The Baxi name has been around for over 150 years – back when Queen Victoria was on the throne!
The brand’s duration in the industry is largely due to its reliable products and trustworthy service throughout the years.
Formed in Preston by Richard Baxendale, this company’s beginnings were slightly different to what they are today. Baxendale was an iron moulder and his company manufactured railway wagons, up to 30,000 of them! After the depression, Baxendale moved onto manufacturing cast iron ranges and this was the next logical step into the world of home heating which the company and brand would ultimately be known for.
1935 saw the introduction of the ‘Patent Fire’, an underfloor draught system that was used with solid fuel heating. Inspired by watching a maid cleaning the ashes out of a fire, John Baxendale developed this system, in which air from under the floor kept the fire burning and was controlled with a lever. This meant the fuel was burned more efficiently, leaving the fire easier to clean and maintain.
The company continued to go forth with their mission to heat the homes of Britain and in 1966, the Baxi Bermuda was introduced to the market: a gas fire with a back boiler that could fit into most hearths but had the same heating power as several radiators. This product was so popular that Baxi had to increase their workforce from 55 to 700 by the 1970’s! By the 1980’s Baxi were specialising in the boilers and space heaters that we know them for today.
After over a hundred heats as a family business, Baxi is now Employee Owned. Phillip Baxendale sold the business to his employees – creating increased wealth and among his workforce, and a loyalty that the firm is known for. At that point it was the largest business partnership in the country. Now the company employs over 1600 people, and still operates a factory in Preston where it all began 150 years ago. Now Baxi is part of the BDR Thermea Group – a company that specialises in the distribution of smart thermal solutions.
Baxi continues to manufacture and install a range of combi, heat-only, and system boilers – along with LPG and natural gas boilers. They have been nominated and won many awards for their products – the most recent award being the Innovation category at the Gas Industry Awards for their hydrogen boiler, developed as part of Baxi’s commitment to be a greener manufacturing business. Baxi’s Sustainability Pledge will ensure that every one of its products will work with low carbon energy by 2025.
Karen Boswell, managing director of Baxi Heating, said:
“As a leading player in the British heating and hot water industry, we are determined to play our part in achieving the goal of being a net-zero economy. We are developing technologies that will help customers to heat their homes and businesses without warming the planet and hydrogen should play an important role as it produces no greenhouse gases at the point of use.”
On top of being good to the environment, Baxi has won many awards for their customer service, and on top of all of that, they offer a wide range of long guarantees from three years all the way up to ten!