Vaillant opens heat pumps factory in Slovakia

German heating systems manufacturer Vaillant Group is set to double its electric heat pump production capacity with the commissioning of a new factory in Slovakia which is designed to produce 300,000 units per year.

The plant is based in the town of Senica, western Slovakia, and is scheduled to start production in May, the German firm said in a press release last week.

The new facility will increase Vaillant’s production capacity to more than half a million heat pumps per year, accelerating the company’s ambition to become a leading manufacturer in this segment.

The Senica factory uses only reviewable energy sources and has a BREEAM certification for sustainable, environmentally friendly construction. Apart from the assembly lines, it also includes a training centre for the company's partners in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) trade, a visitor centre and a logistics centre.

"The company is contributing to successfully shaping the heating transition in Europe with the increased production capacities and achieving the EU target of ten million newly installed heat pumps by 2027," Vaillant’s CEO Norbert Schiedeck noted in the statement.

Vaillant last year secured a EUR-120-million (USD 128.8m) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support its transformation into an electric heat pumps manufacturer.

The German firm already uses more than 50% of its production area to manufacture heat pumps. It has so far invested nearly EUR 1 billion to support its shift to environmentally friendly heat pump technology, with the transition started back in 2016, and plans to allocate the same amount for investments in the coming years.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.073)

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