A WORCESTER company is making a big noise about a very small product.

Worcester Bosch is launching a new boiler that breaks new ground in technology and manufacturing techniques.

The 24 I Junior measures 600mm by 400mm by 325mm to make it the smallest boiler in Europe.

It has been designed to be compact and discreet and fit snugly into modern homes. Almost half of all homes in Britain are either terraced houses or flats.

The new I Junior boilers - gas-fired combis that heat both water and central heating units - weigh less than 25kg, meaning they can be picked up by one person, a European Union regulation requirement.

Worcester Bosch, which employs almost 800 people at its 16-acre site in Cotswold Way, Warndon, will launch the product to the trade next month, supported by a £500,000 advertising campaign in lifestyle magazines and weekend colour supplements.

"The I Junior series bears all the hallmarks of Worcester Bosch quality," said managing director Richard Soper.

"The most exciting part is that this product has been designed, tested and manufactured right here in Worcester."

Worcester Bosch is part of the worldwide Bosch group.

The company was founded as Worcester Heat Systems by Cecil Duckworth, in Lowesmoor's former vinegar works in 1962.

The firm then moved to Diglis Basin, Worcester, before switching to the purpose-built site in Warndon in 1990 and being bought by Bosch two years later.

Since then the firm has continued to grow, with turnover rising from £30m in 1992 to £135m last year, when it made 200,000 boilers.