With a 75-year global journey, REHAU entered India in 1997, initiating Edge band tape production in Pune by 2001, followed by a second operation in Vadodara, Gujarat. Recently, the entire manufacturing shifted to Vadodara, boasting over 20 extrusion lines with a production capacity of 8500 tonnes, the highest in India. REHAU reaches customers through four offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Pune, supplemented by six warehouses and expanding experience centers in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
The product range extends beyond Edge bands to encompass premium boards in Matte and Gloss, Roller shutters, systems Plinth cover and legs, hardware, adhesives, solid surfaces, flooring, and wall cladding. Partnerships with Titus Group for hardware and the introduction of a kitchen division in 2022 evidence continuous business growth in India.
During Ply Reporter’s SavalBajarKe series, Mr. Manish Arora shared insights on the benefits, applications, quality parameters, and growth of Edge Band in the Indian market with Mr. Rajiv Parashar, Editor of the Ply Reporter. Here's an excerpt of their discussion.
Q. What specific name do you give to edge bands for furniture?
We say it is the “heart of the furniture”. For example, if a board gets swollen and whatever material you used in it is of no use. So, if the REHAU edge band is used with just 7 to 8% of the furniture cost, that ensures that no moisture goes into the product, right from the sides and top as well. That is why it is called the heart of the furniture. With it, the durability and longevity and go on with regional prices. Being Indian, we offer the right price with the right product.
Q. How do you educate the customers?
For the education of the users and retailers, we run programs like carpenters meet, contractors meet, and many other programs for the dealers and distributors.They can use it for hand applications, as carpenters drive this industry. We give carpenters training through which they can get the right finishes, like machines and tools. We also give a certificate that these are REHAU trend carpenters. Besides, we have HPL manufacturing companies, and with them, we offer REHAU product numbers. Just put the number and get the edge band from REHAU. This is a perfect solution for customers to get the right product with the right HPL.
Q. There are different thicknesses available on the market. What is the ideal thickness that you recommend?
These trends are driven by international trends in the Indian furniture industry. I would like to recommend using 0.45 mm to 0.8 mm that is easily used and applied. The higher thickness, like 2 mm, is used with hot melting. In India, the edge band is used in 0.45 mm to 0.8mm by hand and machines also in the back of the carcasses. But the international standard is 1.5 mm, and for the carcasses, they are going for 1 mm. So, the fastest running size is 40%, which is 0.8 mm, and 20% is 2mm. For furniture manufacturing, 0.8mm should be the carcasses and 0.2mm should be the top surfaces.
Q. Strategic Advice for Fellow Edge Band Companies from a Leading Brand
I would like to advise that what the customers want, the industry should offer them. So the company should invest in research and development. The right product at the right time to the right customers with the right material should be the motto of the manufacturers to offer their customers, like carpenters and OEMs. In the international market, there is a change coming in that will come to India in the coming times as well. We may be five years old, and in the coming times we will adopt the change happening there. India is still a 95% PVC market, but going forward, the time will come when people will start using standard materials that our next generation is adopting.
Q. Unveiling new products, future plans, and more...
Besides Edge band, we have launched several products like adhesive, solid surfaces, flooring, boards, and laminates, and we are consolidating that also. We want to make other products to grow and give our customers a one-stop solution. Going forward, we are coming out with a deep collection of Boards and more colors in roller shutters and finishes in them, like high gloss, etc. And also, lasers are a new buzz in this segment. Apart from that, we are focusing on our surface products, like laminates and boards.
Q. How do you advise the consumer to approach you?
We have our website www.rehau.co.in and toll-free number 18002100011 and many shops dealers available in the market across the nation where they can connect to REHAU and ask for REHAU products My email ID is manish.arora@rehau.com, through which you can place your queries and get a solution from us. We are quite passionate about our surface-related products, like laminate and acrylic boards. My heartfelt choice is to make people aware of the need to have REHAU products in their houses and to make them understand their choice in REHAU. With that, we can maintain the company's growth, which is profitable. We also offer acrylic edge bands with acrylic laminates.