NEWS
Innovator – inventor Tom McGee has enjoyed the support of investor John Taylor .
Entrepreneur and inventor brings industrydisrupting heating product to market
PICTURE : STUART BOULTON
The heat is ON !
Businesses across Teesside and beyond are set to save a fortune on their heating bills this winter , thanks to a groundbreaking invention from local entrepreneur Tom McGee .
Tom has invented commercial space heaters under the brand X-Heat . The heaters are revolutionary , as they reduce gas consumption by up to 50 %, reduce carbon emissions , use natural gas , LPG and are flameless .
They don ’ t require a flue and are hydrogen-ready , making them future-proof in terms of offering an environmentally friendly heating solution .
The heaters are now starting to sell in large quantities , after a significant investment from Parker Barras founder John Taylor supported the products ’ development and accreditation , enabling them to come to market .
“ When Tom approached me with these products looking for investment three years ago , I thought it was too good to be true to be honest ,” John admits .
“ I did a lot of due diligence and I invested £ 200,000 in the company because I was impressed with the products .”
Because the products use infra-red heating , the heaters ’ casing remains safe to touch .
And as the heaters don ’ t require a flue , the cost of insulation in a commercial space is also cheaper , while the heaters reduce energy consumption by up to 50 % compared to other forms of heating . The products also boast a 90 % reduction in carbon emissions with natural gas .
X-Heat ’ s two products – the Nano max wall heater and the Pico mobile version – are described by John as being “ very clever ” in terms of their gas reduction and green credentials .
Eventually , when running off hydrogen , they will achieve net zero emissions .
For this reason , X-Heat was a finalist in the Green Innovation Award category of the Tees Business Awards .
As a heating product that uses natural gas , a lot of work had to be done to get the heaters accredited by the British Safety Institute and ensure they were registered gas safe .
That ’ s why it took nearly two years to bring the product to market once a prototype had been made – but John is now starting to see the potential for an excellent return on his investment and exceptional rewards for Tom for his hard work .
“ It is a product that had never been seen before – nobody else has got this product in the market – and it had to go to Germany for testing ,” John said .
“ It ’ s also been seen by experts in France and we ’ ve had input from Teesside University as we have developed the product , got it accredited and had a patent approved for it .
“ In late September , we were able to go fully out to the market with it – and the uptake has been phenomenal .”
The company has secured a deal with Nationwide Platforms , which is putting
X-Heat products in every single depot – and the heaters are even keeping the rhinos warm at Edinburgh Zoo !
“ It ’ s a real disruptor in commercial heating space and we had £ 275,000-worth of orders in the first six weeks , with orders going across the UK ,” John said .
“ It ’ s great to see how well it is doing as a business and the benefits of these products to all the businesses who are using them .
“ Having said that , a lot of people don ’ t know we exist yet , so we want to increase brand awareness and get the word out there that if you have a commercial space that needs heating through the winter months and beyond , these are the products to do that efficiently .”
In total , it has taken four years from Tom ’ s initial idea and concept to the first product sales – but John believes the products and the success of the business have been worth the wait .
“ We have done a number of installations across Teesside and have already had some very positive testimonials boasting about the energy savings ,” he says .
As well as the initial two products , the fixed wall and mobile heaters , a revolutionary patio heater is in development and should come to market next year .
Tom added : “ I ’ m excited to see where this future-proof business takes us .”
xheat . co . uk
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