Community reps Stephen Tomlinson and Gareth Ropinski were delighted to welcome Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer to Vaillant’s UK Headquarters in Belper, Derbyshire to look at their new state of the art heat pump production line. He was joined by Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Jonathan Reynolds.
The company have made a significant commitment to their UK workforce and have plans to install more heat pump manufacturing lines on their Belper site. This technology is crucial if the UK is to achieve net zero by 2050 and helps to break the cycle of high priced domestic energy that is affecting so many UK households.
Community Branch Secretary Stephen Tomlinson, who also works on the heat pump line says:
It was great to have Keir and Jonathon visit the site. Our members are incredibly proud of the technology that we are working on. We have always been a business who want to produce quality products and support our local community.
Keir and Jonathan were joined by Henrik Juhl Hansen, Director of Vaillant Group, and the Director of External Affairs and Future Portfolio Steve Keeton. Community’s National Officer for Light Industries Gavin Miller, also in attendance, said:
This visit by Sir Keir to see the technology of tomorrow is vital and very welcome. We need a government who understand the challenges facing us in terms of our future energy supply and crucially – how we apply that to installers, manufacturers and supporting industries to create a real roadmap for how our country can thrive with the application of this technology.
Community are the recognised trade union for workers at the Vaillant Headquarters in Belper with a long standing relationship that stretched back to when the factory produced Glow-worm boilers.
For more information on our work in light industries, click here.
If you are a member of Community and need advice or support, please contact our Service Centre at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.
© Community Trade Union 2025
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