Andrew Smith, Managing Director at OWA UK shares his views on the first decade since Brexit.
Do you remember where you were when you heard the news? I do. I was in Germany having dinner with colleagues and supply chain partners, talking about projects, installation details and the usual mix of stories from site. It was Friday June 24th 2016 and the results of the referendum held the day before had been announced – the UK had voted to leave the European Union.
None of us knew what the next decade would bring and what the real impact of Brexit would be but one thing soon became apparent. Whether you voted Leave or Remain, we were all in this together.
Navigating the changes
The initial challenges soon became clear. Certification routes shifted, documentation requirements increased, logistics became more complex and the availability of skilled labour tightened. These are not political observations but day‑to‑day realities that everyone in the interiors and ceilings sector had to work through.
For OWA, a global ceiling manufacturer with a dedicated presence in the UK and a head office in Germany, we also had to adapt.
Business as usual? Not quite…
Despite early speculation, international technical partnerships between our UK and international colleagues did not diminish and in many ways, they became more important. Our German R&D teams continued to innovate and identify new product solutions and performance capabilities while our UK technical specialists translated that work into guidance that suited British project conditions.
What did change was how OWA UK itself was seen and how important it became for us to carve our own identity. We did this by creating a dedicated OWA UK website and Environmental Product Declarations which respond directly to what our customers need. All products are also developed and tested to meet all relevant British and European standards.
While we continue to benefit from the scale and skill of our German manufacturing operation, our UK based operations have also increased, with a larger sales team and a greater variation and quantity of products held in stock at our Birmingham warehouse to be able to provide shorter leads time.
Closer collaboration with our UK distribution partners has also been essential to making our products more readily available and to keep our customers projects moving.
Continuing collaboration
Post Brexit, labour pressures have affected many parts of the sector and this has made training and knowledge sharing increasingly important.
Our training centre in Germany has played a central role in supporting this and has allowed us to work closely with key customers who are working with our ceiling products. Most recently we hosted specialist contractor Pacy & Wheatley, with the team completing a dedicated training session on the new OWAPlan acoustic plaster ceiling system.
What’s next?
Of course, Brexit hasn’t been the only issue over the last ten years as the wider global picture has also made the construction market even harder to navigate. The combined effects of Covid and international conflicts have created pressures that sit well beyond the control of any individual manufacturer or contractor. Material availability has been less predictable, freight and energy costs have fluctuated and certain raw materials have faced periods of low availability. Labour shortages have added further strain, particularly on specialist installation work, and project programmes have become more sensitive to disruption. These challenges have affected the entire sector, regardless of geography or politics, and they have reinforced the importance of clear communication, dependable supply chains and manufacturers who can provide consistent technical support.
However, ever the eternal optimist that I am, what gives me confidence about the next decade is the same thing that reassured me during that dinner in Germany ten years ago. This industry is full of people who care about doing things properly and who work together when challenges arise. We have come through a period of significant change by focusing on what we do best, which is solving problems, sharing expertise and always focusing on delivering quality to our customers.
