TV personality and engineering enthusiast Johnny Ball has officially opened Denco’s new headquarters building and air conditioning factory.

Mr Ball, who is an ambassador for the Campaign to Promote Engineering, told the company’s staff and invited guests that the new complex on the outskirts of Hereford gave a very positive signal about the healthy state of the air conditioning industry.

“I was extremely impressed with the whole set-up at Denco,” he remarked after the event. “I have been aware for some time how building technology has come on leaps and bounds and that user expectations have driven up the demands on that technology. Therefore, it was heartening to see that the air conditioning industry is coping with these challenges.

“British technology is doing fine in a wide range of areas, although you don’t get that impression from our media. I travel around businesses a lot in my line of work and I am more and more heartened by what I see. At Denco, I see a company that has honed its technology to perfection.”

He said he was also delighted to meet a managing director in Denco’s Mark Shutler who had been with one company through his entire working life.

“That is most unusual these days and means the company has a very solid foundation,” said Mr Ball.

The brand new, purpose-built factory and headquarters building gives Denco a much more modern base from which to continue its global expansion. It has a turnover in excess of £40 million and employs over 500 people worldwide – including 200 in Herefordshire. It has manufacturing facilities in Turkey and Malaysia, although Hereford – its hometown for over 60 years – remains its main production base.

The building is also a showcase and powerful sales tool for Denco’s own technology along with its design and installation skills. The ground floor offices and training areas are served by the company’s own Officecool underfloor air conditioning and the upstairs by a Daikin VRV system.

The new building has been aptly named Dolphin House in honour of the branding icon associated with Denco’s long-running marketing campaign and corporate identity signifying its commitment to ecological and sustainable principles. The manufacturing, R&D and customer test facilities are located in the equally appropriately named ‘the air conditioning factory’ on the same site.

Denco Air Conditioning Ltd is now based at; Dolphin House, Moreton Business Park, Moreton-on-Lugg, Hereford, HR4 8DS.