Angus Crichton, House and Garden Marketing Manager for ACO, highlights the underlying importance of recommending the trusted brands that are valued by customers and can provide a solution, no matter the application.
Company names occasionally go from identifying a manufacturer to signifying a whole category. Think Hoover for vacuum cleaners, or Biro for ball-point pens; these names have become benchmarks in their area of expertise.
The name ‘ACO’ has similarly become shorthand for quality channel drainage systems. Heard on sites and seen on social media and reviews, people will often ask to: “Put ‘an ACO’ in” — even when the product in question isn’t made by us.
ACO has been designing and manufacturing drainage products for nearly 80 years, earning a reputation for quality and innovation. Our name has become synonymous with quality drainage for a reason, and a significant part of that lies in our comprehensive range — whatever the job, we have ‘an ACO’ to manage water runoff effectively.
No two paved surfaces are the same
Experienced landscapers and paving contractors know a one channel drain system does not fit all settings. Impermeable paved surfaces usually require drainage, especially as climate change delivers higher rainfall.
“Whatever the paved surface, ACO has a channel system that performs effectively, handles the required load and looks the part. And to support merchants in advising their customers, we offer both in-branch and online training.”
Selecting the right system depends on several factors, highlighted by three key questions merchants can discuss with their customers:
1: How much water drains into the channel?
The larger the paved area, the greater the channel’s volume capacity needs to be, and a good rule of thumb is: deeper channels handle more water. ACO’s core domestic channels — HexDrain and RainDrain — can drain up to 150m2 of paving (For a 10m channel run during a 50mm per hour rainfall event, in accordance with the guidance in Building Regulations for England 2015 Section H3 2.4).
This is adequate for most home installations, though it’s important to note that using a low-capacity (shallow or narrow) channel on a large area risks overflow. Our product literature uses a straightforward logo to designate hydraulic capacity.
2: What travels over the channel?
Walk down an average street and you’ll likely see buckled and broken galvanised gratings at driveway entrances, as pedestrian-rated products are often installed in places that cars and heavier vehicles travel over. ACO’s channels are rigorously tested and certified to bear certain loads (in accordance with BS EN 1433:2002 and consequently, ACO channels are stamped UKCA or CE.), indicated by their load class and the location of the installation:
A 15 — Pedestrians and pedal cycles
B 125 — Footways, pedestrian areas and light vehicles, private car parks or car parking decks
C 250 — Parking areas, slow-moving commercial vehicles
Both the channel and grating must have the appropriate load class. An A 15 grating on a B 125 channel, for example, will only be suitable for pedestrian installations.
Merchants have a key role in helping customers choose the right channel and grating. Asking, ‘Where are you installing that?’ could save your customer the expense and reputational damage of returning to replace buckled gratings or, even worse, replacing the whole channel.
3: What surface finish is required?
While some jobs require a straightforward black plastic or galvanised grating, if a homeowner has spent north of £10,000 installing a high-end patio, they’ll want drainage to match. Our Complete the Look range of gratings allows drainage to blend in or stand out as required.
Again, simple enquiries could create an upselling opportunity with a higher-margin product, such as a Complete the Look grating.
Whatever the paved surface, ACO has a channel system that performs effectively, handles the required load and looks the part. To support merchants in advising their customers, we offer both in-branch and online training. What’s more, our channels are designed to ensure merchants’ customers can install with confidence.
Adding value
Each channel system also has accessories for containing, cleaning and connecting rainwater. With accessories, merchants can boost sales by advising on a complete system, not just the channel. For example, when I reviewed ACO products on a major merchant’s website, channels were all accurately listed — but there were no accessories.
A sale of ACO RainDrain B 125 channels for a driveway job could have been boosted by some £120 if the customer had been encouraged to add a sump and an endcap.
That customer would then have installed driveway drainage that kept the rainwater in the channel (endcap) and cleaned it before it entered a soakaway (sump), preventing future clogging. That way, everyone wins: you, your customer and the end-user.
More than a generic term for a channel drain, ACO means quality drainage. Our comprehensive range of channel systems covers thresholds, paths, patios, driveways and car parks — with quality and design that ensure easy, effective installations.
So, when someone asks for ‘an ACO,’ give them the real thing.
Click or tap the link for further information on ACO’s comprehensive range of domestic channel drains.
In the second part of the series next month, Angus outlines the support ACO offers merchants…
