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Electric water heating manufacturer, Heatrae Sadia is to close its factory in Norwich, leading to the loss of up to 200 jobs.
The move is part of parent company Baxi Heating UK’s proposals to reorganise its UK operations and would see the Heatrae Sadia operation move to the Baxi facilities in Preston.
The Heatrae operations would take up the space vacated by the closure of the Preston foundry, which is also planned for 2019.
A spokesperson from Baxi Heating UK said that the group’s intention is to grow its market positions across all brands and that it is important that the business prepares for the many challenges and opportunities of the heating market.
“We have now successfully launched a new generation of compact boilers that use stainless steel heat exchangers. This, and the strategic decision to outsource aluminium heat exchangers used in some older boiler types, has led us to take the decision to close the Preston foundry in 2019.
“The closure of the foundry will create additional space at the Preston site, and we are therefore proposing to transfer the production of water cylinders and electric water heaters for our Heatrae Sadia and Megaflo brands, from our smaller Norwich site, to Preston.”
The proposed closure of the Norwich site would also result in the consolidation of R&D activity at Preston and the transfer of other support activities to other Baxi Heating UK locations.
The group will also consolidate its sales organisations from next month, into two areas of focus: residential and commercial. The Heatrae Sadia sales force, currently reporting into Norwich, will be integrated into the existing residential and commercial teams that report into Warwick and Wokingham respectively.
“We recognise that these actions will have significant implications for our colleagues in Norwich and Preston. However, we firmly believe that they are necessary to make the company stronger and to place it in the best position to face the future challenges and opportunities in the UK’s heating industry.”
