manufacture goods for Europe, offer only CE-certified model ranges, which comply with European regulations in terms of safety and performance.

Do your products have to be adapted at all for local conditions?

Our product lines have been calibrated on the most extreme conditions to satisfy the market demands coming from any of the 150+ countries where we sell our goods. In our region, only KSA requires a special safety valve to respect the SASO regulation. Therefore we have a specific full line of products equipped with this accessory for our Saudi customers.

What are the main markets you serve?

We have dedicated sales teams for projects and retail. With the booming growth in the real estate market over the last decade, a big effort was placed on tender sales, and this guaranteed us the biggest market share and premium recognition today. We can answer the demands for any hot-water requirement, from domestic use to industrial. Nowadays the opportunities are coming from the ‘green’ technology approach in new buildings, but also from neighbouring regions such as Eastern Africa and Central Asia.