Italian HVAC&R manufacturer Enex Technologies (CCC Holdings Europe), has entered into an agreement to acquire the Emicon Group (which comprises Emicon, Hidros and Ethra Tech) to strengthen its portfolio of commercial propane (R290) heat pumps, dehumidification equipment, close controls for data centers and chillers.
Emicon Group is a European company founded in 1984. Upon completion of the acquisition, it will join Enex’s strong portfolio of HVAC&R manufacturers: Enex and Roen Est in Italy, Arctic and Kobol in Spain and Morgana and Samifi in France. The Emicon Group has four main factories based in Italy (Meldola, Massa Martana, Piove di Sacco and Cona) covering over 22,000m2 (236,806ft2), with approximately 200 employees and annual sales of more than €60 million (US$61.6 million).
“Emicon Group supports all three of our focuses: 1) natural refrigerants through its best-in-class propane refrigerant products, 2) energy efficiency (chiller, heat pump and close controls products), and 3) energy transition (clean electric heat pumps versus gas powered boilers),” said Sergio Girotto, Founder and COO of Enex.
Keeping up with demand
In an exclusive interview with ATMOsphere, Greg Deldicque, President of Enex Technologies, confirmed that in 2023, Enex plans to generate around €20 million (US$20.5 million) in sales related to propane heat pumps and chillers through the Emicon brand.
According to Deldicque, the market potential is huge for heat pumps and chillers – so big that it’s hard to quantify it. The opportunity is much larger than in commercial refrigeration, he confirmed. “Within 10 years, it’s going to be all natural – I’m convinced of that,” said Deldicque about the European chiller market. As such, massive growth is expected in this sector, driven largely by policy.
To keep up with a growing demand, Enex plans to double the Emicon Group’s manufacturing capacity for commercial propane heat pumps and chillers over the next six months, said Deldicque. The Emicon Group manufactures these products for both its own brand and other well-known industry brands, which will continue under the Enex name.
Expanding in all natural refrigerants
At the start of this year, CCC Holdings Europe also acquired Spanish manufacturer Kobol, and its acquisition of refrigeration manufacturer Samifi France and French heat exchanger producer Morgana was announced at the Chillventa trade show in October.
According to Enex, they are now the only scale European HVAC&R manufacturer offering energy-efficiency-leading products using all three possible natural refrigerants: CO2 (R744), used by Enex and Arctic; ammonia (Samifi and Arctic), and propane (Emicon Group), as well as related ventilated products (Roen Est, Kobol and Morgana). “Our impact on fighting global warming and protecting the planet by reducing carbon footprint is a big driver for us, as it was 20 years ago when we started as the pioneers of natural CO2 refrigeration,” said Girotto.
“It is inspiring for our team to be building an industry leader right here in Italy, spanning also across France and Spain, with target 2023 sales of over €200 million [$205.3 million],” said Fabrice Segura, CEO of Enex and Roen Est. “We enable small and medium size companies to become more competitive and experience significant growth, also creating jobs where they are based.” Enex, for example, saw its sales and number of employees triple over the past two years.
Enex will open a brand new, 7,500m2 (807,29ft2) factory in Treviso (Italy) this year, multiplying its manufacturing footprint by four. It is also building what is expected to be the largest research laboratory in Europe for products using natural refrigerants, for a total investment of over €10 million ($10.3 million).
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