The History of Baxi

The Baxi Group is one of the biggest manufacturers of boilers and space heating systems in Europe. It was founded by English Iron Moulder Richard Baxendale and Joseph Heald in 1866. Today the company currently employs more than 5,000 people with a turnover of £1.2 billion.

It was not until 1935 that the first product was commercially launched with the name Baxi. This particular product was a controllable under floor draught system for solid fuel heating. The company continued to grow steadily over the next 20 years and in 1955 with 20 employees Philip Baxendale, great grandson of Richard Baxendale took over the company as General Manager. It was at this time the company decided to focus primarily on domestic heating systems this change in direction was an instrumental strategic decision which later led to Baxi's success in the market.

By the 1960s with its feet firmly set in the domestic heating market Baxi developed and launched two significant products. The first was a central heating system fuelled by gas and the second was the Baxi Bermuda Back boiler in 1966, which became very popular for its space saving benefits. A modern variation of this boiler is still around today and recently won the IGEM/SBGI Gas Industry Innovation award.
In 1983 Baxi went through some major changes. Philip Baxendale sold the company to its staff making it the largest employee partnership in the country. After the sale of the company the 80's continued to be a time of great innovation when it released the Baxi Solo. This boiler was considered very innovative in 1989 because it was one of the first boilers that were small and light enough for one man to lift and install. This revolutionised the industry and became one the best selling boilers of its time.

The Baxi Group as it is known today really evolved due to a series of mergers and acquisitions starting with Ocean Idroclima and the Blue Circle Heating Division in 1999. This was followed by a merger with Newmond plc which formed Baxi Group in 2000. As a result of further acquisitions and expansion Baxi now operates in over 70 countries worldwide, such as China, Argentina and Russia to name just a few. Due to the many acquisitions made by the company over the last few years Baxi now holds under its umbrella a number of the most respected heating brands in the world. These include Potterton, Valor, Main and Santon.

The Baxi Group still has a strong foothold in the UK and currently operates in five sites; these include Derby, Warwick, Norwich, Erdington and Preston which is the city where the company was originally founded way back in 1866.

Nowadays the company still focuses on home gas boiler systems but also innovates in the areas of renewable energy such as solar thermal hot water systems, ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps, biomass and micro-combined heat and power, which are all key areas of growth in the heating market.