Eastern Markets Boost Baxi Output

Baxi Group reported an output peak of 550.000 wall-mounted heating units in 2006. A production increase by approximately 15% was reported at Baxi SpA Italy, the largest wall-mounted heating units manufacturer in Europe, as a result of the development of Russian and Turkish markets and the production flexibility for markets such as Romania.

The volume of heating units manufactured by Baxi SpA exceeded 480.000 in 2006, reaching, at the end of 2006, 550.000 units. The production increase was also due to the company"s decision to diversify production and to sell products and brands suited for the Romanian market, namely Baxi, Westen and Roca.

Sever Scarlat, General Manager of Baxi Romania said: "Romania remains a strategic market for Baxi Group in the context of the size and development of the construction sector. Baxi Romania aims to develop its product portfolio in order to benefit from the construction of new buildings and to meet the need for confort of Romanians living in over 1.700.000 apartments that are still connected to inefficient and expensive centralized heating systems"

With revenues of 1.3 billion EUR for 2005 and annual sales of 1000 boilers, Baxi Group ranks third in Europe among companies operating in the field of household comfort. The Group owns 16 factories and 12 different brands and it invests approximately 30 million EUR in research and development. In Romania, the Group"s brands - BAXI, WESTEN and ROCA - are sold by Baxi Romania. The company is the only domestic supplier in this field to offer 8-year guarantee for all central heating boilers.