Wieland has acquired Onda S.p.A., an Italian-based manufacturer of advanced heat exchangers, to increase its participation in the fast-growing heat exchanger and data center cooling market. Onda will be part of Wieland’s business unit Thermal Solutions, that globally develops and manufactures sustainable and cutting-edge heating and cooling technologies such as high-performance tubes, heat exchangers, and solutions for electronics cooling.

Onda is a leading supplier of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) equipment and operates two manufacturing plants in Mussolente (Italy), one in Lonigo (Italy), one in Kangasala (Finland), and one in Delaware, Ohio (USA). “Onda is a preferred partner for major chiller manufacturers and fits perfectly to Wieland as the acquisition adds capabilities and capacities to Wieland’s existing shell and tube heat exchanger operations. It also expands our product portfolio to include brazed plate and plate frame heat exchangers, as well as air heat exchangers including dry coolers and air condensers,” said Dr. Erwin Mayr, CEO of the Wieland Group.

Driven by digitization and sustainability megatrends, Wieland expects strong growth potential for shell & tube heat exchangers as well as electronics cooling equipment. Main drivers are the rapidly increasing demand for chillers to cool data centers and increasing power densities of electronics, which require cutting-edge technologies to remove the heat. The acquisition of Onda offers great potential to combine Onda’s broad product portfolio and its capabilities to produce high-capacity heat exchangers for industrial heat pumps with Wieland’s innovation leadership in heat exchanger technology such as spray evaporators and evaporators assisted by artificial intelligent technology.

Today, data centers already account for an estimated 2% of global emissions and are expected to reach 8% of the world’s power consumption by 2030. Minimizing their carbon footprint is therefore a key priority within data center industry. By joining forces with Onda, Wieland is capable to offer superior solutions that enable customers to fulfill their ambitious sustainability targets. “Data centers 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% of refrigerants in a chiller,” emphasizes Ivan Di Stefano, President of Wieland’s business unit Thermal Solutions.

Looking ahead, the combined companies will take a leading role in the industry’s ‘electrification of heat’ by offering highly efficient components for industrial heat pumps that are powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels like natural gas, oil, or coal to heat buildings. “Customers are looking for innovative and trusted partners that can 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’s exactly what Wieland offers,” continues Di Stefano.

The transaction was completed on Oct. 2, 2024.