Rehau invests in UK pipe production
Rehau has opened what is claimed to be the first UK facility to produce pre-insulated pipework for the district-heating and biomass sectors The new facility is at the company’s long-established factory in Blaenau, north Wales, and representatives from DECC joined local MP Elfyn Llwyd and Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM at a large event for key customers. Until now, the UK has relied exclusively on imports of this type of pipework.
The factory will produce Rauvitherm pipework, which has seen sales more than double over the last year, driven by growth in the UK biomass and district-heating markets and, more recently, by the impact of the Renewable Heat Incentive. With sales set to increase still more, Rehau took the decision to invest in new manufacturing at its largest UK factory and in specialist training of production staff.
Martin Hitchin, the company’s chief executive, said at the official opening, ‘Despite the fact that it is a global group, Rehau has long had a policy of producing locally wherever possible, and this investment is very much in line with that.’
The Rauvitherm pipe produced at Blaenau will be to the same specification and quality as that which has been imported from its facility in Germany since 2010.
The factory as Blaenau has the capacity to produce many kilometres of pipe per year as its market share grows.
Rauvitherm is a pre-insulated PE-Xa pipe constructed with layers of PEX insulation and a robust HDPE outer jacket that is longitudinally watertight.
