Brazil: Bosch Buys Collector and Tank Manufacturer Heliotek
The Thermotechnology Division of Bosch will be the first international manufacturer with a manufacturing unit for collectors and tanks in Brazil. Through its division Bosch Thermotechnology, the company is planning the acquisition of Heliotek Máquinas e Equipamentos Ltda, a manufacturer of solar water heaters located in São Paulo. The contract between the Bosch Group and Monier, which holds 51% of Heliotek, and the other owners was signed on 28 May 2012.
The deal is still subject to local authority approval and the parties agreed not to disclose the price of the sale. In 2011, Heliotek’s turnover reached approximately EUR 12 million. The company and its about 120 employees develop, manufacture and market systems and solar thermal heat pumps for small- and large-scale water heating applications in residential, commercial and industrial facilities. Heliotek’s manufacturing unit is located in Alphaville, São Paulo, around 45 minutes away from the headquarters of the Bosch Group in Brazil. The company sells its products across an extensive distribution network, consisting of 200 dealerships nationwide.
“Heliotek will complement our existing product portfolio in Brazil in the areas of water heating, gas and air conditioners,” says Uwe Glock, President of Bosch Thermotechnology. “This acquisition will make us the first international manufacturer with a local production site of solar thermal systems and help strengthen our position in the dynamic and growing Brazilian market,” adds Glock.
More than one year ago, at the international fair ISH in March, Bosch Thermotechnology had already announced that they were planning to set up a collector production unit in Brazil. “The acquisition was an alternative to setting up a new plant,” confirms Rafael Campos, Sales Manager at Bosch Thermotechnology Brazil. “Heliotek will continue as an independent brand. At the same time, we will sell Bosch products on the market, which will be imports at first.”
The chance to purchase the factory opened up after the Monier Group, which owned 51 % of Heliotek, had shifted its attention mainly to growing solar thermal markets in Europe and Asia. Monier is a leading global supplier of building materials for pitched roofs. Since the group had already closed down its roof tile business in South America in 2010, selling the shares of Heliotek was only the next logical step, a press release explained at the beginning of June.
“We are delighted to have found a strong partner such as Bosch Thermotechnology to invest in Heliotek,” Pepyn Dinandt, CEO of Monier Group is quoted in the press release. “Selling our Heliotek shares represents an important step towards reorganising our group’s activities around the world.” Monier markets its solar systems in Europe under various brands: Braas in Germany and Poland, Redland in the UK, Monier in France, the Benelux countries and Scandinavia, and Bramac in South-East Europe.
This text was written by Carlos Faria Café, head of the Brazilian consultancy SE-Studio Equinócio – Marca Solar Group: cafe@studioequinocio.com.br.
More information:
http://www.heliotek.com.br/
http://www.bosch.com.br
http://www.monier.com/
