By MATT GLYNN
News Business Reporter
8/25/2006

Hydro-Air Components has been bought by a Swiss firm, but the company is staying on track with its plans to move from the Town of Hamburg to South Buffalo.

Zehnder Group AG acquired Hydro-Air for an undisclosed amount in July and announced the deal this week.

Hydro-Air said the deal will supply the necessary capital for its expansion and new product lines, and expects to speed up its hiring plans.

Last May, Hydro-Air announced it had opted to remain in Buffalo Niagara, in a planned $7.5 million plant in South Buffalo, rather than uproot for North Carolina.

The company, which makes water heating and cooling products, plans to finish its new manufacturing facility off Abby Street near Tifft Street by the end of this year, and complete the plant's offices in January 2007. Hydro-Air is receiving a host of incentives from state and local agencies.

Hydro-Air also announced it had negotiated a three-month lease extension on its Hamburg location with Benderson Development, to allow more time for the company to make its transition to Buffalo.

The company previously announced it would add 200 jobs over an 18-month period, in addition to retaining 114 jobs. Kevin Koch, the chief financial officer, said Hydro-Air expects to accelerate its hiring, though he did not have a new timetable.

The company's current management will stay in place, and the operations will keep the Hydro-Air name, Koch said. "It's an exciting thing, because we are moving forward with our expansion," he said.

Hydro-Air also announced it had negotiated a three-month lease extension on its Hamburg location with Benderson Development, to allow more time for the company to make its transition to Buffalo.

Walter Zurowski, Hydro-Air's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that Kathy Hochul, a Town of Hamburg councilwoman, helped secure the extension. "Even though we are moving out of Hamburg, Kathy is a regionally thinking person who wants the best for the entire region," he said.

Zehnder Group, which makes heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, is publicly traded and reported 2005 annual sales equivalent to about $500 million U.S. dollars.
Koch said Zehnder's global reach and financial resources will help Hydro-Air grow and expand into new markets.

Zehnder Group's chief financial officer, Paul Aeschimann, said in an e-mail interview that the Hydro-Air deal allows Zehnder to significantly expand its U.S. sales. The company makes tubular heating radiators in Massachusetts, but those are only a niche product, he said.

Zehnder Group will be able to expand its ventilation activity, and strengthen its U.S. presence, he said.

Hydro-Air can benefit from Zehnder Group's financial strength and "green technology' expertise in order to expand its business, while Zehnder Group can benefit from Hydro-Air's U.S. market knowledge, U.S. sales network and local production capabilities," he said.

The company now known as Hydro-Air dates to 1946, when Charles Rittling founded Rittling Heat Transfer.