Mr Ditchfield has been at Potterton for 13 years, and was most recently divisional sales manager for the northern specification team, a role in which he also managed relationships with procurement consortia.

Previously, he worked for a national builders’ merchant and a large air source heat pump manufacturer, offering additional knowledge of renewables and an understanding of the entire supply chain.

Mr Ditchfield explained that his skills lie in fostering long-term relationships and taking the consultative approach that is needed for the specification process. He said: “The whole supply chain process, from tendering to having a boiler on the wall, interests me.

“I am taking on this role at a very exciting yet demanding time in the public sector housing market. There are opportunities and challenges on the horizon, with policy changes, such as Boiler Plus, the Warm Homes Fund and hard to treat homes in off-gas fuel poor regions. However, I have a great team, and having launched the Potterton Assure range of boilers last year, we are well placed to meet the opportunities head on.”

Mr Ditchfield’s new role is the result of Bill Jones’ move into a newly created position as business development director. Mr Jones will be using his extensive experience to take advantage of the Government's intention to invest in Affordable Homes and Help to Buy schemes.

Mr Ditchfield concluded: “I believe that, despite the challenging marketplace, we are in a great shape. We have a fantastic portfolio of heating products, with LPG and electric heating in addition to natural gas, a team who understand the needs of specification clients, and we have a support team – including Baxi Customer Support, NewDesign, training, Baxi Genuine Parts, as well as our sister companies – enabling us to offer the complete package.”