WALTER MEIER is expanding into Eastern Europe by buying up Eichler Klima GesmbH and Eichler Hungaria Kft, and will tap this growth market with humidification products before broadening its portfolio to include heatpumps and chillers.
The establishment of a Walter Meier subsidiary in Vienna, Walter Meier (Klima Österreich) GmbH, and the acquisition of the two Eichler companies as of January 1, 2009, are the group's first steps towards realizing its plans to tap into Eastern Europe's growing markets.

Eichler Klima GesmbH operates in Austria, while Eichler Hungária Kft. is active in Hungary.

'We are starting our direct presence in these markets with our own established humidification products under the Condair and Defensor brands. These will be complemented in an ideal way by Eichler's ventilation components business', said Walter Meier CEO Silvan G.R. Meier.

Explaining the group's entry into these markets he said 'In the future, we will gradually expand our product portfolio, most notably in the areas of heat pumps, chillers and dehumidification'.

Eichler has been a distributor for Walter Meier on the humidification market for more than over 40 years, making the companies' integration into the Walter Meier Group a speedier process.

The two newly-acquired companies generate annual sales of approximately EUR 4 million and have 16 employees, all of whom will be taken on.

Christian Werro will take on overall responsibility for the Austrian and Hungarian markets and the integration of the companies into the Walter Meier Group. The group said the previous general managers Wolfgang Baumgartner in Austria and Akos Kálmán in Hungary 'will remain in their roles and will continue to be responsible for their respective markets'.