Italian heating and air-conditioning products company Ferroli has entered the Indian market with electric water heaters, and will launch gas and solar power-backed products next year.
Alok Rathi, Director for Ferroli South Asia said, “Indian consumers are receptive to products with cutting edge technology and design, more than ever before. We are now rolling out a wide range of electric water heaters, starting from one-litre products and going up to 500-litre ones for bungalows and small commercial establishments such as hotels. These are currently being sourced from the new assembly line set up at a manufacturing unit in China to meet Indian market requirements. All the heating systems are five-star rated as per the Bureau of Energy Efficiency norms.”
Ferroli has a range of water heaters for domestic and commercial use from 3 liters to 500 liters. It has recently launched Wi-Fi enabled water heating systems and it can be controlled by mobile phones by downloading an application. The heaters are also energy efficient, 10 per cent higher than the current BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) standards. Both the newly launched ranges, CALDO and MITO are custom designed to suit Indian weather conditions and changing consumer preferences. Starting from a price as low as Rs 3000 for the smallest instant model.
Rathi added, “We have designed these heaters specifically to suit Indian conditions. Within two years, we are likely to finalise plans for a manufacturing unit in India. The products are competitively priced, though the excise duty and other levy will add to the cost.”
The company has launched the water heaters in Western region and South India now, and will go to the other parts of the country in a phased manner.
According to Rathi, India's water heating market estimated to be at Rs 1200-1300 crore, electricity-based products account for about Rs 900 crore, gas about Rs 100 crore and the rest is from solar water heaters. The water heater market of India is growing at 7- 8 per cent. It competes with other water heater players like AO Smith, Racold, Havells and Bajaj.
