Fifty years is a long time in construction. When Ubbink UK was established in 1976, drawings were produced by hand, energy efficiency occupied a very different place in building design and concepts such as mechanical ventilation with heat recovery were a long way from becoming part of everyday construction vocabulary.
Since then, regulations have changed, building performance has improved and digital technology has transformed the way projects are designed and delivered. Ubbink itself has changed considerably too. Yet, according to Managing Director Richard Willetts, some of the reasons why the business has lasted for five decades are surprisingly straightforward.
“Quality and reliability have always remained central to our offer,” he says. “That means quality in terms of the physical engineered properties of the products, but also their technical performance. When that is combined with an honest and ethical approach to business, delivering when we say we will and being clear about where our products can be used and what their limitations are, customers know what they can expect.”
Ubbink UK was founded in 1976, although the wider Ubbink story stretches back considerably further, with the original Dutch company founded in Doesburg in 1896. Today, the UK operation forms part of the international Ubbink Centrotherm Group, with its UK activities covering building, ventilation and energy solutions, roofing products, ventilation systems and products supporting increasingly energy-efficient homes.
AN INDUSTRY TRANSFORMED
Perhaps one of the most interesting things about reaching a 50-year milestone is the opportunity it provides to look at just how much has changed. Richard has spent almost 25 years working in construction and points to improvements in health and safety, particularly around working at height, alongside the transition from paper drawings to CAD and BIM. Building standards have advanced significantly too, with energy performance being one of the biggest shifts.
The drive towards better insulated, more airtight buildings has changed the relationship between the building fabric and ventilation. Heat recovery and controlled ventilation, once relatively unfamiliar concepts, are now part of mainstream conversations around energy-efficient housing. That puts greater responsibility on everyone involved in specifying products and systems.
“As specifiers are required to become more generalist, the role of the manufacturer becomes more important,” Willetts explains.
Choosing an appropriate roof terminal, meeting ventilation requirements without compromising the appearance of a building, or designing compliant ventilation ductwork, can require specialist knowledge that an architect or designer cannot reasonably be expected to hold across every product category.
For Ubbink, that has meant placing more emphasis on technical support alongside the products themselves. The company has recently expanded its technical team with specialists in ventilation and roofing and plans to develop its training provision further.
Digital support is also becoming part of that relationship. Ubbink has developed online calculation tools to help designers establish what is required for a particular system, reflecting the increasing complexity of modern building services. It is a shift away from manufacturers simply supplying a product towards helping project teams understand how that product fits into the wider building.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PRODUCTS
For all the technological change of the past five decades, Ubbink has deliberately chosen a very human theme for its anniversary: “people you can trust”. Richard believes that matters more, rather than less, as technology becomes increasingly embedded in working life.
“Technology and automation are unavoidable, and I firmly believe that the benefits of AI should be embraced, but this does not diminish the role that people play in business,” he says. “Human interactions are central to what we do and fundamentally our people are what make Ubbink special. I want Ubbink to be a good place to work and an organisation that is easy to do business with.”
There is evidence of that culture in the length of service found among employees within the company. A number have spent decades with Ubbink, including Keith Plummer, who has more than 30 years’ experience with the business. When asked what has set Ubbink apart during that time, Keith’s answer is immediate: “The people, without question.”
He describes an organisation with a strong family-business culture, where customer relationships played a large part in everyday working life. The company became more structured as it grew and became part of a larger international group, but Keith says the UK operation retained much of that local character.
One period that stands out particularly strongly in his memory is the boom in solar PV, when feed-in tariffs and government grants triggered a sudden surge in demand. For a relatively small team it meant long days, rapid growth and plenty of pressure.
Ubbink’s response has included continued development of its MVHR, airtight ducting, roof ventilation and terminal ranges, with products designed not simply around today’s minimum requirements but with an eye on where building performance is heading next. The wider business is pursuing an ambition to become a circular brand too, looking at material use, waste, transport, manufacturing
For Ubbink, the challenge will be much the same as it has been since 1976: change with the industry without losing the things customers valued in the first place.
“No business can ever stay the same for 50 years,” Richard says. “We have continually adjusted our focus to suit the needs of the market.”
Products, regulations and technology will keep moving on. But after half a century in the UK, Ubbink’s
“Everyone pulled together, working tirelessly to deliver for our customers,” Plummer recalls. “The long days and weeks required real commitment, but the strong team spirit, shared sense of purpose and plenty of laughter along the way made it an incredibly rewarding experience.”
THE NEXT 50 YEARS
Looking to the future, the construction industry is unlikely to become any less demanding. Changes to Part L, the Future Homes Standard and the growing focus on indoor air quality are already influencing the way modern buildings are designed. Airtightness, fabric performance and controlled ventilation increasingly need to be considered together rather than as separate elements. and the potential for products and materials to be reused or recycled. Predicting exactly what construction will look like in another 50 years is, of course, impossible. Richard expects the move towards net zero to continue, accompanied by greater connectivity and an increasing role for AI in the way we operate. experience suggests that technical knowledge, reliable products and having people at the other end of the phone who know what they are talking about still count for a lot.
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