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Daikin Industries has acquired British company Robert Heath Heating, which handles the installation and maintenance of residential heating systems. In Europe, Daikin is focusing on heat pump heating, which has high energy-saving performance. The company will expand its installation and after-sales service network in the UK in anticipation of a growing shift from combustion heating systems that use gas and other sources. Robert Heath employs around 255 (June 2023 – Companies House) to 450 (according to Daikin) people in the UK.
The heat pump market has been rapidly expanding in recent years as countries have provided subsidies against the backdrop of rising awareness of decarbonization and the demand for energy that is not reliant on Russia. Although there was a decline in 2023 compared to the previous year due to falling gas prices and reductions in subsidies, Daikin’s Chairman Inoue Noriyuki said that “this remains a promising market that is expected to grow significantly over the medium to long term.”
One of the other issues for heat pump installation has been a shortage of skilled labour – we wonder whether Daikin hasn’t also acquired Robert Heath as a way of ensuring stable access to engineers who can fit their systems, and also with the intention of using the company to expand and train up the workforce in the UK. Daikin already has around 490 employees in the UK and over 11,000 in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
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