Samsung Electronics will build an HVAC product production line spanning 21,800 square meters — roughly the size of three soccer fields — at the Third Campus of its Gwangju facility in Buk-gu, South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city. The investment totals approximately 240 billion won. Aerial view of the Third Campus of Samsung Electronics' Gwangju facility. [Samsung Electronics]
Samsung Electronics will build an HVAC product production line spanning 21,800 square meters — roughly the size of three soccer fields — at the Third Campus of its Gwangju facility in Buk-gu, South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city. The investment totals approximately 240 billion won. Aerial view of the Third Campus of Samsung Electronics' Gwangju facility. [Samsung Electronics]

Samsung Electronics is committing more than 200 billion won ($142 million) to its Gwangju facility as it moves aggressively into the fast-growing heating, ventilation and air conditioning market. The company plans to build on synergies with Fläkt Group, which it acquired last year, and develop HVAC into a new growth engine for its Device eXperience division.

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that it will sign an investment agreement with Fläkt Group Korea and the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city at the Gwangju municipal office. The company will construct an HVAC product production line spanning 21,800 square meters — roughly the size of three soccer fields — at the Third Campus of its Gwangju facility in Buk-gu. The total investment stands at approximately 240 billion won.

The signing ceremony was attended by Min Hyeong-bae, mayor of the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city, Kim Cheol-gi, executive vice president and head of Samsung Electronics' DA division, and Lim Seong-taek, chief executive of Fläkt Group Korea and head of the DA division's HVAC business team.

As the AI market rapidly expands from training and inference toward agentic AI, the scale of AI data centers is growing in tandem. Managing the enormous heat generated by high-performance AI servers has emerged as a central operational challenge, driving sharp growth in the HVAC market. According to Global Market Insights, the global HVAC market is projected to grow from $524.9 billion in 2025 to $1.2 trillion by 2035.

Through this production line, Samsung Electronics aims to integrate Fläkt Group's technology and manufacturing capabilities into its domestic operations and accelerate the expansion of its global HVAC business. The HVAC segment is also expected to open new growth opportunities for the DX division, which has faced sluggish earnings recently. The strategy is to reduce reliance on the more earnings-volatile business-to-consumer segment while strengthening competitiveness in the business-to-business space. Samsung also anticipates production synergies with its factory in Pune, India, which produces about 6,500 HVAC units annually.

The new production line is set to begin manufacturing Fläkt Group's key HVAC products — including coolant distribution units, or CDUs — in early 2028. A CDU connects a building's chiller to the cold plates that directly cool servers. Fläkt Group holds strong technological competitiveness in liquid cooling, including CDU technology.

Key HVAC products from Fläkt Group. Clockwise from top left: AHU, FWU, CDU, CRAH. [Samsung Electronics]
Key HVAC products from Fläkt Group. Clockwise from top left: AHU, FWU, CDU, CRAH. [Samsung Electronics]

Beyond CDUs, the facility will produce fan wall units for air cooling in data centers, computer room air handlers and air handling units for large buildings — building out a domestic product portfolio that spans liquid cooling for AI data centers through conventional air-cooling systems.

Samsung Electronics also plans to offer differentiated HVAC solutions by combining Fläkt Group's central air conditioning technology with its B2B connectivity and integrated control platform SmartThings Pro and its building integration solution b.IoT. The goal is to improve energy management efficiency and strengthen competitiveness in the smart building segment by pairing central air conditioning systems with Samsung's connectivity platform.

The investment marks the largest at the Gwangju facility since it was established in 1989 — a span of 37 years. Samsung Electronics plans to elevate the site into a global production hub encompassing both AI home appliances and HVAC. Originally a home appliance manufacturing base, the Gwangju facility has expanded its role in recent years to become a key production center for AI home appliances. In 2010, it established a precision mold development center that now plays a pivotal role in transferring advanced manufacturing technology to overseas production subsidiaries.

Samsung Electronics plans to broaden its supply of HVAC solutions to a range of customers — including domestic and international AI data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities — with the goal of becoming a global leader in the HVAC market by 2030.

"Samsung Electronics will rapidly expand its HVAC business, a key future growth engine, and establish itself as a leading company in the global market," said Kim Cheol-gi, executive vice president and head of the DA division. "Building this Gwangju production line will serve as an important foundation for securing differentiated HVAC competitiveness."


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