Skip to content

NEWS
Always up to date

Closing ranks for climate change

Werk Gmunden News

Windhager and M-TEC will be travelling along the same path when it comes to the production of heat pumps in the future. In Pinsdorf, the cooperation will create one of the largest and most modern competence centres for renewable energies in Austria. In addition to fully automated sheet metal processing, production capacity will be created for around 10,000 high-performance heat pumps per year. The first jointly produced heat pumps are scheduled to leave the new factory starting in mid 2023.

The future Windhager/M-TEC joint production and logistics centre in Pinsdorf will be located just a few minutes away from the existing M-TEC site. It is not only geographical proximity, but above all the strategic advantages that are the drivers for this modern collaboration. With this alliance, M-TEC and Windhager are strengthening their competitive edge and positioning in the market. "M-TEC has developed a unique generation of heat pumps in recent years. Through this collaboration, we will be able to strengthen our product portfolio”, says Managing Director of Windhager, Stefan Gubi. "M-TEC had to achieve growth of more than 80% during the crisis years of 2020 and 2021 alone. Our own production is bursting at the seams. With our combined capacity, we will be well positioned to meet the ever-increasing demand over the coming years," adds Peter Huemer, Managing Director of M-TEC Energy for Future.

Heat pump as a game changer for climate change

Around 27% of the energy in Europe is consumed by private households. The use of ambient heat from the air, earth or groundwater using heat pumps for space heating and water heating has increased almost fivefold since 2005. This strong growth has continued unabated in recent years. Today, for example, around 30,000 heat pumps are needed in Austria each year. In 2021, there was yet another increase of 23%. "Around 325,000 heat pumps are currently installed in Austria. At around 4 million households, we are not even at 10% at the moment. We expect the market to grow by around 30% over the coming years. This development is driven by the media attention given to the topic and, of course, the many funding incentives.

We see similar developments in Germany and other European countries. With our technology, we are among the top providers internationally. What is urgently needed is production capacity, Huemer said concerning current market developments. "Our goal is to retain as much value creation and, above all, development expertise in Austria as possible. We can continue to compete with our solutions in Europe and also internationally. We want to keep it that way in the future," adds Windhager's Managing Director Roman Seitweger.

A cooperation of equals

Although the two companies are moving into the future together, there is no corporate integration. "We have clearly defined the areas of cooperation. M-TEC is taking advantage of the new production resources in Pinsdorf," says Stefan Gubi. "Windhager is able to access our products and solutions through this collaboration," adds Peter Huemer. Both companies will continue to operate independently on the market. The three managing directors do not see any conflict due to their status as competitors. "We will have a lot to do in the coming period. In our view, there will be no shortage of buyers and customers. It will be more a matter of obtaining sufficient raw materials, capacities and, above all, skilled personnel," say all three managing directors confidently.

100 new jobs: Future opportunities of renewable energy 

In the first stage, 40 new employees will be employed at the new factory. Over the longer term, the two companies anticipate a need for more than 100 employees, as M-TEC is also urgently seeking skilled workers for further development. The renewable energy market is one of the fields of the future. Not only producers, but also the many M-TEC and Windhager partner companies are desperately seeking employees. "Our installers can hardly keep up pace with the demand. We urgently need not only young and interested men, but above all women in our industry,” agreed all three managing directors.

By joining forces together with Windhager, the company can position itself competitively to hold its own against the major international players.