Formed in 1962 in Worcester. Worcester, Bosch Group has had many transformations during its history, growing from a small engineering works to the market leader in boilers in the UK that it is today.
Worcester, trusted for over half a century.
Take a look at the timeline to see how our company has grown and developed.
1960s
Post-war Britain; a decade of great challenge, opportunity and innovation - the environment into which Worcester Engineering was born.
1962
- First business premises at the Old Vinegar Works in St. Martins Gate, Worcester.
- Worcester Engineering established as a leading supplier of oil-fired central heating equipment.
- Move to new premises - Diglis.
1970s
For Worcester Engineering, the 1970's was a time to take the business forward with lucrative new opportunities.
1970
1975
1977
- An agreement was signed with Sunwave to allow the Japanese company to manufacture our Firefly Dynaflame boilers and Heatslave units.
- The revolutionary combi boiler was introduced to the UK.
- The 15,000 sq.ft of floor space at the Diglis factory was extended by double, officially opened by Lord Walker.
- Oil was used for 95% of central heating boilers in the UK, but the tide began to turn in the direction of gas.
- Worcester bought Delglo Appliances (and the already well established Danesmoor brand of oil boilers) from Delta Metals in Clay Cross, Derbyshire
1980s
The 1980's was an eventful decade for Worcester- recovering from a fire which destroyed the Diglis factory and overcoming water bye-law objections to develop the cost-saving and space-saving combi boiler concept.
1980
1982
1982
1985
1987
- On the 8th July, the Diglis factory was destroyed by fire. 3 weeks later the company was manufacturing boilers again… 104 days later the factory had been rebuilt.
- Despite obstructions for the Water Authorities, Worcester continued to develop the combi concept, eventually winning the battle to relax water bye-laws.
- Worcester needed to increase equity capital and was floated on the London Stock Market. Share price went from £1.10 to £13.00 in 18 months.
- Worcester Engineering was renamed Worcester Heat Systems.
- The phenomenal growth of the company resulted in the purchase of an 11 acre site to allow operation from just one site.
- The acquisition of a training centre in Amersham.
1990s
The 1990's marked the opening of the advanced ne w production facilities and headquarters at Warndon on the outskirts of the city- the beginning of a whole new era.
1990
1992
1996
1997
1998
- 'Phase 1' of our new Worcester headquarters was opened.
- Acquisition of Radson – a leading manufacturer of condensing boilers with a good market share in both Belgium and the Netherlands.
- The company was operating fully from its new headquarters in Worcester.
- After two years of negotiations, Worcester heat systems joined the Bosch Group to become an important element of Europe's premier domestic heating equipment company.
- Cecil Duckworth became the first Englishman president of the Bosch Heating Division.
- Saw the addition of the 24CDi to Worcester's gas combi range, the first of its kind.
- Cecil Duckworth retired.
- Worcester's focus on important environmental issues lead to the launch of Environment 2000, an award scheme celebrating environmentally-friendly installations. This quickly developed into a long term vision for the company and subsequently became Environment 2020
2000s
Worcester addresses the concerns over climate change and global warming with a growing and increasingly innovative family of renewable heating and hot water solutions.
2000
2001
2005
2006
2007
2008
- CBi series and wall hung Danesmoor oil boiler launched.
- The Greenstar HE series is introduced
- The opening of the new Training Academy at Worcester. Purpose designed, purpose built, and the first of its kind in the UK.
- The launch of our all new high efficiency range of condensing boilers, starting with the Greenstar Highflow 440 and Greenstar Ri.
- The Greenstar i Junior, Greenstar Si and Greenstar CDi are added to the new boiler range
- We complement our heating and hot water range with Greenskies solar thermal water heating
- We win a CORGI award for 'Best Technical Support' and the Greenstar CDi wins its first CORGI award for 'Boiler of the Year'
- The £2 million Energy Atrium is opened by Malcolm Wilks MP, minister of State for Energy
- The launch of Greenstore ground source heat pumps
- New products arrive including the Greenstar Camray and Greenstar Heatslave and Camray external models.
- We were awarded 'Regional' and 'National' Training Centre of the year from OFTEC
- The renewables portfolio was extended with the introduction of Greensource air to water and air to air heat pumps
- Further developments in our unique 'Energy Homes' project with the opening of a purpose-equipped showcase property in Worcester
- An official visit of His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent and Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd. Received the Royal Warrant.
2010s
Worcester continues to develop products that assist the installer but gives the consumer the greatest comfort. This decade also saw Worcester invest heavily in consumer advertising, receive Which Awards for the Greenstar Gas boiler series and commendations for Worcester customer service. Worcester also celebrates 50 years.
2011
2012
2014
- Worcester win a Gold Award for their Garden at the Chelsea Flower show
- Prime Minister Gordon Brown Visits the Worcester plant
- Worcester wins OFTEC Award for the best technical support
- 125 years of Bosch
- Win Gold Award at Chelsea Flower Show
- Which Awards won for every Greenstar gas boiler
- Customer Service Award – Top 50 Call Centres
- New Training Academy opened
- Worcester celebrates 50 years
- Richard Soper CEO is awarded CBE
- Visit by the Governor of the Bank of England
- Which Best Buys for all Greenstar gas boilers
- Oftec Award for Best Technical support
- Launch of the CDi compact
- Which Best Buys awarded to all Greenstar Gas boilers
- Worcester opens Wakefield Training Academy
- Worcester manufacturing plant wins 'Best Engineering Plant' and 'Health and Safety Award' in the Best Factory Awards
- Opening of Bosch Distribution centre in Worcester
- Launch of the Wave
- Which Best Buys Awarded to every Greenstar gas boiler
- Highly commended in the Manufacturer of the Year Awards
- Build it Awards – Wave wins Best Plumbing Product
- Worcester wins award for Commitment to the Armed Forces
- Launch of the Greenstar I, replacing the best-selling I Junior
- Launch of a new range of digital thermostats
- Launch of the new Greenstar System Filter
- Which Best Buys Awarded to every Greenstar gas boiler
- Customer Service Win at AGSM Awards (Taking Home Boiler Manufacturer Customer Service Award)
- A fantastic year of fundraising resulted in £13,500 being raised for Midlands Air Ambulance
- Which Best Buys Awarded to every Greenstar boiler
- Rely on Worcester Campaign launches across the UK
- Woolly Warm Van gets stitched up and goes on tour
- Best Consumer Website at Digi Awards
- We celebrated 20 years of Worcester Bosch Accredited Installers (WAI)
- A brilliant £28,000 is raised in support of the Grace Kelly Trust and Cancer Research UK
- Launch of our Greenstyle Stoves
- Another year of success with Which
- Worcester rated the top brand for boiler cover in a report by Which
- Rely on Worcester Campaign hits TV screens across the UK
- We launch our Grassroots initiative, supporting local sports clubs across the UK
- Our re-vitalised training academy is re-opened at Worcester
- Launch of the Bosch EasyControl
- The launch of our Smart TRV's (Thermostatic Radiator Valves)
- Warm as Worcester campaign debut's throughout the UK
- Our 50,000th boiler is manufactured at our Clay Cross site
Environment & Community
We're committed to supporting communities & acting responsibly towards the environment.
Worcester News
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Contacts
Specific contact details for the different departments of Worcester, Bosch Group.
Customer support
Search for answers in our Troubleshooting section, or call our support team on 015118572.