Guntner deal sparks Bitzer plant closure

AUSTRALIA: Bitzer Australia is set to close its Buffalo Trident heat exchanger factory in Melbourne after signing an exclusive long-term distribution deal in Australia and New Zealand with Güntner.

The new agreement applies to all Güntner’s commercial and industrial heat exchanger products. The commercial refrigeration products will continue to be marketed under Bitzer’s Buffalo Trident brand, those from the industrial refrigeration segment under the Güntner brand. 

Units from Guntner’s Energy & Process Cooling business line are not covered under this agreement and will continue to be marketed by Güntner Asia.

Factory closure

Buffalo Trident’s manufacturing operations in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, will be shut down by the end of 2018.

Established in 1958, Buffalo Trident was originally formed by the union of Buffalo Refrigeration and Trident Refrigeration. It became part of the Bitzer group in the early 90s, and the two Australian organisations, Bitzer Australia and Buffalo Trident, dovetailed their product design focus to supply the industry with a complementary range of compressor systems and heat exchange equipment.

The company moved into its current 10,000m² factory in December 1996. Around 70 employees are affected.

While Bitzer will now distribute Güntner manufactured products, the company insists that this does not change anything for customers. Bitzer will now be opening a warehouse in Sydney to supply the Australian market. The units will be manufactured at Güntner’s production site in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Bitzer Australia MD Simon Wood said that both the companies and their customers would benefit from the close cooperation between Güntner and Bitzer.

“The fact that an expanded product range is now available means we can offer the right solution for every heat exchanger, refrigeration and air conditioning application,” he said.