Aqua-Hot Opens New Colorado Facility, Nearly Tripling Space – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Airxcel President and CEO Jeff Rutherford,, center, with Selma Salihagic, general manager at his right, take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with local dignitaries, including Frederick, Colo. Mayor Tracie Crites, at Ruthorford’s left. (Photos: Travis O. Pryor/RVBusiness)
4675 Airxcel President and CEO Jeff Rutherford, left, talks with Weld County Commissioner Kevin Ross.
FREDERICK, Colo. – The town of Frederick is a growing community north of Denver that in previous decades was known for its agriculture.
But as the metro area has grown and real estate prices have soared, it has become home for commuters and for manufacturing companies such as Aqua-Hot, an Airxcel brand and a supplier of hydronic heating systems for the RV industry.
Aqua-Hot is getting ready to celebrate its 40th anniversary in January, having spent most of those years in Frederick. And now the division of Airxcel is set to spend many more years, having moved into a 44,000-square-foot headquarters building that will house its operations, manufacturing and distribution center.
The building is about twice the size of the old location, but in essence triples the usable manufacturing and storage space due to a smaller area devoted to offices.
During a tour of the facility Wednesday morning, Mark Davis, business unit manager for Aqua-Hot, detailed some of the benefits of the new layout.
“The open office space really makes it efficient for collaboration between our teams,” he said. “We can get something done without having to send five emails.”
Selma Salihagic, general manager of Aqua-Hot, right, talks with Frederick Mayor Tracie Crites.
Selma Salihagic, general manager of Aqua-Hot, said that the new facility also has four loading dock doors, which makes it easier to load and unload shipments than at the old single-door facility.
“The supply chain is still very unstable, but we are able to meet an on-time delivery to our customers of 98%,” she said.
During a ribbon-cutting ceremony later in the morning, about 100 Aqua-Hot employees and managers, local dignitaries and media lauded the company’s decision to remain a part of the Frederick community and build upon the legacy started when Harold “Hap” R. Enander built his first heating system.
A one-man operation, he sold the units out of his own RV for a time before business took off.
Although she declined to give specifics, Salihagic said the company has plans for a new product line in the coming months.
Airxcel President and CEO Jeff Rutherford said the new facility will allow Aqua-Hot to further build upon the parent company’s three pillars of unparalleled service to customers and suppliers, being product experts and being committed partners.
“In the long term, these things will pay off,” he said. “This didn’t happen by accident. It’s part of a vision that we’ve had as a company for 32 years.”
Other speakers included Frederick Mayor Tracie Crites, Weld County Commissioner Kevin Ross and Upstate Colorado President and CEO Rich Werner.
Source: https://rvbusiness.com/aqua-hot-unveils-new-colorado-facility-nearly-tripling-space/
