The minister was greeted by Worcester’s manufacturing director Bob Murdoch and taken on a tour of Worcester’s factory and training academy as well as meeting a number of apprentices and installers.
As part of the tour, the minister also officially opened new Greenstar Heat Exchanger friction stir-welding machines, visited a pilot training course and took part in a discussion about the latest industry trends and initiatives.
“More and more families are being hit by the rising cost of gas and electricity, but our inefficient homes are using a lot more of it than they need to,” said Greg Barker.
“So it’s great to see companies like Worcester innovating new, more efficient products like the Greenstar range of boilers.
“The coalition government is absolutely committed to helping people stay warm for less, and the Green Deal is giving consumers unprecedented choice and more options for making home improvements. It’s really encouraging that Worcester have embraced all the opportunities that the Green Deal brings, helping people to keep their homes warm and their bills down.”
Neil Schofield, head of external and governmental affairs at Worcester, Bosch Group, added: “We were delighted to welcome energy minister Greg Barker MP to our manufacturing and training facilities. As a company we are dedicated to the development of innovative technology with the introduction of products such as our Greenstar range of boilers, so it was very encouraging to be able to showcase our efforts.
“Leading government initiatives have the potential to bring renewed focus into the heating industry and the UK economy, an important part of the minister’s visit was a round table discussion with a group of Worcester installation customers talking through the opportunities and challenges moving forward with the Green Deal. During his visit he also had the opportunity to view the first Green Deal Installer Accreditation course which was being held at Worcester.”