Roman Empire Report: Behind the Scenes

For those of you who live locally to Roman, in the North East, or for those of you who follow us on Twitter and ‘like’ us on Facebook, you may have seen a lovely article about Roman in the Northern Echo newspaper and on their website. In case you missed it we thought we’d bring you some behind the scene moments and highlights from the article…

Behind the Scenes Pictures

David Osborne being photographed on our Shower Enclosure Manufacturing Lines

David Osborne being photographed on our Shower Enclosure Manufacturing Lines

 David Osborne being photographed in our trade showroom

David Osborne being photographed in our trade showroom

The spray booth in action in our Solid Surface Shower Tray Manufacturing Facility

Photographs Used in the Article

Neil Simpson is pictured carefully manufacturing one of our Shower Enclosures

Neil Simpson is pictured carefully manufacturing one of our Shower Enclosures

Jonathan Wales at work on the Manufacturing Lines

Jonathan Wales at work on the Manufacturing Lines

David Osborne poses on the shopfloor

David Osborne poses on the shopfloor

John Kavanagh drills the profiles for a Shower Enclosure

John Kavanagh drills the profiles for a Shower Enclosure

David Fuller concentrating on the manufacture of Roman’s Products

David Fuller concentrating on the manufacture of Roman’s Products

Some of our Favourite Quotes:

“Roman has weathered the recession and is going from strength to strength, helped by its reputation for high-quality British manufacturing”

“With an enviable product range, fruitful forays into the homewares market and a successful factory on the other side of the world, this Roman empire looks set to continue its relentless march forward.”

“the company firmly established as the UK’s market leader and enjoying a burgeoning reputation in foreign markets.”

“Roman is a successful family-owned, progressive company that has not only diversified into new areas of business, but maintained its values as it has grown”

The Northern Echo
Read the article in full on The Northern Echo’s website.

Roman Win Award for Project 252

Last year, as you may well have seen, we ran a social media campaign called Project 252. This documented a year in the life of Roman through photos. There were 252 working days during 2012, so there was a photo taken every single working day showcasing different aspects of the business. We entered the idea into the CIPD awards, for the Innovation in Social Media or Technology category. The ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel on the 18th April and we were delighted to scope the award. Here’s a photo diary from the event…

David and John Enjoy a Welcome Drink

David and John Enjoy a Welcome Drink

Shelley and Sue enjoy their arrival glasses of champagne

Shelley and Sue enjoy their arrival glasses of champagne

We're the Winners

We’re the Winners

The Roman Team with the Award

The Roman Team with the Award

The award sponsors sent over a bottle of fizz to help us celebrate

The award sponsors sent over a bottle of fizz to help us celebrate

Our fellow table mates the Cyrenians who were runners up in their category

Our fellow table mates the Cyrenians who were runners up in their category

It was the centinary birthday for the awards, so cupcakes to celebrate

It was the centinary birthday for the awards, so cupcakes to celebrate

World Health Day

The 7th April is World Health Day. We thought we would mark the occasion with a blog post which looks at Health from a few different angles.

Hygiene

Water is a scarce resource in many parts of the world, as we highlighted on World Water Day with our World Water Day info-graph that was created specifically for the occasion. There are millions of people all over the World who don’t have access to clean water for drinking or washing in.

Hygiene Fact 1

Washing your hands with soap and water could reduce diarrheal disease-associated deaths by up to 50% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Hygiene Fact 2

Washing your hands is one of the easiest ways to prevent the spread of disease in the home. Wash your hands regularly using hot water and soap. Always wash your hands after visiting the WC and before and after preparing food.

Hygiene Fact 3

Did you know that when you flush the toilet, particles and germs from the toilet bowl can travel as far as six feet and linger in the air for around two hours? Always flush with the lid down! (NHS Choices website)

Accessibility in the Home

Within the UK we have an aging population, alongside this The Department for Work and Pensions estimates there are around 10 million disabled people in the UK. As we get older, or if we suffer with a debilitating illness, then we want to make life as easy as possible in the home. The bathroom in particular can be a troublesome area. Here are our top tips on how to make showering as safe and as easy as possible, whilst also keeping the bathroom space looking stylish and modern…

Level Access

Whether this is achieved by creating a wetroom, or by installing a low level shower tray, level access allows easy access into your showering area eliminating that troublesome step up.

Door-less Entry

By choosing a door-less enclosure such as a wetroom or a walk-in shower enclosure, you achieve totally unrestricted access.

Height Adjustable Shower Head

This is particularly important for a family home, as you can set the shower head at a lower height for those who prefer to sit when showering, but taller users can also set it to a comfortable height for their shower.

The Environment

When thinking about our health, we need to also consider the harmful chemicals in and around our environment and where possible reduce these. This can be in terms of CO2 emissions, to all work together to reduce Carbon output, of from simply the amount of chemicals we come into contact with on a daily basis.

We add Ultra Care pre-coated glass protection to all our Shower Enclosures and Bath Screens, which helps prevent dirt and grime from sticking, thus eliminating the need to use harsh chemicals in the bathroom.

If you want to create your own cleaning agent, Martha Stewart recommends Baking Soda:

  • Kitchen and Oven Cleaner: Mix a paste of 3 parts warm water to 1 part baking soda.
  • Bathroom Cleaner: Mix washing-up liquid with baking soda until you have a thick paste.

Happy World Health Day!

Behind the Scenes: Roman Present on why we Manufacture in Britain

John Presents 'Why we Manufacture in Britain'

John Presents ‘Why we Manufacture in Britain’

As a British manufacturer, Roman were approached by the North East Chamber of Commerce and asked to present at a breakfast morning about why we manufacture our Shower Enclosures in the UK. This is something which we have seen become very topical lately, with a range of companies now bringing their manufacturing back to UK shores. Our Operations Director, John Wright, went along to give our reasons why we prefer to manufacture in the UK. Here’s a behind the scenes look at the presentation…

Haven Range – One of the main focusses of the presentation was our Haven range of affordable Shower Enclosures. Haven was launched in response to a flood of very low cost products entering the market from overseas. It is the only range of Shower Enclosures we have ever manufactured outside of the UK. In 2010 we began the process of moving the manufacture of this range back to our main factory in the North East of England. There were a number of factors as to why we brought it home, which John explained.

Product Compatibility – as a British designer and manufacturer we understand the typical restrictions of the UK bathroom. Often it is a small space to work with and walls may be out of true. We create solution bathroom products which are designed to help overcome these restrictions.

Product Suitability – we understand our nation’s bathroom habits and our demographics. The bathroom is somewhere we retreat to so we want it to look stylish and relaxing. We are an aging populations, so we want a bathroom design which makes life easier.

John Presents to the NECC

John Presents to the NECC

Flexibility – for our network of retailers UK wide we can supply products quickly and with small minimum order quantities. We can also offer a tailor made design service, for customers looking for something specific.

Responsiveness – UK consumers are very savvy and are always quick to tell us what they would like out of a bathroom design. As a designer and manufacturer we need to be able to react quickly to meet these needs.

Product Quality – We carefully monitor the quality of our products and can see them at every stage of the design process.

Customer Service – our Customer Service team are trained on the design, build and installation of our products, so can answer any technical query that may come up. They have quick and easy access to the manufacturing team, as well as the Design team should they have any particularly unusual enquiries.

John Concluding the Presentation

John Concluding the Presentation

Minimising Impact on the Environment – this is both in terms of shipping emissions and more stringent legislation for UK manufactures.

Social Responsibility – both in terms of job and wealth creation, but we also offer apprenticeship opportunities and work experience opportunities.

John concluded the presentation with details about the Stoves’ Made in Britain campaign, which we have backed since they first launched the Made in Britain Marque. This is something we now use across all marketing material and product packaging, to highlight our products are Made in Britain, as this becomes increasingly sought after.

Climate Week 4th – 10th March [Infograph]

Climate Week 2013 Infograph

Transcript of Above Infograph – Climate Week 4th – 10th March

With many of us now switched on to being green, as a British company and manufacturer this is something we are also very conscious of. This week is Climate Week, so it’s an ideal opportunity to talk about what we are doing to reduce our impact on the environment, and to also give you some useful hints and tips on what you can do…

To help us track and improve our environmental impact we hold ISO14001 accreditation. We gained this in 2009 and have implemented a number of new procedures and changes across the company:

We segregate all our waste into recyclables and non-recyclables. In 2012 we received praise from our waste management company for our achievements in this area. We managed to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill down to only 7%, with the other 93% all being recycled. We now aim to improve this by a further 2.5% this year.

TIP: With councils now helping us to recycle by collecting waste and recyclables separately, you can do you bit more easily. We recommend keeping a separate box for recyclables next to your kitchen bin, so you are not tempted to dispose of recyclables in you main bin.

To reduce on the hazardous waste we output, we use methylene chloride in the manufacture of shower trays, we then filter all of the used chloride which in turn will then be continuously recycled back into the process.

TIP: Cut down on the amount of chemicals that you wash down the plug hole when cleaning, by choosing natural alternatives which include bio-degradable materials. You can even make your own all-purpose cleaner – mix ½ cup vinegar and ¼ cup baking soda into 2 litres of water, for a totally natural solution.

All our products are package in recycled cardboard which is recyclable – the use of plastic shrink wrapping was eliminated some time ago.

TIP: Try to reuse carrier bags at the supermarket so you are not using new ones each time. Most supermarkets also have a point where you can recycle your used plastic bags, so they don’t go to landfill.

All our company drivers have completed a SAFED driving course which helps them to drive in a more fuel efficient way, to reduce the vehicle’s carbon output. We also replaced all company vehicles so that all company cars emit less than 125 grams of CO2’s per kilometre.

TIP: If you would like to learn how to drive in a fuel efficient way visit the Energy Saving Trust website for some useful hints and tips.

Our range of Shower Valves are innovatively designed to offer uncompromised performance, whilst reducing water consumption to save money on your energy bills and to reduce the amount of water wasted each use.

Did you know: The water we use for washing ourselves – whether it’s washing our hands, hair or cleaning our teeth, uses up about a third of our home water supply.

Good Resources: If you are looking to install water efficient products for the home, visit The Water Label website, which holds a library of products which offer optimum performance, whilst saving wasted water. Alternatively, if you are looking for quick fixes on how to save water, check out the Bathroom Manufacturer’s Association’s top water saving tips.

TIP: Reduce wasted water by turning down or switching off the shower when shampooing your hair, by not running the tap when brushing your teeth, and by putting a plug into the sink when washing your face or shaving.

Our range of Shower Enclosures and Bath Screens feature Roman Ultra Care Pre-coated Glass Protection, which makes cleaning easy, by preventing dirt, grime and limescale sticking to the glass – eliminating the need to use harsh chemicals and reducing the amount of water wasted during the cleaning process.

TIP: If you don’t have glass protection on your existing enclosure or bath screen, you can build up the protection over time with a product such as our Roman Ultra Care.

If you’d like to read more about how we work towards reducing our impact on the environment, you can read our Ecodentials (our Environmental Credentials).