Ecoforest celebrates 30 years of innovation in sustainable HVAC equipment

In 2025, Ecoforest celebrates three decades of commitment to innovation in the field of sustainable HVAC equipment. Founded in 1995 by José Carlos Alonso, the brand was born with the aim of manufacturing innovative equipment such as pellet stoves and boilers, as well as heat pumps, consolidating since then a leadership based on constant technological advances in biomass and renewable air conditioning. Today, Ecoforest is an international benchmark in 100% renewable HVAC solutions.

The creation of Ecoforest marked the beginning of a broader business vision: the consolidation of a group that integrates the biomass and heat pump divisions with Vapormatra, forming a solid structure within the sector. Over the last thirty years, the group has expanded its presence beyond national borders, diversified its product catalogue and led technological innovation in heat pumps, especially thanks to its commitment to the use of the natural refrigerant R290.

A forward-looking industrial group

In June, the family business celebrated 30 years of the Ecoforest brand with its entire team, looking back over the road travelled since 1995 and enthusiastically projecting the challenges and opportunities that the future holds.

The history of Ecoforest is closely linked to the career of its founder, José Carlos Alonso. In 1959, he founded Vapormatra, a Vigo-based company dedicated to plumbing supplies and HVAC equipment. From this base, Ecoforest was born in 1995, focused on the manufacture of pellet stoves and boilers. In 2012, the company strengthened its commitment to renewable energies by starting to produce heat pumps. Today, Ecoforest equipment is present in homes and industries in Europe, Australia, North America and South America.

José Carlos Alonso’s entrepreneurial beginnings date back to 1955, when he travelled in a Lambretta of just 75 CC to the Barcelona multi-sector fair, where he selected his first steam accessories for boilers and automated systems. This first trip marked the beginning of an intense technological exploration, which took him to international trade fairs in North America, Asia and Europe in search of innovative products for Vapormatra. At one of these fairs, he discovered pellet technology and, as a result, Vapormatra became the first European company to import pellet stoves from Canada, with great success in the Spanish and Italian markets.

Continuous innovation: from pellet stove to heat pump with R290.

In 1993, when he realised that air pellet stoves could not completely replace oil boilers with radiators, José Carlos Alonso promoted the development of the first pellet hydro stove. This pioneering device combines the warmth of visible fire with the possibility of heating a hydraulic circuit with radiators, for example.

In 2020, the company again set a milestone by becoming the first manufacturer in the world to launch a geothermal heat pump with natural refrigerant R290 suitable for indoor installation: the ecoGEO⁺ 1-6 PRO, reaffirming its leadership in sustainable HVAC equipment.

Ecoforest’s technological evolution has been driven by its strong internal R&D department, responsible for the development of disruptive solutions. In 2024, the company presented the new heat pumps ecoGEO⁺ LITE 1-6 PRO and ecoAIR⁺ 6-24 PROthat expand its catalogue of equipment based exclusively on R290 refrigerant. This product line consolidates Ecoforest’s commitment to the decarbonisation of air conditioning, both in the domestic and industrial sectors.

The heat pump division has experienced accelerated growth, recognised with Gazelle awards from the Vigo Free Trade Zone Consortium on three occasions (2017, 2019 and 2022).

The history of Ecoforest is inextricably linked to the entrepreneurial spirit of José Carlos Alonso, whose focus on continuous improvement, applied innovation and sustainability has marked every stage of the group’s development. As he himself states:

“For six years we were the only brand with hydrostoves on the market. We have always sought to make a product as perfect as possible and always innovate. That has been our philosophy from the beginning.”