Technical support

Rehau places great importance on having first class technical experts in house to support the ongoing development of its product range, the company announced recently.

With a traditional background in engineering and product design Neil Baker is one of Rehau’s technical team. Having worked for the company for nearly 20 years, senior engineer Neil has been part of the launch team for many projects, including the fire-rated products, the Agila fire door, and the Rauferno fire window.

“I have been in the industry for a number of years working across a wide range of areas,” Neil said. “Prior to joining Rehau my experience included working for a hardware manufacturer within the windows industry. My experience on the design of hardware underpins my understanding of hardware implications within the industry – something that is particularly critical with fire rated products.”

Another area that is a key consideration to Neil is product accreditation, design, and engineering of a product that will meet the necessary legal requirements and industry standards.

“When it comes to design there is a compromise between theoretical design and practicality,” Neil said. “Simplest is often best, although not always the most obvious, and this is where we really place our customers at the centre of the design equation.”

Neil’s role also sees him liaising with customers to provide advice and support regarding the specification and installation of a system. His expertise in practical engineering enables him to empathise with the customer’s position, whether this is providing advice for a fabricator, or for local authorities via the Rehau network at the specification stage of a project.

Another side to Neil’s experience is demonstrated through his work on Rehau’s fire rated products, firstly the Rauferno window, and now the Agila Fire Door. This was one of many projects that the technical team saw through from design and development, to manufacturing, culminating in product roll out and training.
“My background means that I was able to both theoretically design the fire door, as well as practically build the final product. This is helpful when it comes to the manufacture of the product and the training stage for our customers.

“As with all our products there are requirements for security, performance and appearance, but the fire doors have an additional purpose of being essential to the safety of residents – often in larger multiple occupancy buildings. The fire door differs at the assembly stage to a standard door or window with a dedicated package including additional fire protection components. This added complexity makes it critical to understand the full process. My experience and skill set lend themselves well to this.”

Watch Rehau’s fire door safety video at www.rehau.uk/agila