GLOBAL WARMING HAJDU Hajdúsági Ipari Zrt is a major manufacturer of hot water tanks and water heaters, with a long and distinguished history of meeting customers’ demands. Most recently the company has focused on producing more energy efficient product lines that are compatible with renewable energy sources whilst increasing its global footprint. Edina Beale reports.
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uality and reliability have always been key components of HAJDU products – one of Hungary’s most recognised brands. The company listens carefully to its customers and monitors market trends and changes. The most significant change in the past ten years has been the demand for cleaner, more energy efficient devices and the use of renewable energy – challenges that the company has met head-on. István Novotni, managing director of HAJDU Hajdúsági Ipari Zrt, explains how the company has maintained its position, despite difficult times. “In the past few years we have been able to maintain our market leading position in Hungary for our traditional products. The recession in Europe has actually helped to strengthen strong brands and we have experienced a continuous increase in the field of renewable energy products, thanks to the service we provide for our customers. From technical assess-
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ment to design, planning and implementation we provide a full service including repair and maintenance.”
Designing the future The current and future direction of Hajdu’s product development is strongly affected by recent EU legislation to meet environmental requirements when designing and manufacturing hot water tanks and water heaters. The European Union’s Ecodesign Directive established a framework to set mandatory ecological requirements for energy-using products sold in the member states. This is to encourage manufacturers to become more environmentally friendly and the energy stickers on products like fridges and washing machines are to better inform customers about energy usage. In the category of heater tanks with small volumetric capacity, Hajdu intends to improve its insulation. In the case of the
middle-sized products, the company has introduced a SMART self-learning control. Finally, for large volumetric capacity tanks, it plans to manufacture heat pump boilers in order to step up to a higher level. As a response to market demand, Hajdu has extended its product portfolio with a range of heat producing equipment that utilises renewable energy for heating. Mr Novotni explains: “We involved a Swiss developer to design and manufacture a 10kW heating air-water heat pump. The production and exporting of this product has already begun. With help from a Hungarian boiler design engineer we developed our Hajdu HVK fuel boiler family. These models range between 20, 30 and 40kW and are suitable for burning wood and coal; if a special burner is installed they are able to use wood pellets and oil. Our objective is to extend the range of this product up to 100kW.”
