Marmox has been selling construction materials for wall and floors for the last 25 years. With annual sales increasing exponentially around the world, the brand is a global leader in the creation of new and innovative construction products.
The company specialises in Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) core products, with XPS described as an “amazingly versatile product to work with as it is a strong, lightweight material that offers fantastic insulating and waterproofing qualities”.
PBM speaks with Jonathan Parsons, UK Business & Product Development Manager at Marmox UK.
Q: How did you get into the industry and to your current position?
A: I was 18 years old when my father set up Marmox UK. Insulated construction boards were in their infancy as a product and it wasn’t long after our launch at the Interbuild show in Birmingham that we were approached by an electric underfloor heating company hoping that by incorporating our insulation board in their specification we could help reduce the heat up time and improve the efficiency of the UFH.
We successfully drove the optimal heat up time from 3 hours down to 15 minutes in our first round of testing, so you could say that Marmox was the original insulation board for the underfloor heating market.
My main duties today are to oversee the sales of the UK division of Marmox as well as being part of an international product development team, creating new and innovative products that are sold throughout the world.
“If more companies throughout Europe follow this trend, it will create a huge restriction on supply through the increased demand of not having materials on the shelf — and to cover missed profits, merchants will have no choice other than pass this cost onto the end user.”
Q: How do you feel the industry has changed in recent years?
A: We have seen a seismic shift in the way the construction industry operates — caused by Brexit, Covid 19 and now the Russian and Ukrainian conflict — which means the availability and increase in the cost of raw materials is a constant concern for all manufacturers worldwide.
The next 12 months will certainly be a very interesting time for all companies that are European based as they will have to obtain raw materials from further afield, creating a much bigger on-cost to some of their core products that have up until now been fairly inexpensive.
Q: What are the current challenges facing the merchant sector?
A: Right now, it’s the increase in haulage costs that are creating the biggest concerns. We are already hearing that some companies in Europe are closing their doors for the next few months whilst they wait out the storm in the hope that upon their return the cost of haulage will have decreased.
If more companies throughout Europe follow this trend, it will create a huge restriction on supply through the increased demand of not having materials on the shelf — and to cover missed profits, merchants will have no choice other than pass this cost onto the end user.
Q: And what are the current challenges facing Marmox?
A: Our biggest challenge is identifying which product to introduce into the UK! Marmox manufactures all its products in Egypt under the name of our parent company CMB International (Chemical for Modern Buildings). CMB produces an entire catalogue of materials from solvent paints for the automotive industry, to injection moulded bathroom furniture and fixtures.
Naturally we would love to flood the market with all our product range but warehousing space and finding routes to market can be challenging. Therefore, every decision we make must be carefully thought out and forward planned.
Q: What has the particular impact of COVID-19 been on the business, and what (permanent?) changes have been implemented?
A: The most obvious impact is the way in which the sales team operates, embracing new technologies such as video calls. Despite our sales team being stuck in lockdowns and our customers not accepting visitors, our sales figures continued to increase.
Thanks to Covid we were able to take a step back from the day-to-day operations and observe our business with more of a critical eye. By doing this we soon realised the importance of our global brand and message, and as a result have been developing a new international website due to be launched this year. The importance of having this new website will enable purchasers to view products that we do not yet import into the UK.
Q: What have been some of the highlights of your career to date?
A: Our biggest success last year was the increase in our merchant sales. Up by 110% of net sales, we truly exceeded all our expectations. As result of Brexit, we had decided to double our stock holding in the event of transport disruptions during this period of uncertainty and as a result we kept our warehouse fully stocked throughout the year, which had a knock-on benefit when Covid struck us.
For several months we found ourselves to be one of the only companies to have stock on the shelf.
Q: How important do you feel the issue of sustainability is to the merchant sector?
A: Sustainability is the core purpose of our insulated wall board. By lining walls, floor and ceilings, home owners can dramatically decrease heat loss in their home.
Also, when it comes to packaging, it is extremely important to use recycled materials wherever possible. As a company we proactively review our packaging detail and make sure that the materials we use for packaging are recyclable.
Q Which individual has influenced you most in your career?
A: As clichéd as it sounds, I will have to say my father, Harry Parsons. After losing everything through the last recession and with only 5 years left before his official retirement, he picked himself up and set to work to bring Marmox to the UK in one last ditched effort to try and regain what he had lost in his last business.
With utter determination and despite the odds, we rallied round as a family and start to sell our insulation boards. Since that day we have never looked back as a family or a business. I’m happy to report Harry is still enjoying his long and very overdue retirement.
Q: And finally, where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
A: In five years’ time, we will have doubled our product portfolio for the UK market with a wide range of A1 fire rated products and an ever-increasing product range. We will look at further distribution depots covering the UK to decrease our lead time down even further from three days.
Click here for more information on the Marmox product range and its support services for merchants.
