Pendle MP drops in to ESSE’s Barnoldswick factory to see research and development into new generation of ultra-efficient stoves

FOREIGN Office Minister and Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson dropped into ESSE Engineering Limited’s factory in Barnoldswick to look at how the company is gearing up to meet new emissions requirements for wood burning stoves.

Mr Stephenson toured the new painting facility and enamelling ovens and learned more about ESSE’s product range – which includes some of the cleanest burning stoves available on the UK market.

Since 1854, ESSE has been at the forefront of heating innovation, establishing a reputation for producing the cleanest, most efficient and technologically advanced heating appliances available worldwide.

Contrary to some newspaper articles circulating last year, there are no plans to ban the use of wood-burning stoves, but from 2022 onwards only stoves that meet Ecodesign emission requirements will be permitted to be sold in Britain.

The ESSE 1 series, 500 Series, Bakeheart and Warmheart stoves already surpass the 2022 Eco Design emissions requirements and ESSE is currently working with scientists from Manchester University to develop the next generation of clean-burning stove technology.

“It’s wonderful to see such high standards of craftsmanship and innovation retained within a family-owned British firm which exports high quality products around the world,” said Mr Stephenson, who was previously a junior minister at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

“Pendle continues to be associated with engineering and design excellence and in an increasingly competitive globalised market, it’s critical to maintain investment in research and design in order to stay ahead of the game.

“ESSE has remained at the forefront of clean combustion technology for more than 165 years and it’s encouraging to see the commitment to maintaining that hard-earned reputation as improving air quality and decarbonisation move up the political agenda.”

ESSE’s clean-burning stoves have been recognised with a string of British patents, reflecting a commitment to the environment and high-quality product design and performance.

All ESSE stoves incorporate the ability to fine-tune the rate of combustion while Afterburn^TM catalyst technology extracts every last calorie of heat from the fuel.

The Afterburn^TM system re-burns smoke particles produced in the firebox before they enter the flue – a refinement of a secondary combustion system pioneered by ESSE more than a century ago.

Foreign office Minister Andrew Stephenson chats with sales director Mark Blewitt on the production line at ESSE Engineering’s factory in Barnoldswick.