A.O. Smith Corp. AOS

A. O. Smith Corporation, incorporated on July 9, 1986, operates through two segments: North America and Rest of World. The Company's Rest of World segment primarily consists of China, Europe and India. Both segments manufacture and market comprehensive lines of residential and commercial gas, gas tankless and electric water heaters, as well as water treatment products. Both segments primarily manufacture and market in their respective regions of the world. Its North America segment also manufactures and globally markets specialty commercial water heating equipment, condensing and non-condensing boilers and water systems tanks. The Company also manufactures and markets in-home air purification products in China.

North America

The Company serves residential and commercial end markets in North America with a range of products, which include water heaters, boilers and other. The Company's residential and commercial water heaters come in sizes ranging from 2.5 gallon (point-of-use) models to 12,000 gallon products with varying ranges. The Company offers electric, natural gas, gas tankless and liquid propane models, as well as solar tank units. The applications for the Company's water heaters include residences, restaurants, hotels and motels, office buildings, laundries, car washes and small businesses. The Company's residential and commercial boilers range in size from 40,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs) to 6 million BTUs.

The Company's commercial boilers are used in space heating applications for hospitals, schools, hotels and other large commercial buildings. The Company also assembles and markets water treatment products, for the United States. The Company also manufactures expansion tanks, commercial solar water heating systems, swimming pool and spa heaters, related products and parts. Its wholesale distribution channel includes more than 1,200 independent wholesale plumbing distributors serving residential and commercial end markets. The Company sells its residential water heaters through the retail and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) channels. The Company's commercial boiler distribution channel consists of manufacturer representative firms. The Company's water treatment products are sold directly to consumers through e-commerce. It offers residential and commercial boilers in the United States under the brand, Lochinvar. It also offers residential heat pump, condensing tank-type and tankless water heaters in North America, as well as other water heating solutions.

The Company competes with Rheem, Bradford White, Rinnai, Aerco, Navien, Brita, Culligan and Ecowater.

Rest of World

The Company's Rest of World segment supplies water heaters to the residential market in China with a product offering, including electric, gas, gas tankless, heat pump and solar units, as well as combi boilers. Primarily for Asia, the Company manufactures and markets water treatment products and air purification products. As of December 31, 2016, the Company sold water heaters in more than 9,000 retail outlets in China. As of December 31, 2016, its water treatment products and air purification products were sold in over 6,500 and 2,500 retail outlets in China, respectively. In addition, it sells water heaters in the European and Middle Eastern markets, and water treatment products in Turkey and Vietnam.

The Company competes with Haier Appliances, Midea, Rinnai, Noritz, Phillips, Panasonic, Sharp, Bajaj, MTS-Racold, Eureka Forbes, Kent and Hindustan Unilever.