MECHANICAL CONTRACTING
Commitment to quality for 50 years
milestone for a family owned and family-run organization that promises to keep the integrity of the product paramount. The company was founded by
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John Guest in 1961 and was initially set up as a zinc die-casting operation, making a wide variety of custom parts for various other manufacturers. With the invention of “Speedfit”
his year marks the 50th year in business for John Guest Limited, a significant
quality, automotive, blown fiber and compressed air. John Guest manufactures out of the UK, undertaking every stage of the production process, but 60% of their business is from export markets. John Guest is one of an
increasingly few product manufacturers who have a fully integrated supply chain that originates in product and tool design and continues through to final product assembly, quality control and
excerpt of that Q&A:
Phc: Describe the strategy involved in taking the business to the States.
RG: The philosophy of the business has always been to spread its interests across different markets and geographies. Apart from the association we feel Britain has with the United States, the U.S. market offered excellent opportunities in the water quality and automotive industries, as there was a definite need for high quality, yet fast, connections. Today, we are the leading water quality push-in fitting system and have sold millions of fuel and brake line fittings to U.S. car manufacturers. We always felt, however, that we were destined to become heavily involved with the American plumbing and heating market.
Phc: What is the biggest difference in marketing JG’s product in the UK and the U.S.?
Contractors on the job depend on the reliability of the John Guest connect Speedfit fittings.
fittings in the early 1970s, the company had its own primary product and brand to bring to market. This push-in technology has enabled the company to move into several marketplaces, including plumbing, drinks dispense and water
“When designing and conceiving of products we always have the installer in mind... The Speedfit system enables plumbing work to be done quicker and easier, without compromising on quality or reliability.”
dispatch. Aligning this structure with a passion for invention has enabled John Guest to continue to be a global leader in push-fit fittings. Consistent investment in leading edge technology over the past 50 years has not only allowed the company to grow considerably but also to make certain that product quality is never compromised; an outcome of the beliefs of the company’s founder, the late Mr. John Guest, and still the guiding view today. The company’s business foray into
the United States was established in 1985, based in New Jersey — where it still operates today. Recently, Phc News was fortunate
enough to speak with Robert Guest, commercial director for John Guest and son of the founder. Here is an
RG: The core JG brand values and key installer benefits are very much the same. We feel the JG stamp on a fitting stands for quality and reliability. The user advantages are derived from the product’s inherent savings in labor and material costs. Push-in plumbing in the U.S. is not yet as prevalent as it is in Europe, so we are on a major push to explain how Speedfit products can make plumbers’ lives easier and help put dollars in their pockets.
Phc: Describe any new products.
RG: We are very excited about our new “Speedfit Secure” range of plumbing connectors for threaded applications. They have a clever locking device, making connections to threaded applications both easy and very strong. Like all Speedfit fittings, should there ever be a need to disconnect an application, this can be done with ease. We think it’s a really nice product.
phc june 2011
www.phcnews.com
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