BDR Thermea

The global breakthrough of solar thermal will depend on how well the industry masters the challenge of cost-effective tank and collector manufacturing. This is the key issue of the 3rd SMEThermal conference on 7 February 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The international event is dedicated exclusively to process optimization, automation, and new materials in the solar thermal industry. The organizer, Berlin-based Solarpraxis, launched the complete programme at the end of October (see attached pdf).

The ISH is becoming increasingly international. At the beginning of this March, the world´s largest trade fair for bathroom, building, energy and climate technology in Frankfurt, Germany, has counted significantly more international visitors than ever before. 35 % of the 204,000 trade visitors came from abroad (2009: 29 %), whereas the total number of visitors almost stagnated (+1.5 %). The ISH is the trade fair of the European heating industry. The five largest corporations - Bosch Thermotechnik, Vaillant, Viessmann from Germany, BDR Thermea, Netherlands, and Ariston from Italy - dominated Hall 8 with huge stands. Solarthermalworld.org presents some of the trends it discovered in the solar thermal product portfolio of Europe's heating business.
Photo: ISH 2011

The new President of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) is Robin Welling, Managing Director of Austrian collector manufacturer and system supplier Tisun, as well as Managing Director of Tisun LLC in New York. At the beginning of December, Welling was elected in Brussels by the General Assembly for a two-year period. He takes over from Olivier Drücke, who held the position between 2008 and 2010.
Photo: Tisun

Heart of Baymak's new tank production factory in Tuzla near Istanbul, Turkey, is its automated, enamelling line: The production capacity has increased from 75,000 to 175,000 tanks per year.
Photo: Baymak

Together, De Dietrich Remeha Group and Baxi Group have just established BDR Thermea, the third largest heating corporation in Europe. Five solar brands are part of the newly founded company: De Dietrich, Oertli, Baxi, Baymak, Brötje.
Figure: BDR Thermea