Keeping you warm Baxi

KEEPING YOU WARM

Italian-based Baxi SpA, part of the BDR Thermea Group, is one of the European leaders in the heating sector with a commercial presence in over 50 countries. Barbara Rossi reports on the company, which believes that its future success depends on the continuous development of technologically advanced solutions.

Baxi SpA (Baxi Italy) is based in Bassano del Grappa, near Vicenza, in the north-east of the country. Its made-in-Italy range is produced there at its 100,000m2 facility, which houses the largest plant in Europe for the heating sector, as well as hosting warehouses and a wide area dedicated to logistics. This site has been producing Baxi’s range of wall-hung and floor-standing boilers and heating systems for over 35 years. Thanks to its 13 production lines, it is able to produce up to 4000 boilers a day. This technologically-advanced plant is continuously striving towards further improvement. Its current lean production and zero defect projects are tangible proof of this approach.

The company, which since 1978 has produced over eight million boilers, is equipped with very significant know-how and a large amount of experience. In fact, its roots go back to 1925 when it was established by the Austrian Westen family and traded as Smalterie Metallurgiche Venete. Initially the plant produced enamelled products, mainly electric water-heaters, bathtubs and steel radiators. By the end of the 1970s Baxi had focused its production on the heating sector, and by the mid-1980s it had consolidated its presence on the Italian market and started expanding at international level. In 1999 it became part of the British Baxi Group, leader of the European heating sector. Finally, in 2009 De Dietrich Remeha Group and Baxi Group announced the creation of BDR Thermea.

The success of Baxi is based on its excellent service, the high performance and reliability of its cutting-edge boilers and heating

systems, and its commitment to energy saving. In fact, the company – which obtained its ISO 9001 certification in 1993, ISO 14001 in 2001 and OHSAS 18001 in 2004 – has a strong commitment to the environment, the health and safety of its staff and customer satisfaction. Its continuous focus on innovation, meanwhile, is proven by the fact that it has always had a department dedicated to product design and development. Over €10 million has been invested in research in recent years. Thanks to this, the BDR Thermea Group has been awarded the title of ‘centre of excellence’.

Core products

The range of products offered by the company includes gas condensing boilers, gas boilers, hybrid systems, solid fuel boilers, HE commercial applications, wireless heat boxes, solar systems, indirect cylinders, and gas and electric solar heaters. This comprehensive range of energy-efficient models has evolved over the years, moving from individual products to integrated renewable-sources systems, in order to better serve the market and offer a simpler and more efficient arrangement.

As well as continuing to offer this wide range of high-efficiency boilers and systems, Baxi increasingly intends to implement and improve the range of services that it makes available to distributors, installers, heat technicians and assistance centres. It does this by offering continuous training and a technical call centre, amongst other things.

All over the world

Thanks to its highly professional technical assistance centres, based both in Italy and abroad, Baxi can guarantee an efficient post-sales support service to its customers, who are based in over 50 countries all over the world. The company can also offer a very efficient spare parts and components service. All of the above means that Baxi is in a market leading position in many of the countries in which it is present. This is the case, for example, in Russia where the company has been present since 2002. Last year, after a long and strong cooperation in the gas boiler field, Baxi has also established a new strategic partnership with Garmiran in order to better serve the Iranian market. Thanks to this agreement, the best-selling Baxi ECO3 boiler model will be assembled in Iran and then supplied to the local market, but using all original made-in-Italy components. With more than 500,000 boilers produced, BAXI ECO3 is recognised worldwide as one of the best gas boilers ever designed in terms of reliability, performance and ease of use.

As mentioned above, Baxi places a strong emphasis on the use of renewable energy sources, saving energy and reducing emissions. The company manufactures biomass boilers, as well as high power condensing boilers (both wall-hung and floor-standing). In condensing boilers almost all the heat available through combustion is recovered without wasting energy, unlike with traditional boilers.

Baxi was also the first boiler producer to supply hybrid systems, thanks to its Luna Platinum CSI model. Solar systems are another important part of its offer: the Baxi integrated solar system offers an optimum performance, fully exploiting solar power whilst also reducing heat loss to a minimum. This integrated solar system has been designed to be easily combined with the company’s range of boilers. Last, but not least, Baxi offers a new SPC range of water heaters, which are highly efficient and able to heat water up to a temperature of 65° using a minimum level of power, as these devices absorb heat directly from the air. n