Ciatesa 🇪🇸

Ciatesa is proof that in 1980s Spain, when multinationals were buying out historic manufacturers, it was still possible to found an air‑conditioning factory from scratch… and in the Cordovan countryside. The Compañía Industrial de Aplicaciones Térmicas, S.A. was born in Montilla in 1986, created by a group of engineers with experience in HVAC and alternative energies. Its first chillers, rooftops and air‑treatment units came out of a plant surrounded by Pedro Ximénez vineyards, and within a few years the brand was a familiar name in engineering projects across the country, with the Junta de Andalucía supporting its innovation investments.

In January 2007 the company announced its merger with CIAT, the French multinational from Culoz (Savoie) with more than 70 years of history and commercial presence in 60 countries, and guaranteed the continuation in Montilla and job stability. Ciatesa became CIAT and the Córdoba factory turned into one of the group's production centers for Southern Europe. In other words, the old “esa” suffix of “España” disappeared from the name without the factory disappearing.

At the end of 2014 United Technologies, Carrier's parent company, completed the purchase of the CIAT group, and with it, by a twist of history, the same multinational that fourteen years earlier had closed Interclisa in Guadalajara arrived in Montilla. The company changed its name to Carrier Montilla, S.A., as reflected in its collective agreements. In December 2023 Chinese Haier Smart Home announced the purchase of Carrier's commercial refrigeration business for about 590 million euros, and the Montilla press closely followed the impact on the plant, which has continued manufacturing HVAC, refrigeration, and air‑treatment equipment through all those ownership changes. For the enthusiast, a 1990s Ciatesa is a good example of late Spanish engineering: solid water chillers, without design, built to last on a hospital roof.

Pending verification

Names of the founding engineers and the current staff of the plant; whether Haier's operation directly affects Montilla.

History machine-translated from Spanish. Can you improve it? Write to us.