Elson - a Baxi Group solutions provider
Elson - providing solutions for 90 years
Elson was established back in 1919 as the South Shields Plumbing Company. But by 1923 the company had changed its name to Elsy & Gibbons, and had invented a combination tank known as the Elson Tank. So around this time the trading name Elson began to be used.
Between 1968 and 1998 the company was sold and acquired several times, and eventually became part of Newmond. In 2000 Elson joined the Baxi Group, as a result of the Baxi/Newmond merger.
Traditionally, Elson supplied combination tanks to local authorities and housing associations, and in the 1980s sold over 50,000 products per annum. The Elson combination tank was a very well-known, reliable product, and is still seen in local authority properties today.
However, over recent years the popularity of the combination tank has declined, mainly due to the growth of combi boilers and unvented cylinders, and a reduction in local authority new builds. Elson now sells about 7,000 products per annum - and the company's product portfolio has changed quite dramatically to adapt to new market demands.
Today, 47 people are employed at Elson's South Shields factory, which has a production area of 3,500m2. Though the company still produces combination tanks, there is increased focus on thermal stores and tailor-made, bespoke packages - both of which can incorporate renewable technologies. The company continues to target local authorities and housing associations, but also works with developers and housebuilders in the private sector. With a wealth of experience and industry expertise, Elson can provide the right solution for many applications.
Elson's managing director, Clyde Brown, joined the company in December 2008 after holding several senior positions within Baxi Group companies Potterton and Heatrae Sadia. Five sales managers work across the country - Doug Rodgerson, Graham Dowden, Trevor Ralph, Bob Duthie and Mike Hunnisett.
Tailor-made packages - you want it, you got it
Elson used to be renowned for selling high-quality, traditional, gravity-fed, water heating products, but today the focus is very much on thermal stores and tailor-made, bespoke packages, with a company ethos of 'you want it, you got it'.
For Elson, packaged solutions - where complete heating and hot water systems are assembled in the factory and arrive at a site ready to be installed - is a major area for growth. It's driven by the company's unique capability and flexibility to manufacture packaged products in bespoke shapes and sizes. A specifier or consultant simply needs to explain what they are trying to achieve - and Elson will design a tailor-made solution to match those requirements.
Elson can provide a packaged solution incorporating any products from the Baxi Group portfolio - for example thermal stores, boilers, unvented cylinders, heating control interfaces and renewable and low-carbon products. Packages can be designed in any size and configuration, and components can be adapted in line with individual requirements. So, for example, if pipework or controls need to be fitted in a certain place on a hot water cylinder, Elson is able to achieve this - even if it is just for one property.
As well as being able to create a solution with a combination of Baxi Group products, Elson can also provide a package that provides space for the addition of non-heating appliances. For example, a popular request is a for an Elson thermal store water heater unit to be mounted onto a frame with space for a washing machine to be installed underneath.
In recent times Elson has seen packaged solutions grow significantly. To the benefit of specifiers, heating and hot water packages offer time and cost savings, guarantee the integrity, efficiency and performance of a system's components and provide aesthetic consistency.
The pinnacle of Elson's package offering achievement to date is the design and supply of a Heating Interface Unit that will be used in all 2,800 apartments on the Athletes Village for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Mains pressure hot water - but with a traditional vented system
Another key product for Elson is the thermal store. Over recent years, the UK has seen increased demand for mains pressure hot water, and the most well-known and popular method for achieving this is unvented water heating.
However, the installation of an unvented system is not always a viable option. But this doesn't mean that mains pressure hot water is unachievable - in fact, the thermal store offers very similar benefits, but by utilising a traditional vented system.
The principal of a thermal store is significantly different from the traditional domestic hot water storage system; whether it is a vented or unvented system. Whereas in a traditional system the water that is stored in the cylinder is the same water that is emitted through the taps, in a thermal store, the water within the tank remains static and is used as the energy source for heating the mains incoming water, instantaneously, via a very efficient coil located within the thermal store. The thermal store can be heated either indirectly, using a primary coil connected to a heating system (in a similar way to a traditional indirect hot water storage system), or directly, using an electric immersion heater.
Future strategy
As well as increasing market exposure, the company's aim is to achieve further integration into the Baxi Group. Elson is keen for other Group companies to gain a full understanding of what can be achieved at the South Shields factory, and to exploit the joint opportunities that exist, especially in creating bespoke packages. The company is keen to develop relationships and share resources, and has recently given presentations to sales teams across the company.
Recent appointment at Elson
Ian Robinson joined the company as Technical Manager earlier this year. Ian joined the company having worked for Hoval for many years and more recently for F G Skerritt in Nottingham.
Ian is 38 years old, married with two young children and lives in Newark.