Case Study - Marshall Gas Ltd

Wednesday 29 July 2026

Two forces backgrounds, a family business, and a shop front in Ipswich

Marshall Gas Ltd was founded in 2011 by Steve and Jo Marshall, a husband and wife who had both come out of the armed forces. The plan was simple to say and harder to do: build a heating company that people could genuinely trust with the keys to their house.

The habits came with them. “Both of us have military backgrounds, so honesty, reliability, professionalism and doing what you say you'll do have always been at the heart of our business,” Jo says. The company started small, servicing, repairing and installing boilers across Suffolk, and grew on recommendation rather than advertising.

Fifteen years on it works on gas, oil and air conditioning for domestic and commercial customers, from its own premises in Ipswich. The engineers are Gas Safe registered, and customers on the MarshallCare plan have a 24 hour line for emergencies.

Standards learned somewhere else first

Both founders served, and so have several of the engineers who have joined since. It shows up in ordinary things rather than grand ones: turning up on the day you said, saying what a job will cost before starting it, and leaving a house as you found it.

In June 2020 the company signed the Armed Forces Covenant, the national pledge employers make to treat those who serve, and those who have served, fairly. Marshall Gas committed to seven undertakings, among them support for service leavers and veterans, for service spouses and partners, and for reservists, and to working with the Career Transition Partnership to build a route into the trade for people leaving the forces. The commitment sits on the government's public register of signatories.

For a heating company that reads less like a marketing exercise and more like a continuation of how the business was set up in the first place.

A scheme with a council behind it

“Trust has always been the foundation of our business, so joining the Trusted Trader scheme felt like a natural fit,” Jo says. “We wanted customers to have complete confidence that when they chose Marshall Gas, they were choosing a company that had been independently vetted and met high professional standards.”

Suffolk Trusted Trader is run in partnership with Suffolk County Council Trading Standards. The checks are made on the business and on its owners, which is what separates it from a paid for listing, and it is why joining is not a five minute job.

The vetting took a while, which was rather the point

“The process was thorough, exactly as it should be,” Jo says. “Whilst it takes time to complete, it gave us confidence that the scheme maintains high standards and only accepts businesses that genuinely deserve to be there. We believe that's good for customers and good for reputable businesses.”

A slow door treated as a feature rather than a fault is a good sign in itself.

Where the badge goes

The scheme has not been joined and then filed away. The logo is on the website, on social media, on marketing material, on customer communications, and up at the premises. “Whenever we're speaking with customers, we want them to know that we've been independently assessed and meet the standards expected of Trusted Trader members,” Jo says.

It earns the space. “We've found that customers increasingly want reassurance before inviting a company into their home. Being able to demonstrate that we're a Trading Standards Approved Trusted Trader gives people confidence and often helps them make that final decision.”

“Trust isn't something you can ask people to give you. It's something you earn.”

A bigger team, a new shop, and a second trade

Ask about milestones and Jo talks about growth rather than trophies. Over the past few years the company has taken on more engineers, moved into new premises and built an air conditioning division alongside the heating work, so that one trade carries the other through the quieter half of the year.

“Trusted Trader membership has supported that growth by giving prospective customers additional confidence in choosing Marshall Gas,” she says. “It's become another valuable part of our reputation alongside our customer reviews and recommendations.” Those reviews sit on the company's Trusted Trader profile, where customers leave them and the scheme verifies them.

What the next few years look like

More of the same, done bigger. More employment, more training and apprenticeships, and the heating and cooling sides growing together while the business stays family run. Alongside that sits the community work, supporting veterans, local charities and local causes, which the Marshalls intend to develop further rather than leave where it is.

“Our ambition is simple,” Jo says. “To become the most trusted heating and cooling company in Suffolk.”

Asked what she is proudest of, she does not name a job. “Every member of Marshall Gas shares the same values of honesty, professionalism and treating customers with respect. We know that inviting someone into your home requires trust, and we never take that responsibility for granted.”

Jo Marshall
Director, Marshall Gas Ltd

Questions we are often asked

What area do Marshall Gas cover?
Suffolk, working from premises on Penshurst Road in Ipswich, for both domestic and commercial customers.

What can Marshall Gas work on besides gas boilers?
Oil and LPG appliances, central heating installation and repair, power flushing, landlord gas safety certificates, and air conditioning installation, servicing and repair. Customers on the MarshallCare plan also have 24 hour emergency cover.

Has Trading Standards checked Marshall Gas Ltd?
Yes. Marshall Gas Ltd is a Suffolk Trusted Trader member, a scheme run in partnership with Suffolk County Council Trading Standards, and the business and its owners have been checked and approved by Trading Standards. Trading Standards do not check, inspect or approve the quality of the work carried out, so the workmanship is judged in the verified customer reviews on the profile.

• View Marshall Gas Ltd's Suffolk Trusted Trader profile.
• Read Marshall Gas Ltd's verified customer reviews.
• If you would like to become a Trusted Trader, you can apply here.
• If you are a Trusted Trader and would like to leave a case study either as text or as a video, get in touch.