Ideal Heating celebrates double success in inaugural business awards

Ideal Heating has been honoured at a prestigious regional business awards ceremony.

The UK heating industry market leader, which is based in Hull, scooped two awards in the inaugural Hull and East Yorkshire (HEY) Business Awards.

Ideal was named Large Business of the Year and also scooped the Environmental & Sustainability accolade in the awards, which are dedicated to celebrating excellence, innovation and outstanding achievement across the Hull and East Yorkshire business community.

Ideal is one of Hull’s biggest employers and greatest homegrown business success stories. Founded in Hull more than 100 years ago, today Ideal employs around 1,000 people, the vast majority of them in the city.

Ideal was recognised in the large business category for demonstrating exceptional performance and serving as a benchmark of success and inspiration.

Ideal’s position as market leader in both the domestic heating and commercial markets is underpinned by excellence in product development and manufacturing.

The business was also recognised for its staff training, career development opportunities, employee welfare and positive workplace culture.

The award judges said one of the deciding factors in Ideal being selected as winner was the company’s commitment to supporting its people in areas such as health, wellbeing and finances, as enshrined in its Wellbeing Charter.

In the Environmental and Sustainability Award category, Ideal was recognised for the significant investments it is making across the business as it transitions from manufacturing gas boilers to low carbon heating solutions, including heat pumps.

Ideal is delivering a £60m investment programme across its Hull site, including expanded production and logistics facilities and a cutting-edge research and development centre dedicated to pioneering low carbon heating technologies.

Ideal has also invested £2.2m in its flagship National Training and Technology Centre in Hessle, East Yorkshire – one of the heating industry’s largest and best-equipped training facilities, where up to 5,000 installers can be trained annually by a team of heat pump experts that Ideal has built from the ground up.

The award’s judges said they were impressed by Ideal’s substantial investment programme to develop, test and manufacture heat pumps as part of the company’s leading role in the decarbonisation of heating.

Ideal claimed the two awards on the same day as hosting a visit by Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Energy Consumers, to announce significant Government funding to support the company’s investment to establish large-scale heat pump manufacturing in the UK.

Ideal Heating’s Chief Operations Officer Jason Speedy said: “We’re delighted to have been recognised in these awards. Although we operate nationally, the heart of our business is, and always has been, in Hull.

“We’re particularly proud to have been recognised for our commitment to supporting the wellbeing of our team members.

“Our people are at the core of everything we do and we’re dedicated to creating a safe and supportive workplace environment for all our colleagues.”

Ideal Heating was shortlisted with global health and hygiene business Reckitt and Soanes Poultry in the Large Business of the Year category. Multi-sector business John Good Group was the other finalist for the Environmental & Sustainability Award.