Having built a reputation as one of the UK's leading providers of plastering products from their Cheltenham base, the owner of P1 Plastering Superstore Andrew Hill and his son, Ryan Hill, jumped at the chance to bring one of Europe's best known render brands, PRB, to the UK market back in 2018.
Together with sales director Iain Hebborn, they launched PRB Systems, the exclusive provider of PRB's product range for the UK and Ireland, providing stockists, contractors and housebuilders across the country with attractive, sustainable and cost effective advanced rendering systems.
SoGlos sits down with managing director, Ryan Hill, to find out about how the family firm's commitment to its customers, combined with its high quality products, has driven rapid, year-on-year growth, positioning the business a key player in the UK industry.
Ryan, tell us a bit about yourself and your professional background.
I've been in the industry since I've left school. I went to university, but that really wasn't for me so I got involved in my dad's business, P1 Plasterers One Stop Shop & Plastering Superstore. I first started working for him from a very young age actually — in the school holidays when I was around 12 — and continued all the way through before deciding it was time to settle down and start looking to take on the family business.
I began working full time, initially in the warehouse learning the ropes about the operations side; and then focusing on the machinery, so servicing, repairing, training on a range of rendering and screeding machines. I helped to grow the business from there, introducing new materials, tools and boosting its online and e-commerce presence, getting involved in the marketing side of things — my father was very old school, he did do a bit online, but he's changed dramatically in terms of the business today.
How did you come to start PRB Systems?
Six years ago we were given the opportunity to start PRB Systems in the UK — we were exhibiting at the UK Construction Week and a regional manager for PRB, covering the Normandy area, came over and saw we were exhibiting machines and another brand of render.
He asked me what we were looking to do and basically expressed there was an opportunity of working with PRB. We didn't know anything about PRB over here at the time — they're a massive business over in Europe, they're definitely in the top two producers in France and they've got the biggest manufacturing facility in the whole of Europe. They're a fantastic company.
So before we said yes, my father and I wanted to go over there and see what they were about and learn about their products. So we went over and had demonstrations of the products, we were shown around by the owner at the time; and we were given the opportunity to start the business in the UK, being given the rights to PRB for the UK and Ireland.
How has the company grown since then?
Very, very quickly. We began at the time of Covid, which was a very difficult time to be starting a business. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to do that.
At the time we'd had many discussions over years about Iain Hebborn, who's the sales director and a shareholder at PRB Systems, coming to work with us and the opportunity finally came along when we started the business.
We started working night and day, travelling up and down the country meeting contractors, running a rapidly growing business at a very difficult time.
The last five or six years has seen dramatic growth — we're now competing with the big boys in the industry and we've really made a name for ourselves. We've stood out against our competitors by offering high quality systems at cost effective prices.
We are still quite a small team — there are 13 of
us now — but we've got the ability to react. We're very responsive and we've got feet on
the ground, seeing our contractors and stockists daily
and meeting with housebuilders very regularly.
We've been lucky enough to sign up some fantastic stockists who are very loyal to us. One of the things we've found is that people buy from people, ultimately; and
that's what we always reinforce to the team. You've got to be present, you've
got to be with the customer throughout their whole journey.
People stick with us and continue to use us — we're growing month on month and thankfully, it doesn't seem to be slowing down. We've seen over 25 per cent growth year on year — last year was 32 per cent — which is very positive to see.
What sets PRB Systems apart from other UK businesses in the sector?
I'd say the quality of the products — having been in the industry for so long, I know other people's products — some people will say 'you're just biassed because you're PRB now' and yes there is going to be an element of that, but we've got the experience with it; and we also listen to the feedback from the contractors.
Another area which sets us apart is our certification. The roundabout way of saying it is that our system is thinner compared to that of our competitors, which means there's a huge cost saving for the customer. Whilst the system is thinner, it also still maintains high performance levels; and alongside that there's a 20 per cent saving on materials, so it also has a huge environmental benefit, working alongside our carbon reduction plan.
And again the responsiveness of our team — orders get processed within the hour. We've got multiple examples of 72 hour lead times for our stockists; emergency orders placed on a Friday are sent over to France and delivered on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
We can cope with the biggest projects and we can also cope with the smallest projects; and treat both with the same respect.
The other thing is we actually do care about all of
our customers — the housebuilders, the developers and the contractors, making sure they're getting the right product and the right service, at the right price. I'm not saying our competitors don't care, but there's an invested interest within our team.
A few of the team members are shareholders too, so every decision that's made is for the best of the team and the business — I don't like using the cheesy saying that 'we are a family', but we are. This is a family run business and everyone is part of that family, so there's no real hierarchy.
What are your plans for 2025 and beyond?
While we're retaining our strong focus on nurturing key relationships in the housebuilding market, we'll also be focusing on other areas slightly more.
One of our key growth areas is external wall insulation — we've now strategically installed nine tinting facilities throughout the UK, meaning contractors can get materials the same day, tinted to any colour that they require for their thin coat renders. So that's a huge benefit for people, there's less lead time and projects get completed quicker.
