Worcester, Bosch Group timeline

  • Worcester's first factory
  • First Worcester combi boiler
  • Worcester employees outside Diglis factory, Worcester
  • Robert Bosch
  • Dog from Worcester, Bosch Group television advert
first firefly boiler Worcester's second factory

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.

1963
Worcester Engineering established as a leading supplier of oil-fired central heating equipment.

1968
Move to new premises- Diglis.

Products released in the 1960s

Worcester products from 1960s
Opening plaque Cecli Duckworth and his wife, Diglis

1970s

For Worcester Engineering, the 1970's was a time to take the business forward with lucrative new opportunities.

1970
An agreement was signed with Sunwave to allow the Japanese company to manufacture our Firefly Dynaflame boilers and Heatslave units.

1971
The revolutionary combi boiler was introduced to the UK.

1973
The 15,000 sq.ft of floor space at the Diglis factory was extended by double, officially opened by Lord Walker.

1973
Oil was used for 95% of central heating boilers in the UK, but the tide began to turn in the direction of gas.

1977
Worcester bought Delglo Appliances (and the already well established Danesmoor brand of oil boilers) from Delta Metals in Clay Cross, Derbyshire.

Products released in the 1970s

Worcester products from 1970s
Man with barrow First heatslave after the fire

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.

1983
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.

1984
Despite obstructions for the Water Authorities, Worcester continued to develop the combi concept, eventually winning the battle to relax water bye-laws.

1986
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.

1987
Worcester Engineering was renamed Worcester Heat Systems.

1988
The phenomenal growth of the company resulted in the purchase of an 11 acre site to allow operation from just one site.

1988
Acquisition of a training centre in Amersham.

Products released in the 1980s

Worcester products from 1980s
Training reps Shopfloor

1990s

The 1990’s marked the opening of the advanced new production facilities and headquarters at Warndon on the outskirts of the city- the beginning of a whole new era.

1990
‘Phase 1’ of our new Worcester headquarters was opened.

1990
Acquisition of Radson – a leading manufacturer of condensing boilers with a good market share in both Belgium and the Netherlands.

1992
The company was operating fully from its new headquarters in Worcester.

1992
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.

1995
Cecil Duckworth became the first Englishman president of the Bosch Heating Division.

1996
Saw the addition of the 24CDi to Worcester’s gas combi range, the first of its kind.

1996
Cecil Duckworth retired.

1999
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.

Products released in the 1990s

Worcester products from 1990s
Training reps Millionth boiler

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
CBi series and wall hung Danesmoor oil boiler launched.

2001
The Greenstar HE series is introduced

2003
The opening of the new Training Academy at Worcester. Purpose designed, purpose built, and the first of its kind in the UK.

2004
The launch of our all new high efficiency range of condensing boilers, starting with the Greenstar Highflow 440 and Greenstar Ri.

2005

  • 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’

2006

  • The £2 million Energy Atrium is opened by Malcolm Wilks MP, minister of State for Energy
  • The launch of Greenstore ground source heat pumps

2007
New products arrive including the Greenstar Camray and Greenstar Heatslave and Camray external models.

2008

  • 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

2009

  • An official visit of His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent and Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd. Received the Royal Warrant
  • Launch of our own YouTube channel

Products released in the 2000s

Worcester products from 2000s