Heatrae Sadia has been around since 1920, and it has come a long way in the time. Paul Braithwaite talks to the company's head of marketing, Jon Cockburn, about all things electric
Heatrae Sadia Heating is the Baxi Group's electrical and water-heating division - and then some.
Its market sectors consist of:
· Commercial water heating, such as boiling water, general and commercial unvented
· Central heating
· Domestic unvented
· Electric showers

The company was founded in Norwich in 1920 making electric fires and was called, appropriately enough, Electric Fires.

It is still in Norwich, having moved sites only once but the rest of the history is chequered.
It was renamed Heatrae in 1934 but the Sadia part was acquired relatively recently in 1974.
The firm was bought by the Valor Group, then Williams Holdings, then there was a management buyout and the name changed to Newmond.

In 2000, Newmond and Baxi merged. Along the way, there were several acquisitions, IMI Water Heating, Megaflo and Electroheat, which virtually brings us up to date.

Today, it has a turnover of around £80M, and 350 employees. Currently there are two brands. Heatrae Sadia is, says Jon Cockburn, head of marketing, positioned as UK market leader, with the widest and most up-to-day range. 'Heatrae Sadia products are stocked by major national merchants and wholesalers.'

The company also has Santon, the UK's number two brand. Cockburn says this is a comprehensive, modern range providing excellent value for its customers.

It is sold through both national and regional / independent merchants and wholesalers.
However, the salesforce also works very closely with developers and specifiers to ensure the product range is widely specified.

Interestingly, in the domestic cylinder sector, the contractors and installers also play a key role in product specification as they often have the final say on which product is used.
And more and more electricians are having their say as housing associations, local authorities and private developers opt for electric heating in new builds and refurbishments.
There is a steady move to electric unvented systems, according to Cockburn. For instance, in 2003, 27.2% were electric. And this has increased to 32.1% in 2006. Further, he expects this to rise again in 2007.

'Obviously there is still a massive market for gas boilers but potential difficulties with fluing and fire service issues mean electric is becoming the preferred choice for new-build flats and apartments.'

Further, as new legislation ratchets down and houses become more energy efficient and better insulated, less space heating will be required, resulting in greater emphasis being placed on low-carbon means of producing hot water.

Looking to a sustainable future, 'electricity is the only sustainable energy, given that there are alternative ways of generating it, such as solar or heat pumps'.
When natural gas came in, it was all change to gas. But now our gas is running out and some imported sources are unstable, then electricity is again in the frame.

So the Baxi Group is covered from both energy sources. But it does not stop there. Cockburn says in new build, the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3, on which the next generation of building regulations are expected to be based, means that by 2010 private-housing new build will almost certainly have to incorporate renewable technologies.
In fact, new-build social housing is already having to meet this standard, which is why so many social houses are now being built as heat pump or solar ready (even if LAs do not put the panels on) with specially designed hot-water cylinders.

'We are already seeing this happening in social housing with a big swing to solar.'
The company has launched a range of solar thermal products for commercial and domestic premises. Heatrae Sadia and Santon have introduced three solar cylinder models: Megatech Solar, the Megalife Solar (both from Heatrae Sadia) and the PremierPlus Solar (from Santon).
The purpose-designed solar cylinders - supplied with Duplex 2304 (Grade 1.4362) stainless steel - are mains pressure (unvented) hot water with an expansion tank.

'There is no floating baffle (as on standard Megaflo HE unvented cylinder). This is because on a low solar gain day, we have already lost one third of the cylinder at the bottom (the solar coil is at the bottom of the cylinder) and it would be too tall so all come with a separate expansion vessel.'

And all the cylinders can be used with other solar systems. They come in 190, 210, 250 and 300 litre capacities and offer a choice of direct or indirect auxiliary heat input.
The company offers an in-house design facility to companies, which, says Cockburn, 'will add the water heating part' to an architectural drawing.

The solar coil is bigger than that of a standard electric coil so that it can take advantage of potentially low-grade heat input from solar collector panels.

'Often we are asked for the recovery rates but this is entirely dependent on the solar gain. The key thing is to ensure the coil used for solar heating is specifically designed to maximise the benefit from low-grade heat, rather then just using a second traditional coil, which will inevitably be smaller and therefore less efficient,' insists Cockburn.

Another interesting offer from Heatrae Sadia is the Amptec electric boiler for wet central heating systems. It can be used with either standard radiators or an underfloor system. There is no fluing required.
'It is commonly used in non-gas areas, high-rise buildings, listed buildings and rented accommodation and in process industries in the commercial sector.'

The Amptec may also be combined with an unvented hot-water store as in the Electromax, which offers the 9kW electric boiler alongside a 180-litre cylinder (with immersion heater element), pre-plumed for faster installation and all in a neat white-goods package with much of the plumbing work already done.

'With houses becoming more energy efficient, the Electromax has benefited. The overall cost of central heating is reduced and so electric is more affordable,' Cockburn says, although he admits it is still not cheaper than gas.

Perhaps the product with which most identify from Heatrae Sadia is the boiling-water heater on the canteen or office kitchen wall. Anywhere boiling water is needed, there is a Heatrae Sadia Supreme on the wall above the sink.

And now for something special. The company has introduced the Supreme SS for the upmarket office kitchen. It is a boiling-water heater with capacities ranging from 2.5 litres to 40 litres.
Its stainless-steel casing is fingerprint resistant. It has a die-cast satin chrome tap lever/handle, and an improved Intelliboil Plus offers more cups per hour.

Perhaps the product which I never associated with Heatrae Sadia is chilled water. But, having thought about it, why not? The target market is any Supreme user and is, says Cockburn, an ever-increasing requirement. It can be used in places such as educational establishments, ambulance and police stations and offices, factories, health clubs and gymnasiums.

One or two of the electric units it sells are almost generic, and do their job so well that people don't even notice them. Handwashing units can be fitted over (or under) a sink (only a cold-water inlet needed and an electric supply) in offices, small industrial units or food outlets, and forgotten.
One more new product is the Multipoint 75 & 100. Again it is pre-plumbed for faster installation and is an ideal replacement upgrade for FBM.

And when it comes to service, there is a dedicated Heateam with more than 200 engineers. When a spare part is needed, the engineer phones in the order to the call centre. It is picked and packed for a specialist distribution company which takes the part and, using a spare key, drops it into the van during the night so it is ready for the engineer in the morning.

Virtually every spare can be delivered to the engineer overnight in this way, says Cockburn. The engineer will then be able to call the customer and fix a time for the part to be delivered and installed. Plus, if the installer requires it, there is a technical helpline.

So, new products and old favourites abound. And there are guarantees and a service support team which is second to none.
Obviously, Heatrae Sadia is a company with a great past - and a long future.