Over Five Years of Business Growth With REHAU: Ashmore Glass & Mirrors Ltd

REHAU_Partner Acquisition_Logo - 100075938

Fabricator	Ashmore Glass & Mirrors
Location	Wolverhampton
Years with REHAU	5 Years

Nestled away in a humble industrial estate on the rural edge of Wolverhampton, sits Ashmore Glass & Mirrors Ltd – a fabrication business with family at its heart. The showroom is full to the brim with REHAU windows in all styles and sizes set against a backdrop of rolling farm fields that welcome customers.

Established in 1997 and founded by life-long friends Craig Edwards and Michael Brooks, Ashmore Glass & Mirrors Ltd is a family run business that is proud of its Wolverhampton roots. Starting out life as a double-glazing unit, the company soon progressed into the uPVC windows fabrication market.

Craig began his career in the 1970’s and has been passionate about hiring hard working people ever since. Now, both his son-in-law and daughter work with him at Ashmore, alongside a mother and daughter duo. People, products, and passion sit pride of place in the Ashmore showroom, and these priorities make up part of the reason why the company decided to switch to REHAU profiles half a decade ago.

Taking the plunge

There were various reasons that led Ashmore Glass & Mirrors Ltd to switch window profile house to REHAU five years ago, as Craig explains, “REHAU has always been a prestigious brand within our industry, and we decided to make the move after having problems with our previous supplier.

“The previous company that we were working with were not fulfilling their commitments to us and we knew we deserved a better service.

“It was a very nerve-racking decision because customers were used to buying our previous products and we didn’t know how they would take the change. We were also aware of how challenging switching profile house can sometimes be for fabricators. But the transition was easy. The onboarding process was straight forward, and with the help of REHAU’s technical team, we started making windows within three days of switching. The tooling, setup and education was all done quickly; it was seamless. In fact, we had no issues at all.”

Sean Ward, Operations Manager at Ashmore, also shared this initial nervousness about how long it would take to switch over to a new setup. “We thought we’d probably have to shut the factory down for two to three weeks during the switch,” says Sean, “but to be making windows again after three days was incredible!”

REHAU understands how difficult the decision to switch can be for fabricators which is why every effort is made to make the onboarding process as seamless and simple as possible. Gareth Thomas, Area Sales Manager at REHAU says, “I’ve been working with Ashmore for three years now after taking over from my colleague Luke Boban who initially set them up. REHAU helped Ashmore through the onboarding process in a variety of ways, providing engineering, tooling, and marketing support. In one-to-one meetings with Luke, Ashmore were given the skills to pitch their new products to both existing and future customers.”

Thanks to a successful onboarding process, Ashmore has gone from strength to strength as a family-first fabricator, reinforcing its position as a glazing specialist with people at its core.

Business growth and customer satisfaction

Ashmore’s apprehension about switching window profile house soon faded after they began producing REHAU products to the delight of their customers. “We were worried that our customers wouldn’t get on board with the change, but they’ve really embraced it,” says Craig.

When Ashmore first joined the REHAU group, the business was producing casement windows and doors. Now, welded flush fit windows and mechanically jointed flush face windows fill the showroom. This expansion in product range has allowed the business to meet the appetite of customers who were searching for more varied window solutions while broadening its audience further afield.

“Business has grown dramatically since switching to REHAU”, says Sean. “It seems everybody wants something new, which is what REHAU offers us. We can pass on the latest technologies and advancements to our customers which in turn brings them and their end-users’ benefits.”

And it’s not just customer satisfaction that has been on the up since the company joined REHAU but leads and sales as well. “In the last five years we’ve had better leads through local authorities and from architects,” says Craig. “We’ve grown a strong customer base who are looking for a specific, prestigious product. In fact, we’re now seeing local authorities specifying REHAU window profile which is testament to the equity we’ve been able to build in the surrounding area.”

“The level of technical support we’ve had over the past five years from REHAU has also been exceptional. If we have any issues at all we can get on the phone to anybody from the office. But having said that, we don’t get many problems at all!”

case studies - fab acquisition - 100081187

Walking the technical tightrope

For fabricators, walking the technical tightrope is one of the trickiest parts of the job. As legislations change and goalposts move, it can seem like a never-ending road to achieving technical success. That’s why the REHAU technical support team are always readily available to help, as Ashmore found to be the case.

“From a technical point of view, we have a team in Ross-on-Wye, as well as technical engineers on the road who can deal with any incoming enquiries that Ashmore, our other fabricators, or their end-users may have,” says Gareth.

Speaking about his own experience with the technical team, Sean says, “REHAU offer tremendous technical support. There is always someone at the other end of the phone who will answer our technical questions, no matter how big or small.”

Reflecting on the past, present and future

After half a decade of working together, the team at Ashmore have welcomed REHAU into their business and their family (quite literally) with open arms. The seamless transition throughout the onboarding process and beyond has made way for many years of success.

Reflecting on his apprehension at the beginning of Ashmore’s REHAU journey, Craig says, “I understand it’s daunting if you are a fabricator thinking about moving to REHAU because you’re used to the products and the ways in which you’re currently working. But our experience is that once you move across, it’s a totally different playing field. The professionalism of the company and the stock they provide is second to none, so if you can, just make the move.”

And the story so far has not only been a success for Ashmore, but for REHAU as well. Gareth says, “the partnership with Ashmore is so successful because it is exactly that – a partnership. We can rely on each other, and we have a good line of communication. We also share the same mutual goal in that we both want to see success for the REHAU brand. I guess you could say we are becoming part of the Ashmore family!”

For more information on switching to REHAU window profiles, click here.