Royal Navy 'copter engineer uses his skills to launch new Edinburgh boiler repair firm

A former Royal Navy helicopter engineer hopes to be flying high with his new boiler repair business.

Andrew Lamond, who spent four years based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, aims to establish HeatFix Scotland as Scotland’s No. 1 service repair company.

The new firm, which is based in Edinburgh, plans to deliver a same-day service unlike anything currently available. As well as the capital, engineers will cover Falkirk, the Borders, West Lothian and East Lothian.

HeatFix Scotland will not install boilers but will instead be solely focusing on central heating servicing, repair and home cover.

Andrew Lamond has swapped sub-hunter RN helicopters for central heating systems.

“I believe we will be delivering a better product than is already out there and a service that Scotland needs,” said Mr Lamond, most recently a director at Terry Healy Group. “I want to offer an alternative to service and repair, which provides excellent customer service and excellent value for money.

“If someone phones in before midday, our promise is to have an engineer with them that day. They will have an extensive van stock with them with the intention to fix whatever the problem is.

“If, for whatever reason, we can’t repair it there and then, we will have the part by 8am the following morning. Our target is to have all repairs carried out within 24 hours of the first call.

“I plan to assemble the most experienced and professional team of engineers in the region. They will cover everywhere from Gala in the Borders to Fife, North Berwick to Broxburn and will look after a customer’s property as if it is their own.

Andrew previously helped keep the UK's fleet of submarine-hunting helicopters in the air.

“All the engineers will be local and I want there to be a real family-friendly feel to our customer service. It’s important to me that a bond is built up between us and our customers.”

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After his spell in the Navy, Andrew returned home to Scotland and retrained to be a gas engineer.

Having set up ALG Boiler Services, in September 2020 he merged with Terry Healy Group to establish Terry Healy Heating before taking on this latest venture.

“I had been based in Cornwall at one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe for four years and although I really enjoyed it, I decided I wanted to come back home to Edinburgh,” he said.

“There weren’t many anti-submarine helicopters in the city so I knew I would have to retrain for another career. It has gone well since then and I’m very excited about what the future holds. Setting up a business in a pandemic comes with its own challenges but I know what we offer and am confident it is the right move.”

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The firm expects to have 10 employees in place to start with, the intention to see that figure double within the first year of operation as business grows.

Training will be given on a regular basis to help ensure engineers remain at the top of their game, ready to deliver the latest heating technologies.

“We have been able to put in place a strong business plan from the outset and I’m looking forward to seeing HeatFix quickly establish itself in Scotland,” added Mr Lamond.

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