Opinion

Q&A – Vaillant

Vaillant roadshow launch. Belper, Derbyshire.
What have you got planned for the rest of 2014?
Installer training will remain a key focus for Vaillant in 2014. Our seventh Centre of Excellence opens in Farnborough in the spring, bringing our quality approach to training to more installers. Our training proposition will also be refreshed, and our first app for installers will be launched in the coming months – watch this space!

What do you see as the growth areas in renewables?
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the RHI incentives going live will affect consumer decision-making.  In terms of product systems, we predict the rise of the hybrid: pairing an air-source heat pump with a traditional heat generator provides the perfect compromise for a homeowner reluctant to take the leap into the green unknown. The flexibility afforded by a hybrid system can help to ease homeowners into renewables with a ‘best of both worlds’ solution.

How is the company cutting its carbon footprint?
Since 2011, Vaillant Group has successfully met self-imposed zero waste to landfill targets. We recycle 700 tonnes of waste every year, and an additional 65 tonnes of non-recyclable material is remotely converted into electricity. Our award-winning S.E.E.D.S (Sustainability in Environment, Employees, Development & Products and Society) programme ensures that our Belper plant now manufactures each boiler using less energy and water and creating less waste and carbon emissions than ever before.

Mark Derbyshire is Vaillant’s commercial director