2 | JULY 2019
News
Installer News is
sponsored by FENSA
BACK IN THE
SUMMER OF ‘69
VEKA UK Group celebrated the global Group’s 50th birthday in
typically German style at this year’s FIT Show, with plenty of beer
and bratwurst. More than 100 guests were invited to raise a glass
to VEKA being 50 years young and still leading the industry.
GGF REFLECTS ON FIT
VEKA UK Group’s MD Dave
Jones left the FIT Show on
Wednesday and flew straight to
Germany to represent the UK
team at VEKA AG’s celebrations,
which were an impressive feat of
organisation and party planning.
Dave explains: “VEKA held an
‘open house’ where visitors were
welcomed on tours around the
Sendenhorst plant throughout the
day and were introduced to new
products and innovations, as well
as celebrating past successes. The
evening saw 1200 guests - includ-
ing German customers and the
General Managers of all VEKA’s
European subsidiaries - treated to
a three-course Gala Dinner and
Show in an enormous marquee,
followed by celebrations that went
on well into the early hours.
“And then two days later, they
did the whole thing again. This
time, 2000 guests were wined
and dined in style, including all
the staff from VEKA AG and their
partners. I think it says a lot about
a company, when its hard-working
staff are given the same ‘special’
treatment as customers, and I
noticed CEO Andreas Hartleif and
his wife Elke shaking hands with
guests as they arrived and wel-
coming people individually.
“Despite its global reach, VEKA
has always been a family-run
Following months of prepa-
ration and planning, the GGF
stand was a mixture of topical
presentations, hospitality and
a mini-golf game which many
found fun as they attempted a
hole in one. In other parts of the
exhibition, the GGF presence was
evident with eight presentations in
organisation with family values
and I think that has played a large
part in its success. The company
was founded in Germany in 1969
with just eight staff, and is still
run by the same family today. The
Group has now grown to be the
largest manufacturer of extruded
PVCu products in the world, with
a turnover of 1.2billion Euros, and
provides secure employment for
5500 people across 40 worldwide
subsidiaries.
“VEKA, Halo and Imagine cus-
tomers know that being part of
the VEKA ‘family’ means they’re
in safe hands, with our unrivalled
scale, strength and stability and I
think 2019 is a great time to take
stock. We’re celebrating our past,
enjoying the present and investing
in our future. I can’t wait to see
what the next 50 years of VEKA
brings.”
The winners of the GGF FIT
Show Hole in One golf draw
– each receiving a bottle
of bubbly - were:
Day 1: Neil Blanchflower
Day 2: Stacey Leahy
the FIT Show Seminar programme
and with over 30 GGF Members
exhibiting at the show.
Richard Hearn, Head of Mem-
bership and Training commented,
“I was pleased to participate in the
new Skills Thursday initiative. We
were able to highlight our focus
on professionalising the industry
through our ‘Training the Indus-
try’ campaign which upskills and
trains Installers and Surveyors.
The Skills Thursday debate was a
great platform to share views and
consider the solutions through
effective industry collaboration.
Andy Clegg our Chief Trainer and
his team set a great challenge with
their window and door installa-
tion build including 10 faults to
identify – this tested even the best
of the best who came along to our
stand.”
James Lee, GGF Director of
External Affairs, added, “We did
a huge amount to increase our
profile at this year’s show. Our
stand was well designed for a
diverse audience who I feel en-
joyed visiting whether it was for
information on joining, technical
support, training advice or just a
social visit.”
Day 3: Martin Greenfield
www.vekauk.com
www.ggf.org.uk
Issue 76 | July 2019
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