50 Years and Still Growing at Glen Dimplex

Business is booming for innovative engineering firm, Glen Dimplex. Founded by Martin Naughton in 1973, the company has grown to become an international major in the design and manufacture of energy saving equipment used in various domestic and commercial appliances.

A key driver of the improvement was the heating and ventilation division which was buoyed by demand for new products as a result of energy efficiency policy within business and government across Europe.

Dr Elaine Lancaster is Chief Technical Officer for Glen Dimplex Heating and Ventilation and she explains that research and development into new products is helping the business to offer clients what others cannot – genuine, easily accessible solutions to climate change problems.

“Our mission is to lead into a sustainable world for all of our customers,” she says. “We do that across heating, ventilation and cooling, flame, precision cooling, and consumer appliances. Heating and ventilation is one of our biggest segments and we handle all electric solutions for a sustainable and decarbonised future world. We have a mixture of both electric heating, heat pumps and ventilation products. We are able to offer the right low carbon heating and cooling solutions depending on building architecture.”

A metallurgist and materials scientist of the University of Oxford, with experience across the steel industry and multiple executive positions in the heating industry, Lancaster is confident with the Glen Dimplex strategy and tells Energy Focus that few others can offer a similar range of products and services.

“We have been making heat pumps for decades and where other companies in Europe are coming into heat pumps, we already have longevity. In our markets, we are well ahead in the manufacturer of a wide range of heat pumps, including propane which we started first in France in 2009,” she says.

“Our electric portfolio has a strong presence in the electric resistance heating market. Combining that with being able to offer full solutions for electric heating is where we are stronger than others in terms of the breadth of our portfolio. Our electric home, where we offer electric heating with heat pump hot water heating and ventilation heat recovery, is a standout area compared to our competition.”

REALLY STRONG PACKAGES

The genesis of the company came with now-Chairman Martin Naughton manufacturing oil-filled radiators. Today, Glen Dimplex owns a number of international brands across various sectors, but energy efficiency is at the heart of everything it does. Recent acquisitions of companies including Hyfra Process Cooling, Adax, the outstanding 30% share in the Muller Group, now Intuis Group, and a minority stake in Wener Finlay are helping Glen Dimplex to build a comprehensive powerhouse, capable of servicing clients across the globe.

Lancaster highlights supporting connected products as outstanding and an area of obvious growth for the business as consumers search for convenience, efficiency, and reliability.

“We are working strongly on IoT solutions and, compared to others, we have some really strong packages and solutions in energy management and demand side response,” explains Lancaster. “We are looking to expand further, particularly with our thermal battery heating technology. We are keen to make sure we get the full benefits of those storage products within flexible, grid-balancing models.

“We’re really looking to ensure that we continue to lead in electric heating products, and we have some exciting new product coming in the next 18-months, focused further on flexible heating.”

According to the European Environment Agency, heating and cooling still accounts for half of all energy usage in the EU. Decarbonisation in this sector is now taking the spotlight for both the private and public sector, with fresh legislation and innovation rife across the industry. For Glen Dimplex, the removal of fossil fuels and harmful gases is essential in decarbonising. The bans on use of ozone harming fluorinated gas in products has encouraged change across the industry and using electric technology, fuelled by renewable energy where possible, is essential in future rollout.

“We are working with partners to improve the opportunities for home energy management with our heating products within larger IoT eco-systems,” confirms Lancaster. “We are getting ready for the F-gas bans, transitioning to make sure our customers are ready for that regulation when it comes in. We are looking to bring online a demand-side management response system with our utility partner – British Gas – this year.” Glen Dimplex’s Quantum heat batteries will be available to customers to access favourable time tariffs following the virtual power plant system two-year trial that sought to understand how this type of heat energy storage product can help to minimise fuel bills, drive efficiency, and balance grids. That project followed on from a partnership with EDF and Kaluza in 2020 where Glen Dimplex provided digitally-connected heat batteries, supported by an intelligent energy software, to test cost reduction strategies and demonstrate technical capability.

Key customers – wholesalers, installers, OEMs and more – are excited about the pioneering spirit at Glen Dimplex and are already setting up trials and tests for various new digital solutions alongside physical products.

Lancaster, who has been working with solar thermal technology and heat pumps since 2003, explains that everything the company does falls under its wider ambition of driving positive environmental change across the industry.

“I am strongly passionate about the climate change challenge and I want to make sure we can deliver the right products. We are here as a company to deliver a full breadth of net zero, low carbon electrical heating and cooling and ventilation products, for a sustainable world, to meet the challenges of net zero.”

VALUABLE SUPPLY CHAIN

With , the Glen Dimplex umbrella is vast. Key territorial markets for the heating and ventilation business are the UK, DACH markets, and the Nordics. Group activities are also prevalent in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and the name is also established in Australia, New Zealand, and America. “In precision cooling, we have interests in China, America, and Europe. We have a dedicated sales organisation for Ireland and Northern Ireland, and our division Intuis Group in the French and export market,” adds Lancaster. “We are truly global, and we are well connected in all key markets. We work very closely together on all innovations around heating and ventilation and cooling.”

But externally, the company relies on a large supply chain to progress at pace. Lancaster describes the immense spread of knowledge required across the supply chain, from niche products through to digital solutions, and she is clear that value creation is key as all partners are heavily vetted for quality purposes. Currently, a push to bring suppliers closer together, creating unique expertise bases, and driving efficiency is underway.

“We are bringing our R&D, technology, engineering and purchasing teams closer and we are busy developing five and 10 year strategies right now,” says Lancaster.

“We are doing a lot of investment in working a lot closer with our suppliers, building strong relationships and exploring ways to add value together. We want to improve our supplier collaborations, so we are not only thinking about current supply but also about strategic development, bringing our suppliers closer to the ideation in our roadmap so that they can be a part of the innovation that we can deliver. We want them involved with our challenges and our customer’s challenges.

“Develop further in areas like data monitoring, is where we can create real benefit for our customers, and using feedback to help inform product development and service delivery are essential,” she adds.

Glen Dimplex is set to take a deliberate approach to supply chain management to protect the local regions where it is strong, while benefitting from globalisation that has provided flexibility.

“We need resilience and we are doing a lot of work to sure up supply areas, like electronics. From a sustainability point of view, we have F-Gas and per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substance regulations to consider, around the refrigerant and chemicals contained in some of the products. Pivoting heat pumps to low global warming potential refrigerants in the proposed timeframe is a challenge for us and our suppliers and so close collaboration is key.” 

INNOVATIVE & AGILE

The fast-paced market, and the ever-changing demand from consumers, is an exciting and energetic space for business. Glen Dimplex has always looked to retain an entrepreneurial reputation, taking responsible chances to achieve goals.

“The group comes from many smaller, more autonomous companies, and we don’t want to lose that agility,” says Lancaster. “We want to be agile and empower with fast decision making, but at the same time we want leverage for innovation, investment, and collaboration where it is necessary.

“We, like any company, have challenges around keeping up with regulation – it’s a fast moving, dynamic geopolitical environment and we know it’s hard to give certainty, but we know the direction of travel and we will continue making products better and better to give markets what they need.”

When she joined the company in April 2022, the innovative nature of the business was a key draw. Impressed with the ambition on show, and excited to put her knowledge to use, especially in the heat pump market, the fit for Dr Lancaster has been perfect.

On the back of great financial performance and with an unwavering commitment to sustainability, Glen Dimplex is on track to achieve its mission. “We have a great opportunity,” she concludes.

A constant desire to find a better way sees the company, after 50 years, stronger and better balanced than ever before.