Aug 25, 2026 · 52 min · 11 segments
In this episode of The Vaillant Podcast, host Mike Lacey - Vaillant’s Head of Digital Technologies and co-host Jodie Burrell, Vaillant’s National Partnerships Manager – are joined by Vaillant Product…
Joe SaltGuest
Mike LaceyHost
Jodie BurrellHost
Thomas ThorleyGuest
So, Tom, last time we spoke to you, you were kind of partway through transitioning into this role, moving from sort of technical coach into product manager.
yeah it's good it's a bit of a baptism of fire but it's been really good really enlightening to have the background that i've had in training and the product knowledge it's kind of helped me going forward but yeah understanding this raft of new products that we've got come in it's a challenge for all of us but yeah something we're all really looking forward to
So these heat pump launches are in safe hands, and I think as the dynamic duo, although there is a lot going on, yeah, you two are taking it in your stride, I think, especially seeing how... new you are to the role tom but also the the experience that joe brings to it um so yeah today's episode we're going to be kind of deep diving into product development um we start with a kind of blank sheet of paper or are there different routes on how how we develop things
it just depends on the driver for the product so it can be very much a legislation driven or market driven, or indeed the need to replace products within our own portfolio, which happens quite often and has happened in the past, but most significantly with heat pumps.
When you think and refer to heat pumps as like our core products, which is boilers, it's like having Ecotech Plus selling everywhere.
so there's definitely a need to sectorize the products strengthen the range develop the portfolio and put more products to reach more areas that we're focusing on certainly for new products like ground source expand that range and develop the large output monoblock range which has been really key for us okay but it started back in 2021 so you know we're talking post-covered when this really started yeah So although it's been five years in development, you know, it is a long period.
And as you know, it's the valence ship is a, an incredibly large ship to turn around and it's not a quick ship, but following our, it's a very complex roadmap process, but following our from.
specification to market if we use it in those terms that period is normally about four years from a group perspective and then the final year which is the fifth year is the enablement and they're launching to the uk market and does the same with all other nscs and that's where it's been really exciting for tom to come on board because It's at that critical point now where we're getting everything launched out into the UK.
It is an incredibly challenging, probably more challenging than we realized it was going to be with launching six products in one year.
And like Tom said, the experience that he brings over from the technical side, he's not just hit the ground running with it.
It's just been incredible to be able to pick that baton up and he is so far down the track.
so I mean, when I came into this area and I suppose probably for our listeners and Jodie yourself and customers out there, the bit that surprised me was how long it takes right to go from concept to actually seeing a product come to market and there's reasons for that right is it's it's a big beast to tackle and you need to make sure it's right with the sort of kind of how you develop those products is that the same as what you're seeing jody out there
Yeah, I think a lot of people, especially in the heat pump world, don't really understand why we take so long to do things.
I mean, we all know we have customers now in the heat pump world that are in startups.
So, Tom, last time we spoke to you, you were kind of partway through transitioning into this role, moving from sort of technical coach into product manager.
yeah it's good it's a bit of a baptism of fire but it's been really good really enlightening to have the background that i've had in training and the product knowledge it's kind of helped me going forward but yeah understanding this raft of new products that we've got come in it's a challenge for all of us but yeah something we're all really looking forward to
So these heat pump launches are in safe hands, and I think as the dynamic duo, although there is a lot going on, yeah, you two are taking it in your stride, I think, especially seeing how... new you are to the role tom but also the the experience that joe brings to it um so yeah today's episode we're going to be kind of deep diving into product development um we start with a kind of blank sheet of paper or are there different routes on how how we develop things
it just depends on the driver for the product so it can be very much a legislation driven or market driven, or indeed the need to replace products within our own portfolio, which happens quite often and has happened in the past, but most significantly with heat pumps.
When you think and refer to heat pumps as like our core products, which is boilers, it's like having Ecotech Plus selling everywhere.
so there's definitely a need to sectorize the products strengthen the range develop the portfolio and put more products to reach more areas that we're focusing on certainly for new products like ground source expand that range and develop the large output monoblock range which has been really key for us okay but it started back in 2021 so you know we're talking post-covered when this really started yeah So although it's been five years in development, you know, it is a long period.
And as you know, it's the valence ship is a, an incredibly large ship to turn around and it's not a quick ship, but following our, it's a very complex roadmap process, but following our from.
specification to market if we use it in those terms that period is normally about four years from a group perspective and then the final year which is the fifth year is the enablement and they're launching to the uk market and does the same with all other nscs and that's where it's been really exciting for tom to come on board because It's at that critical point now where we're getting everything launched out into the UK.
It is an incredibly challenging, probably more challenging than we realized it was going to be with launching six products in one year.
And like Tom said, the experience that he brings over from the technical side, he's not just hit the ground running with it.
It's just been incredible to be able to pick that baton up and he is so far down the track.
so I mean, when I came into this area and I suppose probably for our listeners and Jodie yourself and customers out there, the bit that surprised me was how long it takes right to go from concept to actually seeing a product come to market and there's reasons for that right is it's it's a big beast to tackle and you need to make sure it's right with the sort of kind of how you develop those products is that the same as what you're seeing jody out there
Yeah, I think a lot of people, especially in the heat pump world, don't really understand why we take so long to do things.
I mean, we all know we have customers now in the heat pump world that are in startups.
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