Press releases

Robin M. Welling: exclusive interview

Mister Welling, as new elected ESTIF President and highest representative of the European solar thermal industry you are facing major challenges. Which goals do you and ESTIF pursue,which challenges will the European solar thermal industry have to master?

Robin Welling: One declared goal in the European Union is to achieve a 20% reduction of the CO2 emission. To achieve this target it is essential, that the solar thermal industry takes a leading role in the whole energy mix. Therefore it needs action plans and roadmaps at European level – but more important at National level. My commitment in this case is out of question. Solar thermal energy as decentral and emission-free energy supplier has the possibilities and potential to cover 50% of low-temperature heating in Europe. Solar thermal energy is the most environment-friendly energy source of all. Each solar system provides energy in average for 20 years. Furthermore it makes all the member states of the European Union independent of fossil and nuclear energy sources. It is an emission-free energy source, without restriction and 4 times more efficient compared to other solar technologies.

On which main topics will you concentrate in your term of office, where do you start? What do you expect of the European politic?

Robin Welling: I focus on getting the solar thermal energy out of the shadow of the photovoltaics' shadow. An important task for me and my board members is of course to act together and as a strong industry. We must intensify the cooperation with system providers of the HVAC branch and other distribution structures, which play an important role in the solar thermal industry. Furthermore I will work very hard to achieve more stability in the member states. The last 10 years were characterized by market growth rates on the one hand and on the other side we had to face market decreases of over 30%. No industry can plan and invest under such conditions. We need stable growth over many years to develop new technologies and cut costs and achieve price reductions. I expect understanding from the European politic that energy supply doesn´t mean only to focus on electricity. It also includes heating and cooling, which will be achieved mainly by decentralized activities. Nobody can believe that the answer is to focus only on central forms of energy – that is a misbelief, very unrealistic and really inefficient.

End of October 2011 the ESTEC takes place for the 6th time. That is for sure the ESTIF annual high point. What are your wishes for the event? Which speakers and topics can the audience expect? How many participants do you expect? Which branches and professional groups do you look for?

Robin Welling: For sure the ESTEC 2011 is an absolute highlight this year. We expect some top-speakers and the topics are arranged in a very interesting way. All direct and indirect participants of the solar thermal industry can expect new information so that they achieve a high benefit from the event. There will be some input of installers and wholesalers – an absolute novelty for the ESTEC. System providers of the heating industry will be active contributors. I promise exciting discussions and presentations. This will be a conference of a type never seen before! We expect a growing number of participants, because our audience include now - beside solar thermal companies - also installers, wholesalers and system providers. ESTEC 2011 will surprise everyone!

As ESTIF board chairman you offer the industry 15 years of experience in the solar thermal branch – as TiSUN Managing Director you daily work on the market cultivation. How was the performance of the TiSUN GmbH since 2006? How did you experience the turbulent year 2010?

The performance of the TiSUN GmbH and the general market performance can´t be compared, because it is not in the line with the market! In 2006 there was a twofold increase compared to 2005. 2007 we achieved the same turnover as 2006 in taking a big step towards internationalization. We had to work hard in 2008 to cope with the increase of 60%. In the following year we lost approx. 11% of turnover, but the performance considerably better than the market performance. The reason for the success was the internationalization strategy. The extension of the TiSUN product portfolio makes us more independent. In 2010 the market decrease of 26.1% in Germany was also a surprise for us. Altogether TiSUN declined a decrease of 4.8% in the brand business. We are very proud of this achieved result. But due to the bad performance in the OEM business we lost quite some turnover. I am glad that we have a good financial situation and structure to reach the year 2011 quite stable. When I think about the current energy costs, I look forward to a great year 2011!

The TiSUN GmbH is on the one hand located in Tyrol, Austria since 22 years and on the other hand it operates in 40 international markets. How important are local sales agencies or branches? Which arguments are crucial for a headquarter in Tyrol? What does the internationalization strategy in the solar thermal branch mean in your case?

Robin Welling: Tyrol is our homeland, where we rely to our cultural and moral values. Unfortunately also in Tyrol the energy politic is not very stable in the case of renewable energy. In 2006 we had an incredible increase – due to the high furtherances in case of business building and solar thermal energy. In the meantime the furtherances decreased and as a consequence the local market decreased too - by two thirds! Nevertheless we are confident, that the Tyrolean politics understand on short- or medium-term, that the solar thermal energy is necessary to reach the goal “202020”. We believe in the (business) location Tyrol and will invest here also in the future. We have to cope with challenges in recruiting qualified employees and native speakers for our customer support departments. One of our main efforts is to enhance the customer satisfaction and proximity. Recently we opened TiSUN sales agencies in Spain and France. But all activities and decisions, which will be taken are controlled by the TiSUN headquarter in Tyrol. Our international short-term targets are to operate also in the Middle East, Australia and India. Due to the geographical distance we have to invest in those places.

TiSUN is one of the few solar thermal specialists. Are products like photovoltaics, heat pumps etc. not an issue for TiSUN? What are the main points for your success on the ST market? Which new products can we 2011 expect from TiSUN?

Robin Welling: The sales channel of solar thermal market is from the wholesaler to the installer to the end customer. Each solar thermal system is sold in a certain rhythm. Heating pumps and biomass has another rhythm. There would be an unbalance in the company. In the case of photovoltaics the prefinancing is such a big cost factor and you need a critical size to gain profit. For the market positioning on the PV market we are too late. That isn´t worth it and you can’t combine the distribution of solar thermal systems and PV. Both markets are too different. There are different market mechanisms and strategies. It would be the wrong way to leave the strategy of a solar thermal specialist and the internationalization strategy only because we had and have difficult years in the solar thermal industry. Such decisions based on market fluctuations can end in the deadlock. TiSUN is and will be a specialist for solar thermal systems. Just face it: The Solar thermal industry will have a disproportionate middle and long-term increase. In the future the energy can only be covered with the right energy mix. ST will play a big role. In the meantime TiSUN´s job is to win market shares, to expand the product portfolio and to enter new international markets. The world is huge and the usage of ST is endless.

Key word solar sets. 2011 TiSUN presented a new product line called “solar set BASIC” which include small dimensioned solar sets. What is different compared to the TISUN SWS, SFS and SHS sets? What do you expect of this product launch?

Robin Welling: The Solar thermal market can be categorized into complete solar systems and very individual solutions. 60% of the whole ST profit is gained with the domestic hot water systems. ST is not a mass market, but a huge part of the market concentrate on 3-4 solar system sizes (200 l, 300 l and 400 l-tank volume and 2.5 / 5.0 and 7.5 m2 collector surfaces). In this market segment you can find lots of providers, the effort of technical support is small and the pricing pressure raises. As solar thermal specialist we have to keep up. Together with our existing solar sets and our new line solar set basic we can keep up. But we don´t want to replace our existing sets with the new product line. The existing sets were a huge success factor for TiSUN in the last years. But with the solar set basic we can shape this important submarket and keep up with the prices without losing money. Cheap is not always the right strategy but it´s a permanent issue in the solar thermal industry to get “more independent of furtherances” and to open the ST for the broad masses. Our answer is the Basic line (which will expand in the future) – right in time to suplly the demand. TiSUN combines in the new line “Solar set BASIC” the usual TiSUN quality and the “no nonsense” execution – at a very attractive price.

Does the market need specialists like TiSUN? What are your strengths? Where can you score in comparison to other suppliers?

Robin Welling: All our deliberations are based on one conviction: The system suppliers in the heating industry will always operate in subareas of the heating system and provide their systems directly to heating engineers. More and more system suppliers leave the wholesaler trade and establish theirselfs in the two-level sales. But there are many factors to sell products of a technical system to wholesalers (full sortiment, on time delivery, less administrative effort due to 1 supplier strategy). We record the positive trend that wholesalers behave such as a “supplier of specialist”. Heating engineers can be sure to find the right product at the wholesalers place. He will never find standard goods of generalists. TiSUN does, what it does well. We have a wide product range of solar thermal – in this area we are the specialist, no one will teach us news about solar thermal. The heating engineer/eco-installer may here rely on staff as partners who know their craft. Whether small solar system or complex and individually appropriate plant - the TiSUN Team accompanied you from inception to completion of the plant, even to the remote monitoring of the system from afar. Heating and cooling are in any system otherwise, it therefore needs tailored solutions in the solar system. In TiSUN you are not forced to accept a standard solution that is not to suit. TiSUN mastered their craft. TiSUN focused on it´s core competency - Solar Thermal from A to Z. With our expertise in the set range, module and large collectors in 26 individual measurements, solar tanks from 125 to 5000lt, the largest, most modern and best pump and control program, a variety of real solar components, unique solar stratified tanks - we are in first place for the SHK branch. Our motto: Challenge us, you will not be disappointed!

What are your plans for 2011? What do you want to achieve with TiSUN? What do you plan in the EU27+CH or beyond Europe?

Robin Welling: Honestly, we don´t know what 2011 will happen. I am very careful with forecasts. The oil price helps us at the moment. In spring we expect growth rates. But when the oil price in the MENA-countries grows too much, it will influence the world economic growth. Everybody remembers the consequences of such situations in 2009 and 2010. TiSUN and ESTIF plan with a slightly recovery. TiSUN wants to grow again faster than the market. We want to get and stay independent from the market development and other products. In 2011 we will present news and cooperations in Middle East and India. With our partners in the USA and Australia we continually advance our goals.