Merloni to Begin Production of Water Heaters in Leningrad Region on April 7

Italian company Merloni TermoSanitari is to open an assembly line for water heaters on April 7 at a site in Vsevolozhsk (Leningrad Region) rented from Russian Diesel. According to the company's St. Petersburg office, it plans to produce 200,000 water heaters by the end of 2003.

In 2002 Merloni received a 10,000-square-metre plot on which to build a factory in the Vsevolozhsk area. Until the factory opens, the company will continue to rent the plot from Russian Diesel. The company is investing a total of USD 20 million in the project. The factory is planned to open in 2005. Initially production will be around 500,000 units a year, potentially rising to 1 million in the future. The factory will produce domestic and industrial water heaters for sale in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states.

Meanwhile, Lorenzi Group (Italy), a competitor to Merloni, has signed an agreement with the Leningrad Region to build a new production facility in the region. The project will entail USD 30 million in investment.

Merloni TermoSanitari was founded in 1930 as a division of the Merloni company. In 2002, after acquiring several companies at the end of 2001, the company had sales of over EUR 1 billion.

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