The history of Glow-Worm Boilers

You may never have heard of Glow-Worm brand boilers and if that is the case then you have missed a solid brand that has a rich history and is more than capable of manufacturing a respectable quality of boiler for your home.

About Glow-worm

Founded in 1934 in Derwent, Derbyshire, Glow-worm have, for the past 80 years produced reliable and highly efficient boiler and central heating products.

Image by Tim Hill from Pixabay

They are a British ‘born and bred’ company having been founded in Derbyshire and still manufacturing all of their boilers at their state of the art production facility in Belper, Derbyshire.

We have spoken about the history of The Vaillant Group and their boiler brand and as part of that history, we mentioned that they acquired other boiler brands along the way. Well in 2001, Glow-worm became one of those brands that was acquired by the Vaillant Group as they grew to become the second largest heating company.

Glow-worm Boilers through the years

The 30s
The Glow-worm Boiler and Fireplace Co Ltd was created and produced its first boiler in 1934.

The 60s
Glow-worm proudly introduced to the world their ‘balanced flue’ boiler in 1963. A room sealed, gas heating and hot water boiler. As the company grew, they moved to a new assembly facility in Belper, Derbyshire in 1966.

The 70s
One of the most successful boilers in the 70s was the Glow-worm Spacesave. A cast iron, wall hung boiler that went on sale in 1971.

The 80s
After the success of the Spacesaver boiler, 1984 saw Glow-worm introduce the ‘Fuelsaver’. A lightweight copper central heating boiler which even appeared in an advertising campaign with Les Dawson.

Just one year after this, Glow-worm turned to Ronnie Barker of the Two Ronnies to promote a new addition to the range – the Hideaway.

The 90s
While some other big brands got there first. Glow-worm became the first mainstream boiler brand to sell a combi boiler called the ‘Energysaver’ It was the companies first aluminium boiler and such was the success and popularity of the boiler that it gave Glow-worm around 40% market share of new boilers installed in the UK.

The 00s
As mentioned previously, 2001 saw Glow-worm become part of the Vaillant Group family along with Saunier Duval, Bulex, AWB and Protherm.
Over the next ten years, Glow-worm launched many ‘firsts’ including the first high efficiency boiler with direct rear flue and cupboard fit in 2006.
Also that year they launched ‘Betacom’ which was at the time the smallest high efficiency boiler which combined simplicity, good value and reliability. And was easier to install than other boilers.

The 10s
The advances come thick and fast with innovative wireless thermostats, loyalty programmes and a while new range of products, some of which even became award winners.

Find out more

If the history of Glow-worm boilers has made you more interested in having one installed in your home then the best thing to do is to contact us today and get a quote for a new boiler installed by Wright Gas.

As a Which Trusted Trader, we are experienced in a huge number of boiler brands (including Glow-worm of course) and are priced fairly with a quality service.