Samsung Electronics has acquired FläktGroup, a leading global HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) solutions provider, to aggressively expand its presence in the fast-growing HVAC market.
With the acquisition completed in November last year, FläktGroup’s new CEO David Dorney is set to guide the company through an exciting chapter. A seasoned industry executive, Dorney brings more than 20 years of global HVAC leadership experience with a focus on driving growth across key industrial sectors.
Samsung Newsroom sat down with Dorney to hear more about his vision for the future, the opportunities ahead and what the acquisition means for FläktGroup.
Q. Tell us about FläktGroup and its biggest strengths.
FläktGroup has deep roots with a story that goes back to 1909. We’ve pioneered ventilation systems for commercial and industrial buildings, clean rooms, marine applications and fire safety.
We are proud of our teams, their expertise in their chosen fields and the immense effort they put into their work every day. We want our FläktGroup employees to grow in the best way possible. We aim to ensure this happens by continually investing in training and developing our people. This will be coupled with the delivery of top-quality solutions from each of our 14 global manufacturing facilities, backed by our field-trained after-sales service engineers, so that our many loyal customers can enjoy continued satisfaction and peace of mind.
One area of deep expertise is in data center cooling — since introducing our first computer room air conditioning (CRAC) unit in 1964, we’ve been delivering solutions for more than 60 years. That experience means we understand every detail, from precision cooling to energy efficiency.
Q. How do you see the HVAC market today and in the future?
The HVAC market is strong and growing, driven by energy efficiency mandates, rising urbanization, adoption of smart technologies such as IoT and AI and increased focus on indoor air quality (IAQ), with projections showing significant expansion through 2030-2035. Key trends include demand for heat pumps, low-GWP refrigerants and smart connected systems.
Obviously, we are seeing rapid innovation in liquid cooling technologies, and globally, demand for energy-efficient HVAC systems is rising in regions like North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The outlook for our industry is positive and we’re ready to adapt and lead.
Q. What are some of FläktGroup’s recent successful projects?
Our recent important projects span both new-build and turnkey retrofit solutions across a range of essential industries. For instance, we’ve onboarded a number of new data center customers and have provided on-site support for AI and cloud services globally. We have also delivered a turnkey solution in Sweden for a customer building a CO2-free steel production plant, and we completed several defence projects within our marine business, for various countries including India and the US.
This year, we achieved our first cross-selling success in the US, where we delivered FläktGroup Air solutions together with Samsung modular chillers1 for controlling the environmental conditions in an aerospace application.
Q. Where do you see synergies between Samsung and FläktGroup?
We are looking at cross-selling opportunities, supply chain integration and joining forces when it comes to R&D, to accelerate the time to market with our key new product introduction (NPI) roadmap.
By combining FläktGroup’s HVAC expertise with Samsung’s technology leadership, we can create smarter, more connected solutions. For example, integrating our HVAC systems with Samsung’s SmartThings Pro and b.IoT platforms will open doors to advanced energy management and smart building solutions. Samsung also brings strong AI capabilities, which we can use to optimize performance and efficiency.
Q. Which regions or industries will you focus on next?
Our priority is to build on our new partnership with Samsung and continue the collaboration between our teams that started in 2025. We’re focusing on coolant distribution unit (CDU) technology and expanding our FläktEdge smart control systems, while investing in R&D to speed up delivery and support partner projects.
The planned plant in Korea will be a template for all future FläktGroup factories, and it is essential to the expansion of our presence in the wider region. We’re also investing in new production facilities and field services in India and the US, where we see significant growth opportunities in data centers and indoor climate solutions.
Q. What is your vision as CEO, and what are your key goals?
Our vision is clear: we want to move forward with Samsung in 2026 and beyond, becoming a global leader in HVAC. That means working closely with our customers and partners alike, addressing their key challenges such as reducing their carbon footprint. It’s a big mission, especially with climate change and its impact on wellbeing.
Our goals focus on innovation, quality and sustainability. We’ll keep developing energy-efficient solutions and smart technologies that make buildings healthier and safer. FläktGroup has already been doing this for more than 100 years, leveraging our broad product portfolio and also investing in new solutions, and now we are taking it to the next level.
Q. Looking ten years ahead, where do you see FläktGroup?
I see FläktGroup, together with Samsung, as a global leader in HVAC and a trusted name everywhere. We’ll be known for sustainability, smart technology and energy efficiency.
Some examples of our current focus areas are expanding environmental product declaration (EPD)2 coverage to 95% of products by 2026, launching FläktEdge specifically for key mission-critical vertical markets and embedding circular economy principles into design and packaging.
Through these efforts, we hope that FläktGroup will establish itself as a company that contributes to creating a more sustainable global society.