BRIAN Price, managing director of Broag UK, knows the reputation of his company's products is second to none in the commercial and industrial sectors.

The challenge for Brian and Mike Freeman, national specifications manager domestic, is to transfer this reputation for quality and service into the domestic sector where the company is powering ahead.

Mike says last year Broag's sales of domestic condensing boilers rose several hundred per cent, representing 15% of the growth of the company. However, he adds this is relative. Market share in the domestic sector is less than 1%. Still, that's not bad when you consider the company only entered the domestic boiler market with its Avanta Range one year ago and that domestic condensing boiler sales have been depressed since government legislation forced the change from standard efficiency in April 2005.

Mike adds there are 1.5million domestic boiler replacements each year so there is everything to play for.

The Avanta Range of domestic condensing boilers is sized from 6kW to 39kW.

'It is the smallest, lightest combi range in the UK, says Tony Hogg, general manager. The boilers weigh from 20kg - 32kg so the smaller ones can be lifted by one man for installation.

But 1% is a very long way from the 30%-plus share the company has in the commercial and industrial sector.

Nevertheless, Brian is optimistic that eventually his brand will be up there with the big preferred suppliers.

For the moment, Mike and his team are beavering away, visiting the specifiers and making sure of controlled steady growth and, 'looking for a 10% market share within five years'.

The specification route is obviously paying off as Mike reports several large contracts with builders and local authorities.

Further, as these specifiers see the company has delivered what it said it would, then more work comes to Broag, in the form of repeat orders - and referrals.

'There has been a successful knock-on effect.'

Part of the strategy is to have in place a service team ahead of the need.

Broag has a partner, a national service organisation, to give it the response and back-up in the domestic arena which it has had
in the commercial and industrial
sector.

Again, says Mike, it is all about reputation and service has always been paramount.

'As well as the 80 service engineers in the commercial sector, another 120 engineers will be available to Broag for the domestic business.
Quality is maintained because these engineers are trained by Broag and there is a monitoring system which is overseen by Broag's own senior technicians who are available seven days a week for technical help plus, as further back-up, there is a technical department.

In 2006, the split between the sales of commercial and domestic boilers was 85%:15%. This year, the split will be 70%:30%.

And within 10 years Brian reckons the domestic business could be as much as 75% against 25% commercial.

That's because the core commercial business at the moment is operating in a mature market. And it is up against some of the best-known brands in the business.

Hence, the need to bring the Broag reputation for quality and reliability over to the domestic sector. Mike admits that it will not be easy.

Nevertheless, all the building bricks are in place for Broag, and with energy efficiency as the watchword, the company is driving forward to a profitable future.


Bolts, burners and boilers....

BROAG started life in 1946 as the Bright Steel Bolts Company.

Later, it started to import burners for boilers and later the boilers themselves.

It was bought by Dutch group Remeha in 1984.

It is now part of the De Dietrich Remeha Group which is one of the five largest boiler manufacturers in Europe.

Broag is responsible for the sales of the company's products in the UK.
Brian Price, managing director, boasts the company was the first to launch a condensing boiler.

He adds that it was a Broag condensing boiler which was the first to be tested by the BRE and one was installed in Watson House which was the British Gas test house.

In fact, Broag has been involved in selling condensing boilers since 1984 when it began to import Remeha boilers from The Netherlands, Brian maintains, and his was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'selling an idea before its time'.

'Condensing boilers are dearer and, in those days, clients worried about payback times more than energy efficiency,' he says simply.

Further, until some had been installed there was little data to sell them on. He did have one success though, when the company sold its first commercial boiler to the London Borough of Merton - and it is still working today, adds Brian, with a smile.

It was the mid-'90s before condensing boilers took off.

Now, says Brian, even though there is no legislation about using condensing boilers in the commercial sector, around 60% of total sales in the UK are condensing.

'People are installing condensing boilers because they have to meet certain efficiency standards for buildings and condensing boilers help towards this.'

The commercial range offers sizes from 30kW right through to 140kW or, if that is not enough, then two or three boilers can be installed together.

Brian says Broag will also make cascade systems. In fact, it has been making them for years. But one reason they became fashionable is that manufacturers who could not offer a large boiler could offer a number of smaller ones working together and selling the concept on the fact that, with sophisticated controls, the boilers can be turned on and off in sequence when necessary and are therefore very energy efficient.

Brian insists his large commercial boiler will do the business, modulating down to a very low level when not needed.

Recently, however, there have been changes with developers wanting to sell every spare square metre of space in the building, hence the move to wall-hung boilers.

'The use of the wall-hung boiler has come about because architects have realised they can release the large space formerly taken up by the plant-room. Three or four wall-hung boilers can take the place of two floor-standing boilers,' says Tony Hogg, general manager.

Sustainable future:

DE DIETRICH Remeha Group is busy looking at a sustainable future.

A micro-CHP (Combined Heat and Power) unit will be on show at ISH this year and, Brian Price managing director Broag UK, insists the unit will be on sale in the UK next year.

Currently, the company has just started importing biomass boilers and is beginning the process of selling them in.

'At the moment the industry is casting around for ways of fulfilling a political need and wood pellet boilers are a way of doing this.'

Brian says the boilers will go on to new projects but there are lead times so the first ones to be sold will not go into buildings until later this year.

He adds that Broag expects to make its targets for the year on biomass.

'It is almost impossible to estimate how many will be sold this year. The interest is certainly there.'

Brian adds that local authorities are looking to biomass for schools and some district heating to put in alongside the existing boiler system.

The company is certainly not ignoring other alternatives such as solar or heat pumps, says Brian.

However, it remains to be seen which proves to be the lead technology in the future. His money is on CHP.

'The model we have available is a wall-hung domestic CHP boiler and, although it is too dear at the moment, consumers will be interested in the technology when it comes down in price.'

Again, Brian expects CHP to be driven by legislation and it will not become cheaper until several manufacturers are making it commercially.

Broag has joined a voluntary carbon offset scheme and is encouraging its clients to join as well.

'Broag is talking to national house builders and local authorities about carbon offsetting' says Mike Freeman, national specifications manager, domestic.

Brian sees it more as being a go-between.

'We know we are selling products which produce carbon dioxide,' says Brian. 'So we have taken the decision that we will offset the carbon emissions from our site and, hopefully, we will be able to encourage our customers to do the same.'

The company pays a fee per tonne and this money goes towards special projects such as replanting the trees lost to deforestation in Kibale National Park in western Uganda.

And, as far as Broag knows, it is the first company in the industry to do this.

'We like to think we are a company with a conscience.'