MARTIN HITCHIN , CEO AT REHAU UK

What have been the major successes of REHAU UK ’ s systems provider strategy in 2023 ?

One of the successes I ’ ve been really proud of this year has been how hard we ’ ve worked to establish REHAU UK as a whole solutions provider . Being able to bolster and promote our offering beyond profile alone is key to what we ’ re trying to do – becoming a one-stop-shop that provides ancillary products alongside polymer .

Now , customers know that when they receive their profile deliveries from REHAU , they can also take delivery of other items such as hardware , steels and trickle vents . Importantly , all our new product launches such as the Rio and SLINOVA door now come with their own , often tailor-made hardware solutions too . Being able to further emphasise our expanded service offering with each product launch will be crucial

to keeping the market aware of just how much we can do .

Alongside this , our recent launch of cut-length steels have helped further improve efficiency and reduce waste . These benefits can really add up for fabricators , so being able to help like this as

a systems provider is something we ’ re very pleased to do .

We will continue to strengthen our offering as a whole systems provider into 2024 with the ongoing rollout of the new REHAU webshop . It ’ s an exciting development for the company , and by simplifying the order process to a single source wherever possible , we ’ re confident we can continue to offer a market-leading service .

What has REHAU UK done over 2023 to improve the sustainability of its operations ?

Ever since the opening of our new polymer recycling plant PVCR back in 2019 , we always wanted it to be a central cog in REHAU UK ’ s operations . The multi-million-pound investments made at PVCR are really bearing fruit now , which is very good to see .

For example , over 2023 , there have been significant improvements in the plant ’ s ability to meet the quality and quantity demands of our extrusion plant in Blaenau Ffestiniog , North Wales . Under the leadership of plant director Gwyn Jones , the two facilities are working closer together than ever before , and REHAU has been able to increase the amount of finished goods made using recycled material to 50 %. To my mind , it ’ s excellent to see how close collaboration has resulted in tangible benefits – in this case , the same high-quality profile we ’ re known for , but with more previously waste material reused .

10 JANUARY 2024

CLEARVIEW-UK . COM