“Why didn’t we make the move sooner?” Chigwell Windows reflects on a year of success after switching to REHAU

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Fabricator	Chigwell Window Centre
Location	Horsley Cross, Colchester
Years with REHAU	12 Months

After more than 20 years’ experience in the fenestration industry, Chigwell Window Centre decided it was time for change. It wanted a partner who aligned with its long-term business goals and matched the high standards it provides to its customers. So, in Summer 2024, the team decided to make the move and switch to supplying REHAU profiles.

Part of the Chigwell Group, Chigwell Window Centre serves commercial and residential sectors in London and the South East. The company specialises in high quality polymer and aluminium window solutions and has 100 experts on hand to provide tailored support to its customers.

Although the partnership with REHAU is relatively new, Chigwell Windows is already seeing strong indicators of growth. They have had plenty of new enquiries from installers specifically requesting REHAU products. And with external success has come internal wins in the form of a more efficient production system which has boosted quality and consistency.

Moving on

Like many fabricators, Chigwell Windows was already familiar with REHAU. However, it wasn’t until REHAU’s commercial sales team became more active on projects that Chigwell was also involved in, that the company saw a potential opportunity to join the REHAU network.

Chigwell’s point of call from the very start at REHAU was Head of Sales for Window Solutions in the South of England, Luke Boban.

It was after speaking with Luke that the team at Chigwell decided to move over to fabricating REHAU profile. Luke said: “The onboarding process started with an initial meeting where we found out what Chigwell Windows Centre was currently producing and which markets they were currently serving.

“This allowed us to look at how REHAU could support and grow the existing business and put together a commercial package that could boost their sales.”

Site project manager at Chigwell Window Centre, Jack Bower-Wilson said: “We chose REHAU because we wanted a partner that not only delivered on product quality but also aligned with our long-term business goals. REHAU’s reputation in the market speaks for itself – they offer a premium, technically advanced system that matches the standards we promise to our customers.

“It wasn’t just about profiles – it was about joining forces with a supplier that could help us scale and future-proof our offering.”

Switching over

The onboarding process can be a nerve-wracking prospect for many fabricators. Switching over entire production lines and profiles can be a time-consuming task leading to downtime and unnecessary cost but this is not the case for REHAU fabricators.

“Following the initial meeting, we arranged for our technical team to do an audit of Chigwell’s current production facility to understand the tooling software and programming requirements needed to switch over to REHAU profiles,” Luke said. “We then brought all parties together including tooling providers, programmers and software providers and organised a setup week where we provided all the products and profiles.”

For Jack and the Chigwell team, the onboarding process was seamless from the very beginning. Jack said: “The entire switch was impressive from start to finish. From initial conversations through to profile delivery and team training, every step was well-structured and supported. REHAU provided a clear process guide which made the transition straightforward.”

As Chigwell’s main point of contact at REHAU, Luke made sure a team of experts were on site to answer any queries the team may have. This was another example of customer service that went above and beyond expectations and made a real difference to Chigwell.

“The technical support was second to none – the team was always on hand to answer questions, check tooling requirements and ensure a smooth switchover,” Jack said. “For us, it wasn’t just about changing profiles – it was about ensuring business continuity, and REHAU helped us do exactly that.”

Following a faultless onboarding process and profile switch, Chigwell Windows is already beginning to reap the REHAU rewards.

Seeing success

At the start of Chigwell’s journey with REHAU, the main aim was to increase and broaden their range of projects and to partner with a supplier who aligned with their future growth objectives. After just over 12 months of working with REHAU, they’ve managed to achieve this.

Chigwell is currently producing 400 polymer windows per week and has ambitions to scale this figure to 1,500 per week. At present, they make a wide range of REHAU products including the TOTAL70c, TOTAL70s, Rio windows and doors, and SLINOVA.

Luke said: “REHAU has opened up opportunities for Chigwell in the commercial market, and recently they’ve started to win projects that have specified REHAU products — which was the exact reason they approached us in the first place.

“It’s fantastic to see this partnership really coming into fruition now. The team at Chigwell has been introduced to our trade sales managers who have in turn brought a number of both residential and commercial leads to the business. I can’t wait to see where these leads go and how our partnership will continue to grow.”

For the Chigwell team, this early success is noticeable both in customer feedback and internal operations. Jack said: “Customer feedback has been really encouraging – they’ve noticed the quality difference, and we’ve had compliments on the finish and performance of the product. From an operations standpoint, the REHAU system is straightforward for our team to fabricate and has integrated well into our existing setup. It’s also helped us access a slightly different customer base – more premium-focused installers who value the REHAU name.”

And Jack has some advice for any fabricator thinking of switching to REHAU. “Go for it and make sure you engage fully with the onboarding process. REHAU will guide you through it all, and if you’re willing to invest the time upfront, you’ll see the rewards quickly.

“For us, it wasn’t just a switch – it was a step up, and we’d recommend it to any fabricator looking to grow or reposition themselves in the market.”

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