Harvia Acquires Italian Timer Switch Maker Phoenix El-Mec to Secure Supply Chain
In September 2023, Harvia bolted on Phoenix El-Mec srl, its long-time supplier of electromechanical timer switches in Belluno, Italy. The deal is small but strategic: it locks in a single-source critical heater component and adds Italy to Harvia's European production network.
The analog timer knob on a Harvia sauna heater, marked 0 through 8 in half-hour increments. This is the electromechanical timer switch Phoenix El-Mec manufactures in Belluno, Italy. Harvia acquired the supplier in September 2023 to vertically integrate the component. Image: Harvia Media Bank.
Harvia Plc signed and closed an agreement in September 2023 to acquire 100% of Phoenix El-Mec srl, an electromechanical timer switch manufacturer based in Belluno, in the Italian Alps north of Venice. Deal terms were not disclosed. The acquisition, described by management as a tactical rather than strategic M&A, addressed one of Harvia's persistent supply chain risks: a single-source dependency on a small Italian manufacturer for a critical heater component. (See all Harvia M&A activity in our Harvia News hub.)
What Phoenix El-Mec Makes
Phoenix El-Mec produces electromechanical timer switches that are a key component in Harvia's basic (entry-level) sauna heater lines. The timer switch is the analog knob-plus-timer that sets heater run time on older model sauna heaters (as distinct from digital control units like the Harvia Xenio or Harvia Fenix). The company also supplies timers to other industries including ovens, drying cabinets, and boiler manufacturers.
Phoenix had been Harvia's timer switch supplier since its establishment in 2013, a ten-year commercial relationship. The acquisition, in effect, formalized that relationship into vertical integration.
Why It Matters: Supply Chain Control
Harvia described the acquisition at its Capital Markets Day 2024 as an example of a tactical M&A transaction, as opposed to the strategic M&A transactions like ThermaSol, EOS, and Almost Heaven. The framework matters for investors parsing Harvia's M&A strategy: strategic acquisitions expand the product portfolio or geographic reach; tactical acquisitions secure or de-risk the existing supply chain. Both are part of the toolkit but should be sized and valued differently.
The specific driver was a supply chain problem that emerged during the 2020 to 2023 period. Harvia's heater production volumes grew rapidly from 2020 (EUR 109 million revenue) to peak 2021 (EUR 179 million), putting supplier pressure on small single-source component vendors. Phoenix El-Mec's capacity and technical reliability became a gating factor for Harvia's basic heater line availability. Acquiring the supplier solved the problem permanently and also gave Harvia access to the supplier's other customer relationships (ovens, boilers, drying cabinets), which can generate incremental non-sauna revenue at low marginal cost.
Integration and Adds to European Footprint
Phoenix El-Mec continues to operate from Belluno, adding Italy to Harvia's production footprint alongside Finland (Muurame, Sastamala), Romania (Gheorgheni), and Germany (Driedorf, via EOS). The company is a small fraction of Harvia Group revenue and headcount but is critical path for a product category that still represents meaningful volume across Harvia's entry-tier electric heater lines globally.
Phoenix El-Mec will never move the needle on Harvia's top line. But it illustrates how Harvia thinks about the M&A toolbox. Big strategic acquisitions (EOS, ThermaSol) get the headlines. Small tactical deals (Phoenix, eventually others) quietly de-risk the operating model and compound over years into an unassailable supply chain. For any sauna manufacturer still running on single-source EU component vendors, Phoenix is a reminder of what a well-capitalized consolidator does when it notices a pinch point: it buys the supplier.
Arlene Scott
Senior Wellness Correspondent & Hospitality Consultant
Arlene Scott brings over fifteen years of reporting and consulting experience across energy infrastructure, sustainable design, and thermotherapy-focused hospitality.
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Arlene Scott is a Senior Wellness Correspondent for SaunaNews.com, bringing over fifteen years of experience at the intersection of energy infrastructure, sustainable design, and thermotherapy. Her work focuses on the physiological benefits of passive heat therapies and the sustainable integration of sauna culture into modern wellness routines.
Arlene's background is rooted in the clean energy transition. She was a founding writer at MicrogridMedia.com, where she covered the technical and economic viability of desalination projects, microgrid deployments, and distributed renewable energy systems. During the mid-2010s, she was a regular contributor to Greentech Media (GTM) during its independent era — prior to the Wood Mackenzie acquisition in 2016 — reporting on the early integration of thermal energy storage and sustainable infrastructure.
Transitioning her focus from macro-energy systems to human-scale wellness, Arlene now applies her technical background to the hospitality sector. She operates as an independent consultant, advising boutique hotels and eco-resorts on the design, energy efficiency, and historical authenticity of commercial sauna and thermal spa installations. Her consulting work ensures that high-end wellness facilities balance traditional Nordic bathing principles with modern sustainable engineering.
Arlene holds a specialized certification in Applied Thermic Wellness from the Nordic Institute of Passive Heat Studies (NIPHS) and is a recognized associate member of the International Sauna Association (ISA). When she isn't reviewing the latest innovations in infrared technology or consulting on a new resort project, Arlene can be found tending to her own traditional wood-fired sauna in the Pacific Northwest. You can read her complete archive of essays on energy, wellness, and sustainable living at www.arlenescott.com.
