UK shower tray manufacturer Private Room has won a prestigious award as best shower tray manufacturer and has been working hard to “address criticisms aimed at the established shower tray manufacture and supply base”.
The Gloucestershire-based shower tray manufacturer, which launched on to the market at the beginning of 2020, has won the SME News award for ‘Best Shower Tray Manufacturer 2021’.
Said operations director John Tanner: “We are proud of this recognition by the ‘Best shower tray manufacturer 2021’ in the SME News awards on behalf of Made in Britain. However, we won’t be resting on our laurels. We have several new designs, surface finishes and colours in development for launch in 2022.”
And Tanner added that Private Room has also been busy considering the supply chain situation.
He told kbbreview: “During the past 12 months we have taken the time to analyse and address the criticisms aimed at the established shower tray manufacture and supply base. This information has been gained through extensive market research, our team have spoken to everyone, from local independent retailers, through to national plumbing merchants, online retailers and of course the consumer.”
Tanner added that the company has focused on “lean manufacturing” and has invested in building the best team it can and bringing as many of the production processes in house as possible so that it can better control quality and supply.
He explained how this had benefited the business: “With our wealth of plastic experience and in-house R&D facility, we have been able to design and develop our own specific moulds and associated tooling and jigs. These key attributes facilitates the scalability of our business model and the commercial viability of launching new designs and trays sizes on an ongoing basis.”
The company has also developed its own specific blend of ‘stone resin’ to achieve the optimum balance of strength and weight. Said Tanner: “Using new techniques and equipment our manufacturing processes are unique in the marketplace.”
The company says it offers a full spectrum of finishers to suit any bathroom design. These range from its anti-slip Connect-Tray to its Revelation range of natural granite tones. It also has several new designs, finished and colours in the pipeline for 2022 But Private Room recognises the challenges ahead, especially with regard to costs. Tanner said: “As a business, the biggest challenge we are facing is lead times for raw materials and escalating prices, which are increasing daily and, as a new business, this is causing commercial issues for us regarding costings. We are trying to negate any price increases into the market by constantly looking at efficiencies through manufacturing and engineering without compromising on quality.”