Diane, Author at Bathroom Review

Roca grows turnover to over € 2 billion

June 27, 2023

Global bathroom group Roca has achieved sales of €2.092 billion, up 1.9% on 2021, despite macroeconomic issues such as a drop in demand, increased energy costs and global inflation.

Roca Group realised EBITDA of €356 million, equivalent to 17% of turnover, and a net profit of €42million.

It reported its growth is thanks to improved production efficiency, adaptable business operations to local needs, and reduced control production costs.

Roca also cited sales increases in Brazil, India, China, and Spain, which have maintained sustained growth since 2014 (except for the Covid consequences in 2020), have been “significant”.

The CEO of Roca Group, Albert Magrans, highlighted that “In a year as complicated as this one, our professionals have made their involvement and effort count, prolonging the company’s growth”.

He also emphasised, “Net assets have risen to 1.7 billion euros, which reflects the financial strength of
the group, which bases its growth on self-financing through the reinvestment of profits.”

The company increased its investment to €135 million, up 8.9% compared to 2021. These investments included projects to expand and improve the capacity of plants in Brazil and India, a new factory for resin shower trays in Spain and Portugal, and composite bathtubs in Poland.

Additionally, Roca has converted its plant in Croatia into a logistics centre, transforming it into a hub serving the main markets of Central Europe.

Since the launch of its decarbonisation plan in 2018, Roca Group has achieved a 39% reduction in its scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions.

It has also reduced its energy use intensity by 47% and installed over 10,000 photovoltaic panels in multiple locations in 2022, totalling 21,800 panels for the Group worldwide.

Likewise, the water efficiency plan initiated at the factories of Spain, Turkey, Morocco and Portugal in 2021 continues to progress.

It has already achieved a 47% reduction in water consumption and a 55% reduction in the intensity
of water use over the last five years

Furthermore, Roca Group has achieved a 74% level of reintroduction or recycling of waste and a 54.6% reduction in waste generation over the same period.

Roca Group has extended its Competence Centres, which it claims enables the company to respond to markets with agility, efficiency and sustainability.

Following the acquisition and integration of Royo and Sanit companies, it has reinforced its offer across all product categories.

During 2023, Roca Group has continued its acquisition policy, having bought US bathroom furniture and mirror company Madeli to strengthen this product category and presence in America.

This year has also seen Roca Group Ventures invest Aquí Tu Reforma (ATR), an online platform for home renovations to improve the end-user experience, and has analysed more than 120 start-ups.

Founded in Barcelona in 1917, the family-owned Roca Group operates in 170 countries and owns 76 factories, employing 21,000 employees.

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CTD Tiles Ltd. appoints Jim Barnard as CEO

June 27, 2023

CTD Tiles Ltd. has announced the appointment of Jim Barnard as CEO. With over 20 years’ experience in senior roles in successful businesses, including B&Q, Wickes, Halfords and most recently, chief operating officer at Victoria Plum, the UK’s market-leading e-commerce bathroom specialist, Jim brings a wealth of experience in the strategic direction of businesses.

“I am excited to join the team at this key moment in our history as a newly independent specialist in the competitive UK tiling market. With the support of the Aurelius Group, I am looking forward to working with the team to build on the strengths and heritage of CTD as we continue to drive our business to be better for customers, colleagues and all our stakeholders” said Barnard.

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Utopia celebrates with summer treats

June 22, 2023

What better way to celebrate a major industry award in the current heat wave than with ice creams all round? That’s how Wolverhampton-based Utopia staff toasted the company’s recent triumph at the BKU Awards last week when Utopia was voted Best Bathroom Furniture Brand yet again.

Helen Clark, Utopia’s head of marketing, comments, “Winning this ward for the fourth time is a fantastic achievement for us and really does demonstrate the tremendous teamwork we are so proud of at Utopia. Each and every employee plays a vital part in ensuring that we provide the best possible service and products to our customers and as temperatures soared what better way to say thank you to the team than ice creams all round.”

www.utopiagroup.com

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VitrA: New marketing director

June 22, 2023

Amanda Raine has been announced as the new marketing director for VitrA Bathrooms UK, taking over from Margaret Talbot, who retired after eight years with the business at the end of May. Sam Cooke has joined VitrA as retail sales director, taking over from Darren Paxford, who headed sales for 27 years.

Amanda joins VitrA Bathrooms in Oxfordshire from her role as head of brand and communications at the Bristan Group, bringing over ten years of experience in the bathroom and construction industries. Amanda has also held product and marketing roles with Travis Perkins and Wolseley. She will lead VitrA’s strategic marketing initiatives, drive brand growth, and develop customer relationships across all customer groups, including architects, designers, and the specifying communities.”

Amanda says, “VitrA is an innovative bathroom brand with impressive design and manufacturing expertise. The award-winning experiential London showroom in Clerkenwell is a compelling resource for VitrA and its customers – I am thrilled to be part of the next chapter.”

Sam joins VitrA from distributor Davroc, where he was director of sales, representing some of the biggest bathroom brands and Davroc’s own brands. Sam’s experience is comprehensive, covering many routes to market, having also worked with Triton Showers, Irsap, Vokera and Wolseley.

Sam says, “Joining VitrA is a terrific opportunity to build on years of industry experience. I’ve collaborated with the team at VitrA for many years through Davroc, so I am delighted to be part of the brand’s future.”
Managing Director Steve Breen said, “I would like to acknowledge the hard work and years of dedication both Margaret and Darren have given VitrA – we all wish them well in their new adventures. The VitrA story now continues in the capable hands of Amanda and Sam – both bring unique experiences and understanding of bathrooms in the UK. Welcome to the team.”

www.VitrA.co.uk

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Kaldewei refreshes Superplan floor-level shower

June 20, 2023

For 2023 Kaldewei has given the classic Superplan a makeover; it now has a refreshed design that provides floor-level access from two sides. The Kaldewei Superplan also has an up-to-the-minute look with sharper edges, tight angles, and clean lines.

The installation depth has been optimised to max. 25 millimetres – which is almost half that of its predecessor. Narrow margins create an elegant look and guarantee a lavish standing area for a unique showering experience.

The angles of the outer corners and edges have been reduced so that the Superplan can be easily integrated into an existing tile grid, and tiling up to the edge of the shower surface is much simpler.

Kaldewei’s Superplan is a classic among floor-level showers and has sold over a million in the last 30 years. Trusted by technicians and users alike, whether it’s an exclusive private bathroom in a hotel or a barrier-free bathroom, this seamless shower made of recyclable steel enamel integrates perfectly, guaranteeing a
comfortable, safe floor space.

Sustainable, modern, and flexible

The Kaldewei Superplan is manufactured from recyclable steel enamel, and its non-porous glass surface makes it easy to clean. Combining long-lasting design with natural materials, it adds another excellent product to the world of Kaldewei’s Luxstainability® portfolio.

The shower is available in standard bathroom colours and the exclusive shades of the Coordinated Colours Collection, creating a huge design scope. The new Superplan is 100 per cent compatible with all the smart Kaldewei accessories – from assembly and waste systems to the familiar easy-care and anti-slip finishes.

This new Superplan shower tray will be available in all 41 sizes by autumn 2023.

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The Sanibest Pro transforms Art Deco building

June 20, 2023

The Sanibest Pro from Saniflo UK is helping the Eastbourne residents provide services from a four-storey Art Deco building in the centre of the town.

The Sanibest Pro is a heavy-duty macerator for public or commercial environments. As temporary custodians of the building, the Living Life Eastbourne charity provides a community hub, including an affordable café, which required a new, accessible WC, basin and baby-changing unit. Access to mains drainage would have meant digging up a solid concrete floor, creating an expensive, time-consuming inconvenience.

The solution was a powerful Sanibest Pro; the robust unit caters to public space demands. Installed behind the WC, the pipework runs behind a false wall and travels up and across the corridor’s ceiling behind the newly created bathroom, dropping into a gravity-fed drainage pipe and drain connecting to a street-level sewer.

Living Life Eastbourne was designated as a warm space during the winter, which helped residents who couldn’t afford to heat their homes, and it’s also recently been designated as a safe space for the Eastbourne Carnival. It’s a meeting space for community groups and offers a friendly, welcoming space for the homeless and those who live alone.

The Sanibest Pro from Saniflo can pump up to 7m vertically or 110m horizontally. In the Living Life café in Eastbourne, it combines both; lifting the waste 3m and pumping it across approximately 10m, where the waste falls into a soil stack.

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GROHE: Sustainable solutions at Greentech

June 19, 2023

GROHE partnered with Berlin’s 5th annual Greentech Festival to accelerate efforts towards a resource-saving future.

GROHE presented technologies designed to enable a more sustainable everyday life by saving water and energy without compromising comfort.

The GROHE Blue Home water system was showcased to demonstrate how it delivers chilled, filtered, still, medium or sparkling water straight from the kitchen tap, avoiding 3,000 single-use plastic bottles (1l) and approximately 325 kg of CO₂ on the festival’s opening day.

The full scope of the brand’s holistic plastic-reduction strategy was the focus of a panel talk at the event, where GROHE and its partners declared the importance of collaborations for a more sustainable future.

“As a manufacturer, we have an obligation to develop products that enable consumers to live in a more environmentally friendly way – without having to sacrifice comfort or water enjoyment. GROHE Blue meets this ambition to the highest extent. The water system allows people to live without single-use plastic bottles and thus has a positive impact on the global plastic waste problem. We are very proud to be able to contribute to making the Greentech Festival even more sustainable with our product solutions,” said Katharina Lattmann, leader of brand & activation, Business Unit Watersystems, LIXIL EMENA.

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Utopia launches all-new QUBE

June 19, 2023

Utopia has refreshed and extended Qube, its popular wall-mounted and freestanding bathroom furniture, introducing a second design style across the range.

Four new doors colours, complementary accent handles and trims, supporting ancillary items, and a new fast delivery option to the retailer are offered.

Qube is now available in a choice of Qube Glide, the original handleless door style, and the new Qube Edge, a stunning alternative style with the option for a top-mounted handle.

The four brand-new door colours include deep Indigo Blue and verdant Wild Green, reflecting current trends for bold colours. The line-up also sees two new sophisticated matt finishes – Matt White and Matt Grey. The four new colours join White Gloss and two existing textured finishes, Anthracite Strata and Sorrento Walnut. As usual with Utopia, samples of all finishes are available free of charge.

Qube now includes a new ceramic cloakroom basin option and a new tall toilet unit, new mirror options, plus a host of new push button and flush plate options available in Chrome, Matt Black and Brushed Brass with new coordinating basin overflow rings.

Also extended is the choice of worktops to complement Qube furniture. The existing 22mm laminate range has been extended further with three new options, Matt Grey, Cararra Marble and Marquina, and a brand new 12mm compact laminate range of exceptionally realistic natural stone effects have been added. The 12mm compact laminate has a solid colour core with an embossed surface to replicate stone and is offered in White Slate, Grey Concrete and Graphite Slate.

Helen Clark, head of marketing at Utopia Bathrooms, comments, “Our new Qube Collection is all about choice, giving customers the opportunity to build a completely unique combination from the multitude of beautiful co-ordinating elements now available with on-trend finishes and, most importantly, on a quick delivery turnaround, something the market is asking for. Qube has always been extremely successful and we are confident our retail partners will love this extended and enhanced offering.”

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HiB: Popular Bellus mirror range expanded

June 19, 2023

Following the success of the popular Bellus mirror range, HiB has expanded size options to include a new 100cm choice. The new size means that Bellus’ elaborately patterned illumination and striking design are enhanced further.

The integrated colour temperature-changing technology allows the user to switch from cool white to warm white to deliver either a relaxing atmosphere or a practical cool light option. Hidden beneath the mirror’s surface is a heated pad, which reduces condensation on the mirror’s surface. The chamfered diffuser on the back of the mirror creates a delicate, ambient glow across the wall, offering a sophisticated finishing touch.

Now available in three sizes, 60cm, 80cm, and 100cm, the Bellus mirror can be used as a beautiful feature across the home, and the touch-free operation ensures it remains smudge and fingerprint free.

Ash Chilver, HiB sales director, said: “Our customers have loved Bellus because it offers a unique style unlike anything else on the market. It is a real showstopper and the larger 100cm size makes even more of an impact in the space.

“Bellus has been developed with impactful style in mind, taking that timeless, ornate look and giving it a contemporary edge.”

For more information about the Bellus mirror, click here.

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PJH: Heating up on brushed brass style

June 19, 2023

PJH has added to its Bathrooms to Love brand with a new family of ‘GRADA’ heated towel rails finished in Brushed Brass.

A straight ladder radiator, the new Grada Brushed Brass range comes in three sizes measuring 500mm in width and heights of 800mm, 1200mm and 1600mm to suit different-sized rooms. Joining the growing choice of brushed brass products in the Bathrooms to Love Collection – from brassware and showers to enclosures and accessories – this new brushed brass heating option satisfies the increasing demand for the luxurious golden tones of this popular finish.

The Grada Brushed Brass ladder rails boast substantial heat outputs, offering BTU levels of 1062, 1765 and 2153, depending on the size. Colour-matching radiator valves complete the range with three pairs; angled, straight or corner.

The Grada heated towel rail is suitable for three heating systems – central gas heating and electric or dual fuel, using the element kit also available from Bathrooms to Love.

The perfect finishing touch to any bathroom, ensuite or cloakroom, the Grada ladder radiator is also currently available in chrome, anthracite and matt black finishes and has a five-year quality guarantee.

Available from stock and supported with PJH’s Next Day Delivery service to 91% of UK postcodes, this new Grada Brushed Brass radiator is now available to order via PJH’s Partners Portal™ e-commerce website. For further information, contact PJH on T: 0800 8 77 88 99 / www.partners.pjh.uk / www.bathroomstolove.uk