Indoor air solutions Swegon

INDOOR AIR SOLUTIONS

Swegon is a part of the Latour Group and a European leader in the design and installation of indoor ventilation and climate control systems. Industry Europe looks at how it stays ahead of the competition.

Swegon is based in Sweden and is a global exporter of ventilation systems and indoor climate solutions. It has three factories in Sweden, as well as one in Finland and one in Italy. In September this year (2013) it acquired the Swiss company RCS AG, which is active in the distribution and servicing of cooling and heating equipment.

Furthermore, the company has its own sales offices located at 19 different locations worldwide. In addition to its factories and offices in Europe and Scandinavia, the Swegon Group has offices in the USA and the United Arab Emirates, with exclusive distributors in many more countries worldwide.

Advancing air-cooling technology

Swegon is one of the world’s leading suppliers of energy efficient systems and solutions for indoor ventilation and climatic control in buildings of all kinds. The company is well known for its supply of compact and complete air handling units, water-borne and airborne climate systems, as well as for its flow control, acoustics and residential ventilation systems.

In October 2010 Swegon acquired all the shares in the Italian Blue Box Group, which is located in Cantara di Cona, Italy. This company currently has a turnover of €50 million and is a leader in the development and manufacture of industrial chillers and heat pumps.

The Blue Box Group was founded in 1986 and exports its products to over 30 countries worldwide. This strategic acquisition will complement Swegon’s product range and will furthermore improve the company’s position as a unique supplier of comprehensive solutions and systems in the ventilation and air conditioning sector.

The Blue Box group’s advanced cooling technology will open up new business opportunities for Swegon and help it to meet its ambitious plans for future expansion.

A company spokesperson said, “The Blue Box Group stands for innovative product development, dedicated research and development and the delivery of superior quality and service. These characteristics match our core values perfectly and we are very happy to have found a strong asset in the Blue Box Group. The acquisition is an enhancement to Swegon’s business platform and our objective now for Blue Box is to double its turnover by the year 2014.”

Swegon plans to gradually introduce Blue Box Group’s products through its existing international sales organisation.

Greener energy solutions

Swegon’s product development and production capability is split between different product areas at each of its five factories. All aspects of production are highly automated and the company has consistently invested in new technology to improve the energy efficiency of its products and manufacturing processes.

In 2011 in its factory in Kvanum, Sweden, the company built a Salvagnina-line. This investment has significantly increased Swegon’s Swedish production capacity. All the company’s work is focused on creating ever more energy-efficient systems that also offer added-value to its customers. This means providing more efficient indoor climate management systems, combined with improved operating economy.

Swegon’s main challenge is to produce increasingly environmentally friendly, energysaving systems for the benefit of everyone. In addition to its full programme of on-going research and development, it undertakes full-scale testing of its ventilation systems designed for specific customer projects. As a Swegon customer, it is also possible to carry out individual test programmes to discover which system is best suited to a client’s specific climatic needs.

This year Swegon’s GOLD RX air handling units with rotary heat exchangers became globally unique by becoming the first passive house certified ventilation unit for large air flows. In accordance with the demands from

the Passive House Institute, GOLD RX has been tested and approved in terms of energy heat recovery and energy consumption.

Expanding global presence

In recent years Swegon has been expanding outside its traditional markets of Europe and the USA and recently entered into new, exclusive partnerships with companies in New Zealand, Taiwan and South Africa. In May 2013 it entered the Australian market when it welcomed HVACR Supplies (Pty) Limited to the Swegon Group as the new exclusive distributor and agent in Australia for Swegon’s three plants producing indoor climate products and GOLD air handling units.

The company has plans to extend its global reach even further in the years to come, as a company spokesperson comments: “We have ambitious aims and want to become the world’s biggest supplier of energy efficient and holistic ventilation and air conditioning systems by 2015. We have been extending our sales network and bringing the Blue Box product range into our sales portfolio. In addition, our other main area of focus is the US market where we were first active in 2008 with a major project in Boston and where we are now expanding our sales network significantly.” n