Zoran Bisercic, Manager at Vaillant Group Serbia – We will invest up to EUR 2 billion by 2030

Zoran Bisercic, the Manager of Vaillant Group Serbia talks about this, the preservation of the environment and the company`s plans for the future in an interview with eKapija.

eKapija: The company announced major investments in the coming period?

– Depending on the future market development, the Vaillant company`s plan is to invest up to EUR 2 billion between 2016 and 2030. The main areas of investment relate to increasing the production capacities and expanding the range and type of support for our HVAC partners.

The company motto “Taking care of a better climate, in every home and the world around us” best describes the philosophy and the spirit that governs our company. Comfort and meeting our clients` needs for comfortable and efficient heating, cooling and air-conditioning and water heating as well as the great responsibility for preserving and protecting our environment is at the core of our business philosophy.

eKapija: What sets apart your products from the rest?

– All of our products, whether they be gas condensing boilers or heating pumps, are designed to ensure higher convenience and comfort, easy access, high level of efficiency and saving for our users with optimal environmental conservation. Also, intelligent heating control systems that Vaillant developed offer various possibilities for digitally managing the heating systems with maximum efficiency and adjusting to the needs of our users. The technology we use in the production process as well as the very structure and the material our devices are made out of surpass the highest standards in this sector.

eKapija: In May the company will open the new heat pump factory in Slovakia. What is the factory`s capacity?

– Heat transition in Europe has caused the strong growth of the heat pump market because of the way it operates and uses energy. Namely, as we already know, heat pumps use renewable energy sources, that is, the solar energy accumulated in the air, water or soil as effectively as possible and with a high level of energy conversion. Modern pumps produce 3.5 to 5.5 times more heat energy with one kilowatt of electricity. Vaillant Group will launch its new mega factory for electrical heat pumps in Senica, Slovakia in May 2023. With the floor area of 100,000 m2, the new factory will exclusively produce heat pumps with the capacity of 300,00 heat pumps per year. Along with production facilities in France , Germany and the United Kingdom, the total production capacity will increase to more than 500,000 heat pumps a year.With this and the future expansion of capacities, Vaillant will significantly contribute to the EU goal of installing 10,000,000 new heat pumps by 2027.

eKapija: What are the advantages of the R290 natural refrigerant that your company uses in production of heat pumps?

– Vaillant is on of the first manufacturer to start producing heat pumps that use the natural refrigerant R290 that has a very low Global Warming Potential (GWP).This index measures the potential impact of a gas on the global warming because, for instance, R290 has a 200 times lower GWP than the R32 gas that many producers use today.

Starting from 2025, Vaillant Group will offer only heat pumps that use this natural refrigerant. In addition to environmental protection, this refrigerant can achieve high flow temperatures which makes the pumps suitable not just for new buildings but also for older facilities with poor insulation.

eKapija: How important is education in the heating sector?

– Helping our installers and service technicians, whether online, in our Training Center or in the field as well as providing permanent education and training is a very important part of transition in heating. In Serbia, as well in Europe, Vaillant gives considerable attention to these activities, thus constantly increasing quality and expertise of our partners. Every day we provide new services and digital platforms for support. In 2022, more than 45,000 installers took the opportunity for education in Vaillant trainings.

eKapija: Vaillant has been operating in Serbia for over 25 years, and its story begins back in 1874 when Johann Vaillant founded his master craftsperson’s workshop for installation work in Remscheid, Germany?

– The Vaillant Group is an international company based in Remscheid, Germany that develops products for heating, cooling and air-conditioning. Since its foundation 149 years ago, Vaillant pioneered a a number of new technologies, contributing to higher standards and better quality in this sector. This spirit of innovation is still present in our family business which achieved a revenue of EUR 3.3 billion in 2021 with its 16,000 employees. Our company manufactures over 2.5 million devices a year, out of which 1.2 million are gas boilers and the rest are heat pumps, electrical devices and other.

Vaillant has been successfully operating in Serbia for more than 25 years. Vaillant`s team with years of experience supplies all relevant information and news from their factories to partners in Serbia in the best way possible and follows the latest trends in this sector which is the best way to create a path to the green transition in heating.