Meeting with Maxime Boileau, Marketing Communication Director for the Windows Solutions division of Rehau

Batinfo: Can you introduce yourself and Rehau to us?

Maxime Boileau: I have been at Rehau for 15 years, starting with Commerce before taking over the Marketing department 5 years ago.

Rehau was founded in 1948 by Helmut Wagner in Germany, in the town of Rehau after which the company was named. The Wagner family still 100% owns Rehau.

The Rehau Group today represents 4 billion euros in turnover, 20.000 employees across 5 continents and 190 sites/factories.

Rehau's core business is obviously polymer processing. We seek to innovate in each new market we enter. For example, in the Windows division, our goal is to create the window of tomorrow with recycled PVC, with color and design to modernize the PVC window which has suffered in recent years from an outdated image. This desire to always seek to innovate in the areas where we are present is Rehau's DNA.

Rehau is notably present in:

• automotive, which is the most important division at Rehau,
• medical with RAUMEDIC,
• industry with for example products for aeronautics, or the food industry,
• the construction industry with 3 divisions Furniture solutions (edge ​​banding system), Building Solutions (underfloor heating system) and Window Solutions (windows, sliding doors, doors and shutters. We seek out the best polymers in each area of application.

Regarding PVC exterior joinery, you should know that the first models were marketed in Europe in 1958. In 1968, Rehau created RAUCRON, its first range of PVC windows. In the 90s, Rehau France began creating its own products to respond to the constructive model of the French market, such as the creation of the first wide frame or the thin beat to center the handles.

In 2008 Raufipro was launched. It is a modern composite material with fiberglass (to limit the use of steel reinforcement) and recycled PVC. This material allows for gains in thermal performance and size, allowing thinner profiles to go higher and be more efficient. It is used in several of our ranges today.

In 2015, our Morhange factory, created in the 60s, switched to recycled PVC on site thanks to an investment plan of 25 million euros.

2018 marked the creation of the Marketing department and a new communication strategy at Rehau, denoting a desire to become better known to assemblers and architects in France and the Maghreb.

Now Rehau France Windows Solutions represents 100 million euros in turnover for 450 employees. We are the French leader in the manufacture and design of PVC profiles for windows, doors, sliding doors and shutters. It is estimated that 1,2 million windows are manufactured in France with our products.

Our catalog includes tens of thousands of references spread across around thirty different ranges.

We also recently launched the Window ID Card, WindowID. It is a tool to help the sector better identify windows, know what they are made of to better repair or recycle them, for example.

Batinfo: How do you stay at the forefront of innovation?

Maxime Boileau: R&D is an important point at Rehau. 3 Research and Development centers are present in Europe to file more than 100 patents each year, whether for industrial process engineering in production, product design, etc. We invest more than 1% of our research turnover.

This allows us in particular to develop solutions such as alarms integrated into windows. We offer an opening, presence and vibration detector directly from the integrated assembler to make the window intelligent. Simply connect the window to the home wifi to be notified of an intrusion. Although this is not in our core business, we work on this type of solution in order to support our customers and ultimately improve the quality of the offer for individuals. Also, we are very interested in the new constructive model and new so-called “disruptive” technologies to integrate them into our current and future products.

Batinfo: What are your latest news?

Maxime Boileau: We have just launched our new sliding concept, Slinova X, rewarded with 3 prizes, notably the Gold Prize for Batinfo Innovation Trophies 2023. This product was made based on feedback from the market, architects, developers and assemblers. It is a synthesis of what the new generation PVC sliding system should be. We have therefore worked to provide excellent acoustic and thermal insulation and finesse with the thinnest central leaf on the market (32mm) for a new generation PVC sliding door. Slinova X is a form of synthesis of our existing products with a recycled PVC frame, the openings are made of Raufipro We made the choice of “the right material in the right place” in order to have the best proposal possible.

In line with the DNA of our group, we also seek to use as little material as possible, "the most ecological material is the one that we do not consume".

With the optimization of this product, Slinova The use of Raufipro on this product also allows us to achieve a Uw of 5,90.

Another recent innovation is that of Window ID. It is an anonymized service available on any type of product allowing all information on the product to be accessible thanks to a QR code. This product identity card helps with installation, after-sales service and recycling. An RFID chip is also installed inside to monitor the industrial manufacturing process.

We have just invested, in 2023, 5 million euros for the acquisition of two new co-extrusion production lines in order to support the growth in sales of our EcoPuls ranges which integrate both materials, virgin material and recycled material.

Batinfo: What do you have planned for the future of Rehau’s Windows division?

Maxime Boileau: Although we are starting to cover the innovation of PVC windows, we still have a lot of work to do on communication around this type of product. BtoB communication is a major focus for us going forward.

In terms of innovation, our goal is to create the lowest possible window in terms of carbon emissions. Currently in our FDES we are close to wood (49kg per functional unit compared to 55kg for recycled PVC) but we will continue to invest in R&D to further reduce these emissions and succeed in creating more efficient ranges. These future ranges will also integrate new technologies to correspond to tomorrow's market such as vacuum glazing, which we know is already integrated into our current ranges.

We obviously still have future developments coming. For example, a new roller shutter box is being finalized and is planned for 2024.

For 2024, we want to continue to progress the French market with our Made in France products because remember, all our products are made in our Morhange factory.