Vietnam a key production base for water heater giant Ariston: CEO

Locating a factory in Vietnam was a "wise decision" as it made Ariston close to consumers in a rapidly growing market, said CEO Nguyen Cao Tri.

Why did Ariston decide to invest in Vietnam?

Ariston water heaters arrived in Vietnam almost by accident in 1988. Back then the heaters were not made by Ariston Vietnam but instead bought by Vietnamese consumers in other markets.

On a visit to Vietnam in the same year, Aristide Merloni, founder of Ariston Group, was quite surprised to see his company’s products in such a distant country.

At that time, Ariston had a factory in China that opened in 1980, but the brand founder did not think that the climate in Vietnam would also need a water heater solution. As a person who loves Vietnam very much, Merloni was very excited about the potential of bringing his products to this market.

In 1996, Ariston established a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City. It set up a factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh in 2004. Ten years later, the factory was upgraded with an investment of more than $18 million, becoming Ariston's second largest facility in Asia to date, with products shipped to many other countries in the region.

The presence of Ariston water heaters in Vietnam at that time could be considered a "revolution" in technology, contributing significantly to improving the comfort of users when they no longer had to boil a kettle for use because hot water was available at any time.

Overall, Vietnam is an important market for Ariston Group. This is one of the key production bases. It epitomizes the success story that has helped us become one of the leading brands in the heating industry worldwide.

It can be said that locating a factory in Vietnam was a wise decision as it made Ariston close to consumers in a rapidly growing market. At the same time, we have also connected with the world thanks to the infrastructure that Vietnam has built over the years.

What is the secret to the success of a heating brand with product lines that use renewable energy?

Since its founding in 1930, Ariston has taken on the mission of bringing more convenience and comfort to customers globally, while always focusing on environmental protection, with a commitment to making renewable energy a key part of the group's development strategy.

To achieve this, we especially focus on investing in product research and development to contribute to the energy transition and emissions reduction.

Specifically, more than 40% of investments will be devoted to renewable energy solutions globally, and more than 2.5% of annual revenue will be reinvested in product research and development, focusing on products that use renewable energy such as solar thermal collectors and heat pumps that utilize heat from the environment instead of traditional electricity.

With the group's vision and strategy, Ariston Vietnam has many advantages to develop sustainable product lines, typically the heat-pump water heaters and solar water heaters.

Vietnam is on the list of countries with great potential to invest in renewable energy thanks to its geographical location and favorable natural conditions. In addition, there has been a shift in green consumption trends and policies to encourage investment in energy transition from the government in recent years.

Considering both subjective and objective factors, Ariston has all the conditions and opportunities to bring green energy hot water solutions closer to Vietnamese consumers.

In addition to providing water heaters to consumers in single households, Ariston is also constantly expanding its business to project development. How does the firm plan to find strategic partners?

Starting from 2021, Ariston Vietnam has transformed itself by developing large projects, targeting a variety of construction and project partners who need to find suitable heating solutions.

In particular, we are proud to be offering the most diverse product portfolio in the market with a full range of solutions, ranging from indirect water heaters and solar water heaters to heat-pump water heaters. Ariston is a reliable choice for different segments, from residential apartments to resorts, hospitals, and schools.

Ariston provides top quality products and pioneering technology, and will always meet the needs of partners looking for heating solutions with those criteria.

We believe that sustainable development requires the engagement of the whole community. Ariston has been trying to spread this message to partners and consumers through training and education activities on green heating solutions for B2B customers, opening up many new directions for the construction industry in general and the heating industry in particular.

In your opinion, what does Vietnam need to do to attract more sustainable FDI from world-famous brands?

Vietnam has a lot of potential for development. I think investments in infrastructure that create more favorable conditions for the expansion of business and production facilities, and reasonable business support policies, will strongly promote major investment projects in Vietnam.

What is Ariston's orientation in the near future?

In 2021, marking a step forward after the 90th anniversary of its establishment, Ariston Group set a new brand mission "The Home of Sustainable Comfort".

With this mission, Ariston once again affirms its commitment to bringing comfort to users anywhere in the world thanks to leading heating solutions. It also elevates this mission in a new direction - sustainable comfort.

We believe that a more sustainable world starts at home, and as a leading household electrics brand, we understand that our solutions play an important role in building that sustainable world.

With our new mission, we hope to join you in building a more sustainable Vietnam as well as a more sustainable world through the use of products that use sustainable technology.

We are committed to launching new water heater products using pioneering technology, whilst leading in quality. They are energy efficient and environmentally friendly while still bringing comfort to users.

As a leader in the industry, along with the global green energy trend, Ariston is also increasingly promoting investment in sustainable energy solutions, aiming to reduce 100 million tons of CO2 discharged into the environment thanks to renewable energy and highly efficient products sold globally, contributing more than 60% of the group’s revenue by 2030.