By Julie Curnow

Rheem to Close Solahart Plant in Welshpool WA

Solar hot water manufacturer Rheem has announced that it will be closing their Solahart solar hot water manufacturing plant in Welshpool, Western Australia at the end of 2015 with the loss of around 100 jobs. Manufacturing will be transferred to New South Wales and Victoria.

Rheem will maintain a sales and service team in Perth.

Rheem put the blame for the Solahart manufacturing closure on government:

“Rheem is reliant on a more stable regulatory environment. Over the last seven years, inconsistent and constantly changing state and federal government policies on product performance and efficiency, household incentive schemes, and changes to the Renewable Energy Target (RET), have all impacted business confidence in the sector and diminished the capacity for local innovation”.

To remain competitive despite the high Australian dollar, Rheem is planning on increasing investment in its Eastern states manufacturing facilities. This will only occur if the Renewable Energy Target (RET) remains unchanged:

“This decision is based on an assumption that regulatory settings for the water heater industry will remain stable for the foreseeable future,” says Sexton. “This also includes an assumption that the RET will survive the current expert review.”

This is the second major cut back by the Rheem solar hot water division. In May 2013, Rheem ceased to manufacture Rheem solar hot water systems and instead re-named Edwards solar hot water systems as Rheem hot water systems.

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