There were celebrations across the Hager factory as its four millionth consumer unit came off the end of the production line at it’s UK manufacturing plant in Telford recently.
The consumer unit is a staple product in the Hager portfolio. This year it merits thirty years since it was introduced to the UK market in 1984, and remains one of the most common electrical distribution boards found in homes and residential premises across the UK. Since then, Hager has experienced rapid growth in the residential sector and by 1995 the consumer unit product had gone from new entrant to market leader, with a market share of 20%.
Hager’s consumer unit has evolved across three iterations since its launch, driving it to the high volume of production it sees today. In 1997 the Vision range of consumer units was launched followed by the 2006 variation, both designed with more emphasis on new features to enhance speed and ease of installation. These include the quick access top cable entry, safe and easy cable entry removal and supply tails kits to aid speed and safety of the meter connections. Along with 100% testing of each consumer unit, Hager prides itself of providing products that exceed customer expectations.
The senior management team from Hager congregated at the end of the assembly line as number four million was packaged into its box for distribution. The whole factory was then invited to mark the milestone over a replica consumer unit cake. To celebrate this landmark, the company has also hidden promotional scratch cards to win an iPad in the packaging of all of its consumer units with the four millionth including the winning card.
Bruce Davies, managing director at Hager said: “We believe we have seen an increased demand for our consumer unit due to our features, rigorous testing processes and the overall quality of the finished product, consequently propelling us to the production of four million. Everyone has been working so hard on a number of significant orders lately so it was great to give them a little something back at the same time as feeling part of a successful organisation that still proudly makes things in the UK.”
Changes to Part M of the Building Regulations also mean that consumer units are far more visible than ever before. The Hager consumer unit has been developed to accommodate these regulations, for integration into the home environment, with sophisticated aesthetic design and plain and glazed door options available.
