Ariston Group, a global leader in sustainable solutions for thermal comfort, officially introduces its iconic global brand ARISTON in South Africa to replace local brand Heat Tech, which had been part of the group stable for the past eight years.

The Italian multi-national group entered the South African market in 2014 by acquiring Heat Tech, a well-known and trusted local brand that has steadily grown ever since, enjoying the benefit of local go-to-market proximity and local production, with the global technology know-how of the Group.

The launch of ARISTON brand is a natural evolution: as South Africa gains importance as a core geography in the Group’s portfolio, Ariston Group consolidates its presence in the country and from here on, all the Group’s products and services in South Africa will be marketed under the global brand ARISTON. 

“ARISTON is a leader in the water heating business in over 40 countries in 5 continents. Our iconic brand successfully combines worldwide reach with an in-depth knowledge of each local market where we operate,” says Cosimo Corsini, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President Middle East, Africa and Asia at Ariston Group. With this rebranding, ARISTON commits to bringing more than 90 years of history and expertise in water heating to the South African market, to serve at best the needs of our professional partners and our end-users.” 

A preferred partner for professionals, a trusted brand for consumers

Wayne Vertue, Country Manager for Ariston Group in South Africa, explains that the main decision maker for the market is the professional installer – the company’s partner in driving growth – while also remaining conscious of end-users’ needs.

“South African plumbing professionals are constantly looking to serve their customers with easy-to-install and reliable products made by a renowned and trusted brand, alongside a partner that is close to their economic, technical and after-sales needs,” he says.

“ARISTON is well positioned to satisfy the needs of local professionals by taking the heritage of Heat Tech and boosting its value proposition thanks to the global expertise of the multi-national group and international technologies. We strive to become the preferred partner for professionals, contractors and end-users in delivering such solutions.

As part of the brand repositioning, ARISTON will also launch the Axios geyser range, which was designed specifically for South Africa by a combination of global and local specialists and is engineered to bring comfort to the home. The Axios range is aimed at increased ease of installation, high performance, safety and efficiency.

Global mission toward a more sustainable home

Corsini says that the Ariston Group’s overall global vision is two-pronged. “Firstly, our purpose is to provide more homes worldwide with high-quality comfort solutions and, secondly, to make these solutions more efficient by developing new technologies.”

Vertue says: “After having acquired Heat Tech several years ago, we further reinforced our local product development centre of competence, strengthened our commercial offices with local management and leveraged on our in-country production plant. ARISTON is therefore now a well-established presence in Southern Africa and our location here is perfect to unleash further continued growth. Under the ARISTON brand, we will continue in our mission to be the Home of Sustainable Comfort for our local professional, retailers, and end-users.”

The rebranding was officially launched at an event on Thursday, the 29th of September 2022, aimed at industry professionals and companies that have a working relationship with Ariston Group in South Africa. The event also included a video message from Fabrizio Ravanelli, former forward of Juventus FC, of which ARISTON brand is Regional Partner.