Commitment to quality for 50 years T
his year marks the 50th year in business for John Guest Limited, a significant milestone for a family owned and family-run organization that promises to
keep the integrity of the product paramount. The company was founded by 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 manufac- turers. With the invention of “Speedfit” 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 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 man- ufacturers who have a fully integrated supply chain that originates in product and tool design and continues
interview with Robert Guest, commercial director for John Guest and son of the founder. Here is an excerpt of that Q&A: PE: 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 geogra- phies. Apart from the association we feel Britain has with the United States, the U.S. market offered excellent oppor- tunities in the water quality and automotive industries, as there was a definite need for high quality, yet fast, con- nections. 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, howev- er, that we were destined to become heavily involved with the American plumbing and heating market. PE: What is the biggest difference in marketing JG’s
product in the UK and the U.S.? RG: The core JG brand values and key installer bene-
fits are very much the same. We feel the JG stamp on a fit- ting 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. PE: Describe any new products. RG: We are very excited about our new “Speedfit
Secure” range of plumbing connectors for threaded appli- cations. They have a clever locking device, making con- nections 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. PE: How does the new low lead law affect JG’s
Contractors on the job depend on the reliability of the John Guest connect Speedfit fittings.
through to final product assembly, quality control and dis- patch. 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, Plumbing Engineer conducted an exclusive
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business? RG: This could be very significant for JG Speedfit products in the States. President Obama has now signed the bill, meaning that all manufacturers will have to sup- ply products with greatly reduced lead content after January 1, 2014. Our Speedfit range has no lead content, meaning that we won’t have to make very expensive changes to our materials and tooling. Installers can be sat- isfied that they are using fully approved products. It might well prove the catalyst for plumbers who haven’t yet used the Speedfit system to give it a try and discover all the other benefits that go with our signature line. PE: How are you celebrating 50 years? RG:We feel it’s a great achievement to hit the 50-year landmark, and we are enjoying recognizing it. We have in- house celebrations going on throughout the year, but we are also running various promotions in the market to help
June 2011
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