ISH – Frankfurt Welcomes The World

March 19, 2025 | By Doug Picklyk

The ISH show reveals where the plumbing and heating industry is headed, and some Canadians in attendance wish the technology could come to Canada sooner.

Frankfurt, Germany – Every few years Frankfurt, Germany welcomes plumbing, heating and mechanical professionals from across Europe and around world to ISH, the largest global trade show serving the heating, ventilation, plumbing and water industries.

ISH runs for five days (March 17-21) at the Frankfurt Fairgrounds (Messe Frankfurt), occupying 12 buildings with over 2,000 exhibitors from 55 countries.

The expansive fairgrounds require multiple days to navigate, with many interior bridge walkways connecting buildings or shuttle buses on the ground to ferry visitors from hall to hall.

The theme for this year’s ISH is “Solutions for a Sustainable Future,” and HPAC magazine was fortunate to be on site for this year’s event to take in the major technology advances and trends first hand.

European countries are well on the road to lowering carbon emissions in homes and buildings, and with a lot of hydronic heating across the continent, the halls dedicated to heating equipment featured many versions of new air-to-water heat pumps with the latest models incorporating R290 (propane) as the refrigerant.

As North America slowly begins to embrace the mildly flammable A2L refrigerants in heat pump technology (R32/R454a), Europe is moving ahead quickly with the next phase in the refrigerant transition.

Many traditional boiler manufacturers were also highlighting hydrogen-ready boilers as well, preparing for a possible future with clean-burning hydrogen either mixed into existing natural gas supplies or completely replacing today’s gas supply.

Some entire halls were dedicated to bathroom fixtures and design with beautifully crafted and stylish faucets and shower systems.

Water treatment systems also made up a large part of another hall with water softening and purifying systems attracting large crowds.

One exhibitor in this area, BWT, was drawing a lot of attention to the Formula One car from its BWT Alpine F1 Team.

Canadians On Site

A Canadian contingent of 22 visitors, hosted by Taco Canada, took in the first two days of ISH.

A group of 22 Canadians, hosted by Taco Canada, toured ISH for the first two days of the five-day show.

The group, made up of contractors and engineers along with equipment suppliers, distributors and industry association leaders, were very impressed with the scale of the event.

“It’s a lot to take in,” said Derek Ermen of Ermen Plumbing and Heating in Moncton, New Brunswick. “Over the two days I’ve been here I’ve probably only seen about 10% to 15% of the show.”

Dave Donaldson

Dave Donaldson of family-owned Donaldson Plumbing and Heating of Kingston, Ontario agreed, “You need at least three or four days to experience this entire show,” suggests Donaldson, who was struck by the design and finish of the equipment on the show floor. “All the products are very aesthetically pleasing here,” he said.

He was also very impressed with the companies showing complete green energy whole-home solutions — tying in solar and energy storage with a boiler, heat pump and even EV plug-ins.

“That’s a trend I see here—one supplier packaging everything together for your house. I hope that’s a trend we see in Canada, and soon,” said Donaldson.

“There were so many things here that have a ‘wow’ factor because we don’t see them in North America,” said Mark Miller of Breakaway Plumbing and Heating in Kelowna, B.C.

Miller was impressed with the variety of pre-assembled hydronic panels for many different specific applications, and he was also interested in a unique mat with velcro designed for easily laying down pex piping over an existing concrete floor.

The Canadian group’s overall level of excitement with the new technology was also tempered with some frustration.

“Don’t come here expecting that you’re going to be getting these products in Canada any time soon,” says Donaldson. “Many of the manufacturers say they’re working on it, but it’s our approval program that makes it tough.”

Ermen agrees: “I find it interesting that there is so much technology out there, but with the certifications we have (for the small market that Canada is) it’s cumbersome for manufacturers to actually access our market.

“I truly believe that we should have some ‘free certification zones’ with like-minded countries. If we can bring doctors and nurses into Canada from Germany, why can’t we have a heat pump manufacturer come into our country?”

Come prepared for plenty of walking, there are 12 massive show halls, some with multiple levels.

Yet, every one in the group was thankful for the once-in-a-lifetime experience, and they were very appreciative of their host.

For Mike Miller, vice president of sales with Taco Canada, the tour was a combination of educating and community building.

“We take this opportunity to expose some of our Canadian market to a taste of European history and the technology at the show which is generally a few years ahead of what we have in North America,” says Miller.

The ISH experience is a bucket-list item for many veterans of the plumbing and heating industry, so for fellow Canadians who are interested in pursuing this trip in the future, a word of advice from Ermen: “Wear comfortable shoes, because coming here from Moncton, this show is like 40-times the size of our local regional trade show—it’s overwhelming.”

ISH returns to Frankfurt in 2027, running from March 15 to 19.

ish.com