It is with great sadness that Vaillant announces the death of Martin Butcher. Martin passed away peacefully on the 24th December with his family by his side, after a long battle with illness.
From a devotion to his career of over 42 years, Martin was renowned for his technical excellence not just in Vaillant Group but also the wider industry. He joined the company, known at the time as TI Glow-worm, in 1980 where he joined the Research and Development department. Martin grew his career in the department over many years, starting as a workshop technician, progressing his career as a test engineer and finally became an R&D Manager leading the development teams on projects such as the Glow-worm CXI and Flexicom ranges. Martin also worked on other ground-breaking products such as the Fuelsaver, Hideaway, and the first condensing boiler on the market, the Glow-worm Energysaver. When parent company of Glow-worm, Hepworth Heating was taken over by Vaillant Group in 2001, Martin used his research and development background to support starting the manufacture of Vaillant boilers in the UK. In more recent years, he has taken on the role of Technical Quality Manager, managing a small team, supporting the business with understanding legislation changes, SAP updates and most recently working towards consultations on the Future Homes Standard and Part L updates.
Throughout the years Martin has also been a prominent member and well-respected voice in the Heating & Hot Water Industry Council (HHIC) technical committee. Martin’s wealth of knowledge was never-ending, he showed patience to those who learned from him and has been a mentor to so many different people over the years. Martin’s passion for the engineering and knowledge sharing lead to building life-long friendships across the industry and he will be greatly missed by many.
Those who have had the privilege of knowing Martin, will remember him as a real character, with incredible zest for life and a fantastic humour. Above all, Martin was a true family man. He filled the lives of those around him with sheer love and joy creating many cherished memories with his loved ones.
Martin’s life will be celebrated on 13th January, whilst the family have asked for family flowers only a charity donation can be made on the A.W. Lymn web page where you can also light a candle in Martin’s memory.
