Glazerite directors mark MBO anniversary
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Directors at the Glazerite UK Group have marked a year at the helm of the nationwide fabricator, following last summer’s management buyout.
Led by Group Managing Director Rob Brearley, alongside fellow directors Mark Johnston, Jeff Dunn, Darren Rhodes, and Matthew Thomas, the team has spearheaded a number of improvements to unlock further opportunities for its customers, against a challenging backdrop of raw material shortages and energy price hikes.
Rob explains: “Glazerite was already a highly respected company staffed by dedicated employees when we took it over. Following completion of the MBO in July 2021, we’ve begun to rollout a programme of improvements to further benefit installers, our people, and how we operate as a business.”
Recent changes have included a sixth site, with the opening of Glazerite North in Barnsley. Meanwhile, investment into new machinery and equipment has continued across the business, as well as the addition of new vehicles that meet Low Emission Zone (LEZ) emission standards, making deliveries to LEZ-based customers easier and more sustainable.
Strides have also been made to embed a lean culture across the fabricator, with best practice ways of working implemented in the customer services and order processing teams, headed up by longstanding Glazerite employee, Melanie Jacobs.
Rob adds: “Our people are the foundation of everything we do. By encouraging contributions and input from everyone, we have been able to strip out unnecessary, time-consuming, and costly tasks across all functions. This is particularly notable in the manufacturing side at each division, where we’re embedding lean principles.”
Development of staff and diversity is also top of the Glazerite agenda, with Rob adding: “In addition to empowering employees to contribute ideas on how we run the business, we offer development and a clear career road map. We’ve got some real success stories already, particularly amongst our younger cohort, with the likes of 24-year-old Oliver Bailey heading up purchasing at our North West Division, and Eleanor Austin, 23, being promoted to Purchasing Manager at our site in the Midlands.”
The next 12 months are set to be just as busy for the fabricator, as Glazerite continues to expand its product portfolio, giving customers even greater choice, service, and support. Rob concludes: “We’ve taken the reigns at the toughest of times and had to contend with some tough external factors such as raw material shortages, nationwide resourcing issues, and spiralling prices. Fortunately, we’ve navigated these successfully and look forward to realising our ambitions for growth.”
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Editors notes
The Glazerite UK Group Ltd is one of the largest fabricators of VEKA UK Group products, servicing trade installers for domestic and commercial installations across the UK. Glazerite combines the delivery of high-quality products, exceptional customer service and manufacturing expertise with unrivalled business support packages tailored to meet the needs of its installer partners. Headquartered in Wellingborough, Northants, the fabricator has a 3500 frames per week capacity and employs 270 people across its sites in Peterborough, Bristol, Bolton, Barnsley and Wellingborough.
