The President’s Pen | A note from Kevin Ruppelt, VP & GM, Eemax, Inc. Looking Back & Forward Eemax® has had tremendous growth over the past decade and 2017 was no exception. We finished another year with significant growth in an industry which typically grows at the US GDP rate of 2 to 3%.  This is due to an increased awareness of tankless electric products and the adoption of this technology. Since Rheem® acquired Eemax in late 2015, we have “doubled down” on investments in new products, infrastructure, and most importantly in our people. Making investments in people has allowed Eemax to grow and be one of the top performing businesses within Rheem. Looking forward, we will soon be launching our new HotMax™ product. This is the first, near-boiling water heating unit to provide endless hot water built on what we know best—tankless electric. Eemax was granted a patent for this specific technology and design. It is innovations like this that enable us to stay at the leading edge of our industry. Our new LavAdvantage™ product line was a big hit in 2017—and will be expanded in 2018—as we make the best handwashing product line even better. In 2018, you will see many new products introduced in the U.S. and around the world. While tankless electric is growing in popularity here in the States, it is already commonly found in Asia and in many Latin American countries as the primary technology to heat water. Today—with our global footprint of divisions—we are poised to capitalize on learnings and create new global platforms. Such capability creates economies of scale that enable us to compete throughout the world. Thank you to all of our customer and channel partners for your support in 2017, and let’s make 2018 the best year ever. Our brightest days are ahead of us!