JAGA CLIMATE DESIGNERS DESIGN: HEATING AND COOLING GO HAND IN HAND
A winner of numerous international awards, the Belgian leader in reversible heating, based in Diepenbeek,
is well-known in over 50 countries. They now boast sales of 90 million euros and employ around 415 persons.
By Philippe Fiévet
The company’s track record is hard to beat: Innovative cooling and ventilation solutions are installed at Google and Facebook offices in the USA, Beijing airport, the World Trade Center Museum, the Louvre post office, the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice and many other emblematic locations around the world. Jan Kriekels,
Chairman of the Board and Director of Public Relations and Innovations at Jaga Climate Designers, explains: “For the year 2025-2026, we have several projects in the works: the Rolex headquarters on Fifth Avenue, Starbucks HQ, the new CIC Paris Mogador agency, not to mention 60,000 homes equipped every year in Europe and elsewhere!”
The man is legitimately proud of this success, which he shares with his father, the other Jan, or, if you prefer, Jan I,
who founded the company sixty-two years ago. “At the time, my father, a heating engineer, had set up his workshop in his garage. The only manufacturer at the time was Def, in Rocourt. But my father didn’t just build convectors: he added technology, guaranteed almost immediate delivery and came up with innovative solutions such as a 43-degree front panel, which avoided the risk of burns.”
In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, Jan I started manufacturing the first heat pumps made in Belgium. His son swears
that he recently met a past customer who told him that it was still working! It was around this time that “Jan the Second” joined his father to give him a hand, which soon proved to be a masterstroke when he began producing decorative radiators. The market expanded gradually, with 500,000 units sold in fifteen years, and two awards won in early 2025 for the new Jaga Briza Net Zero range (the Henry van de Velde Award 2025 in the “Environment” category, and the German Design Award in the “Excellent Product Design – Energy” category).
Jan Kriekels, the second to bear the name, had ample time to explore the world before bringing a fresh perspective to the company — despite his rocker persona. Anthropologist, philosopher, economist, and seasoned globetrotter all in one,
he made it a point of exploring the entire planet before returning home. And it wasn’t long before he went from being the rebel of the family to a respected member of the family, and even a bit of a genius, as it was he who gave Jaga its current scale.
“Design made its appearance in heating in the mid-1980s. I was one of the first to seize the opportunity, creating stone or wood radiators, and surrounding myself with hundreds of designers and artists who played the game with me.”
Along with a few of his colleagues, he also takes part in the various COP conferences on climate change, aboard a glowing truck to defend the climate cause. He’s even been spotted in the Nevada desert leading his team at the Burning Man festival. “I wanted to deliver a message about the future and the personal solutions I was bringing to this challenge!”
He points out that his system heats and cools the home without emitting the slightest pollution. No gas, just water in a closed circuit for a heat exchanger with a thirty-year warranty, made of non-corrosive materials and totally recyclable, since most of the components are made of copper and aluminum. “Jaga signed the European Green Deal, which aims for zero CO2 emissions by 2050″, recalls the man who, in the process, also wrote a book titled “Innovate or die” (Innover ou mourir, Lannoo, 2010), in which he explains his commitment to the climate.
Left: “Design appeared in heating systems in the
mid-1980s. I was one of the first to seize this opportunity.”
Right: his commitment to the climate knows no boundaries. He’s even been spotted in the Nevada desert leading his team at the Burning Man festival.
