as to fulfil customers’ requirements and which can be supplied as single component or as integrated air moving solutions. For instance, the motor can be supplied with fans especially designed to maximise high efficiency, exceeding EC Directive requirements for 2015. Mr Albrici specifies, “In terms of motors for commercial refrigeration, we are one of the main global producers, with an output exceeding 7 million units a year.” Over the years Elco has undergone an internationalisation process, opening its first foreign plant in Spain in the 80’s. Today production takes place at three sites, located in three different continents. First of all there is the Italian plant (Inzago, Milan) which houses production of the whole range of products, as well as offices, the supplier approval centre and the R&D department. 14 engineers are dedicated to R&D. The ventilation/air conditioning range is exclusively produced at the Italian plant. The other two production sites are located in China (Dongguan) and Brazil (San Paolo) and are solely focused on the manufacturing of the refrigeration range. In early 2014 a new production site will be opened in Central America to supply the commercial refrigeration range to the North American market. The production structure of the group is flanked by a series of commercial branches, located in Russia, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Singapore, Mexico and Colombia. Furthermore, thanks to the fact that in 2010 Elco became part of the Regal Beloit Corporation, one of the largest
motor producers in the world, it can count on the group’s organisation to distribute its products in a number of other countries, including North America, Australia, the UK and South Africa. As if this was not enough, there is also a network of local agents and distributors, which means that overall Elco sells its products in more than 80 countries.
Product development With regard to new products, Mr Albrici adds: “We are going to further develop our products within the boundaries of ECM technology, expanding the available range and increasing its number of applications. We are extending it to the heating sector as well, applying it to boilers. Some of these new products are already available as part of the Regal range and shortly will also be available in ours.” Thanks to its R&D department, the company fully develops its products internally, both at hardware and software levels. It is also equipped with a testing lab, where fans up to 7000 CFM can be tested, in terms of capacity, noise levels and vibrations, among other factors. “Being part of Regal Beloit is very important with regard to being able to offer increasingly innovative solutions, as the Regal Beloit technical staff support us in this.” While most of the refrigeration products are for commercial and (to a lesser extent) industrial refrigeration, the ventilation/air conditioning range mainly serves the residential sector, with an offer ranging from fan coils to
ducted solutions. The soon to be available heating range will serve both the residential and industrial sectors, always featuring high efficiency/low consumption motors.
Key market sectors “We are key players in the ventilation/air conditioning sector, both in Europe and in the Middle East. Europe is the most important market for this kind of product (we estimate we enjoy a 40 per cent share of it), with Italy playing a leading role; a stable market but technologically oriented, exactly in line with the company focus on high efficiency solutions. The Middle East, on the other hand, is rapidly growing, demanding the quality of European-made products; our brand has a very strong reputation and is considered as reference of quality, reliability and innovation.” “We are also very strong in the commercial refrigeration sector for both shaded pole and ECM motors. Our products rank at the top end of the scale in terms of reliability over time. We cover an even wider geographical area with this range, as we manufacture in three continents. We hold a number of certifications, proving that our products comply with the legislation of countries all over the world. Again, Europe is a fundamental market, but stable; our focus remains to support those users seeing consumption reduction as an opportunity for business sustainability. Markets which are showing a very fast grow rate for the company are China and North America.”
