Global water technology company A. O. Smith Corporation announced the appointment of Robert Aldrich as vice president of product engineering for the North America Water Heating (NAWH) division. Aldrich will oversee engineering strategy for both the commercial and residential portfolios. He succeeds Neil Rolph, who will retire in April after more than 20 years with the company.  

With more than two decades of engineering and product development leadership at A. O. Smith, Aldrich steps into the role at a critical moment for the water heating industry.  

“Robert’s experience across manufacturing, product engineering and portfolio management, combined with his deep knowledge of NAWH, positions him extremely well to lead our engineering organization,” said Steve O’Brien, senior vice president and president, NAWH. “He has successfully led both the commercial and residential engineering groups, giving him comprehensive insight into the demands of both segments.”  

In his new role, Aldrich will guide the execution of A. O. Smith’s product development strategy for NAWH, with an immediate focus on meeting the U.S. Department of Energy’s forthcoming commercial and residential regulatory changes aimed at increasing minimum energy efficiency levels across key product lines. He will also partner closely with the company’s global engineering leadership team to advance strategic innovation priorities.  

Aldrich joined A. O. Smith in 2001 as part of the company’s four-year manufacturing rotational program. He has since held progressive leadership roles in manufacturing and product engineering, including director of commercial product engineering, director of residential product engineering and  residential portfolio director for NAWH. During his tenure as director of residential product engineering, Aldrich led the development and launch of A. O. Smith’s residential heat pump water  heater line, technology that continues to drive energy-efficiency adoption across the U.S. market.  Most recently, as residential portfolio director, he led product strategy for the residential segment.