Racold’s factory: making of efficient water heaters

August 11, 2014 11:30 am

 Racold Thermo’s Chakan plant manufactures 6 lakh products per year and aims to expand its product range. After a visit to the factory, Swati Rana writes about the process involve in making of efficient water heaters
Racold Thermo Ltd., an ISO 9001:2008 company, is a fully owned subsidiary of Ariston Thermo Group, Italy. In India, Racold’s fully integrated water heater plant started in Chakan near Pune and has been in operation since 1999. Spread over 21 acres, the plant manufactures electric, gas and solar water heaters.
Ever since its inception, Racold Thermo has been changing standards in the Indian water heater industry by bringing in new technology, enhancing the aesthetics, quality, durability and performance of the product. The plant manufactures 6 lakh products per year.
The company has won the Energy Conservation Award from Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) four times in a row for electric storage heaters.
ChallengesOne of the main challenges that water heating industry faces is how to make a product that can last in any water condition. Commenting on this aspect, Mathew Job, MD, Racold Thermo Ltd., says, “We felt the product we sell anywhere else in the world may not work well in India. We did lot of R&D locally and developed Super Polymer High Performance (SPHP) technology to manage the hard-water condition in India.”
The company’s plant in Chakan has an R&D centre, which has helped Racold to produce energy efficient products. It is pertinent to mention that, Ariston Thermo, the parent company of Racold, invests 58 million Euros yearly in R&D worldwide.
Manufacturing process Electric water heater contributes 70 per cent of Racold’s business. Racold Thermo has the complete in-house manufacturing process of water heater. The process starts with the manufacturing of top and bottom dome of the water heater. Round shaped flat stainless steel sheet is moulded into the container. In trimming operation the collar of the container is removed. After the top and bottom dome is ready it’s sent for flange and pipe welding. Different model has different cylinder. Stainless steel sheet is then rolled and welded to form a cylindrical shape. In Circum MIG welding process, top and bottom dome along with cylinder of water heater are welded together to form the inner body of water heater.
Sand blasting inside and outside, smoothens the surface of the inner body of water heaters. With the help of SPHP technology the product is made corrosion free. The heating element is added and the product is tested to check whether it withstands upto 8 bar hydraulic pressure, which is the highest pressure. The puff used for insulation is manufactured in the factory to make the product more energy efficient.

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