The People in Glazing: Gareth Thomas – REHAU

Navigating the art of sales requires an in-depth knowledge of both the product and company, and Gareth Thomas, who you may remember from running an Ultra Marathon back in June of this year, and current Area Sales Manager for REHAU in the Southwest has a unique perspective, having been both a customer and a colleague at REHAU.

In this piece, Gareth will go through his experiences at REHAU, while also describing what he enjoys about the fenestration industry alongside his exceptional 100k marathon.

What did you do before joining REHAU?

I originally came out of university and went to work in China, completing a TEFL course to teach English as a foreign language. I then did that for 18 months, before returning to the UK, where, by chance, there was opportunity with a local company called Sun Trade.

Sun Trade is one of REHAU’s biggest customers here in Wales, so it was through them that I first heard about the company and learnt about a lot of their products. After eight years of this, I found a really exciting opportunity to join REHAU, and jumped at the chance to do so.

What does your current role entail at REHAU?

I’m currently an Area Sales Manager for the fabricators in the southwest. As part of my role, we’re constantly talking to customers, supporting them through providing the latest information on our products and services. However, this isn’t the only way we can help them, as we also assist in numerous other ways, including working with their own marketing teams to help build their own brands, and providing a foundation for their business plans.

This is actually what I’m currently doing with one of my fabricators, who I am helping to look down the route of funding so that they can grow their own business.

What have you achieved since joining REHAU?

At REHAU, we have something called the Champions Club. When you work in sales as I do, you are monitored year by year, and to help us track our stats, we have a have sort of league table. Obviously, we all want to be on top, which is why I’m proud that this year I’ve finished in the top three globally for new business sales.

How has REHAU assisted you with your career growth?

One thing that REHAU is doing for the sales team is to put us on a sales executive course to help develop our knowledge, which we’ve all really appreciated. The profession within the UK isn’t really chartered now, but this will eventually be the case. This sales executive course will be one of the first steps towards that.

REHAU is just supportive in general. They are willing to back you to look after your own area. So, if you think it’s right for REHAU, then you are proactively asked to go and do that. In terms of my future at the company, I hope to progress within REHAU, and hopefully be in a move into a management position in the near future.

How did you hear about the NFA Awards?

When you get nominated for something, it’s always nice!, but really this shows that I’m putting in the hard work and that it’s getting appreciated. Let’s just hope I win now, that’s all I’m hoping for!

How has REHAU supported you inside or outside of work?

Yes, they were really supportive of a charity run that I completed in June.  It took a lot of training, including spending time away from my pregnant wife, but she’s been cheering me on the whole way , as has everyone else at REHAU. I completed it in just under 14 hours of running, with over 8000+ calories burnt and 121,000+ steps across the Cotswolds. We’ve raised over £4600 for MacMillan Cancer Support, which has assisted my family through some difficult times, which I’m, of course, proud to help. This was all obviously for a good cause, but I think my legs will thank me if I give it a little bit of a break, I will not be in a rush to do this again!

REHAU – Engineering Progress, Enhancing Lives