Wieland expands its presence in the heat exchanger and data centre cooling markets

Wieland’s acquisition of Onda makes it a full-scope supplier for data centre cooling, strengthening its air conditioning and refrigeration business. Driven by digitalisation and sustainability megatrends, Wieland expects strong growth potential for shell and tube heat exchangers and electronics cooling equipment.

The main drivers for heat exchanger growth are the rapidly increasing demand for chillers to cool data centres and increasing power densities of electronics, which require cutting-edge technologies to remove the heat. Wieland’s acquisition of Onda S.p.A., a manufacturer of advanced heat exchangers, increases its participation in the fast-growing heat exchanger and data centre cooling market. Onda will be part of its business unit thermal solutions, which globally develops and manufactures sustainable heating and cooling technologies such as high-performance tubes, heat exchangers, and solutions for electronics cooling.

Dr. Erwin Mayr, CEO of the Wieland Group, says, “Onda is a preferred partner for major chiller manufacturers and fits perfectly to Wieland as the acquisition adds capabilities and capacities to its existing shell and tube heat exchanger operations. It also expands our product portfolio to include brazed plate and plate frame heat exchangers, air heat exchangers, dry coolers and air condensers.”

The acquisition of Onda presents opportunities by merging its extensive product portfolio and expertise in manufacturing high-capacity heat exchangers for industrial heat pumps with Wieland’s innovation in heat exchanger technology. Wieland’s advancements include spray evaporators and evaporators enhanced by artificial intelligence, further strengthening the potential of this collaboration.

Today, data centres account for an estimated 2 percent of global emissions to reach 8 percent of the world’s power consumption by 2030. Minimising their carbon footprint is a key priority within the data centre industry. By joining forces with Onda, Wieland can offer superior solutions that enable customers to fulfil their ambitious sustainability targets. Ivan Di Stefano, President of Wieland business unit Thermal Solutions, emphasises, “Data centres using Wieland cooling technology require considerably less space and materials than comparable solutions and show significantly lower CO2-emissions due to the reduction of up to 70 percent of refrigerants in a chiller.” 

Looking ahead, the combined companies will take a leading role in the industry ‘electrification of heat’ by offering highly efficient components for industrial heat pumps powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels like natural gas, oil, or coal to heat buildings. Di Stefano continues, “Customers are looking for innovative and trusted partners that combine a wide range of technical expertise, state-of-the-art technology, and advanced manufacturing capabilities to deliver reliable, efficient, and sustainable heat exchanger solutions – and that is what Wieland offers.”