Wrekin, alongside its Geoworks subdivision, has opened a brand-new customer experience centre to showcase UK-based manufacturing excellence.
The Civils Hub offers customers – including engineers, specifiers, contractors, merchants and architects – an opportunity to get hands-on with a full range of ductile iron, steel and geosynthetic products that are used across industries such as highways, water, telecoms and energy.
As well as real products being exhibited alongside informative displays that explain which applications they can be used for, the facility includes miniature versions of products for visitors to take a closer look at the design intricacies that make them widely used on projects across the UK. Visitors will be able to see how different products behave, where they add value, and where poor choices can cause long-term issues.
With the official opening of the Civils Hub marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony conducted by BMF CEO John Newcomb, the customer experience centre is located adjacent to Wrekin and Geoworks’ headquarters in the well-connected Midlands city of Lichfield, just a few minutes’ walk from the nearest train station. And as well as offering a flexible layout that can be adapted for personalised visits, the Civils Hub also includes space catering for the delivery of CPD sessions which are available to those wanting to increase their understanding and ability to specify and use the products offered by Wrekin and Geoworks.
Simon Turner, Managing Director at Wrekin, said: “Using the Civils Hub we aim to deliver a hands-on experience where we bring our ductile iron, steel access solutions and geosynthetic products to life, showcasing how they perform in real-world applications and support better outcomes across our customers’ projects.
“Whether it’s opening our new Civils Hub or working with independent industry assessment bodies, we are constantly working on different ways to give our customers and the wider industry the confidence that our products are designed with quality, reliability and safety in mind. We believe too many on-site problems start with decisions made without ever seeing products or understanding how they are installed, so the Civils Hub helps close that gap.”
Simon continued: “Although information about our products is easily accessible online, we believe that the Civils Hub offers a unique in-person experience that will benefit professionals in various positions with different responsibilities. It’s widely recognised that the construction and infrastructure sectors are driven by collaboration and relationships, which we aim to continue facilitating face-to-face.”
Opening of the Civils Hub follows a successful year for the Lichfield-based businesses, with more than one million product sales in 2025 resulting in Wrekin’s turnover growing by 12% and Geoworks increasing the total weight of products it sold by 10%.
Tim Hanlon, Category Manager at EH Smith, was one of the first people to visit the new customer experience centre. He said: “I think a great interactive space has been created for the industry, which will help improve the knowledge of both our staff and customers. I was particularly impressed with the mixture of modern technology and 3D models alongside physical products.
“What has been created is well ahead of many others in the market, and it is a credit to all involved.”
Simon added: “While Wrekin has been leading the way in the water industry for many years, an ongoing push into the energy and telecoms industries mean that new relationships and conversations are forming every day. Meanwhile, growth of newer business Geoworks has gone from strength to strength – having recently launched data-driven geogrid design specification platform Geoworks IQ – helping to develop the overall market for geosynthetics.
“This backdrop of continued expansion and influence created the ideal conditions for us to increase investment in our customer experience, which has led to the opening of our Civils Hub.”
To learn more about the Civils Hub or arrange a visit, head to www.civilshub.co.uk.
Main image shows Wrekin MD Simon Turner with BMF CEO John Newcomb.
