A. O. Smith Corp. and Takagi Industrial Co. of Fuji-city, Shizuoka, Japan, announced that they are establishing a joint venture to market and manufacture tankless water heaters in North America. A. O. Smith will take over the management of Takagi’s existing North American sales and distribution organization, maintaining Takagi’s North American headquarters in Irvine, CA. The companies expect the transaction to close in the third quarter.

“This venture is an important investment by A. O. Smith that will further expand our offering of high-efficiency water heating products,” said Ajita G. Rajendra, president of A. O. Smith Water Products Co. “It represents a rare opportunity to combine Takagi’s well-known brand and world-class tankless technology with the strong brands, customer relationships, and extensive distribution of A. O. Smith.”

Through the joint venture, A. O. Smith will offer a full line of tankless gas water heaters under its own brands in association with the Takagi brand, and will assume responsibility for the Takagi brand in the U.S. and Canada.   


Source: A. O. Smith