Hitachi is ramping up local investment with plans to transform the Australian market into a regional showcase.
During a visit to Australia this week, Hitachi-Johnson Controls Air Conditioning vice president and general manager for Japan and Asia Regional Operations, Kintaro Izumida, told CCN the region has strong growth potential.
“Our global revenues topped $3.5 billion and out of that figure $2 billion came from this region,” he said.
“We’re expecting five to six per cent growth and one of the biggest drivers will be heat pumps.
“Air conditioning is essential to good health and there are markets in this region, like Vietnam, which only have 10 to 20 per cent penetration.”
Izumida said the Australian market is also attractive because it is product diverse and one of the most advanced markets in the region.
“Australia is home to a diverse range of products from ducted and splits to cassettes and VRF whereas other markets are more singular,” he said.
“The United States is pretty much a ducted market whereas Australia covers the entire product range.”
Izumida said there has been a lot of local interest in Hitachi’s P Series High Wall system. It features advanced Intelligent Image Sensor Technology which scans the room’s layout and detects the number of people in the room to provide maximum comfort and energy savings.
He said Hitachi’s VRF SideSmart range is also popular because of its space saving installation advancements in mid-size commercial buildings while delivering high performance air conditioning.
“Energy efficiency is at the centre of all our product development; 40 per cent of a building’s electricity use is still going to HVAC we want to change that,” he said.
“Other themes that dominate our current products include indoor air quality, self cleaning technology and connectivity.
“Hitachi has always had plenty of technology smarts in their products and of course, quality design.”
The company’s new ducted range featuring R32 will be coming to Australia in October.