Heritage
Although only 15 years of age, the company has a rich, varied and interesting history.
Lubetech was founded in 1996 by the current Managing Director, Richard Ghinn. The company started out as a venture into a market that had no real leader or mainstream supplier. A catalogue was produced, detailing a small product range, products which evan at that time set the market standard in versatility and absorbency. Although some different brands were sold initially, the Lubetech own-brand began to take prominence because of the attention to detail and the new ideas that were developed. The company started out in a small warehouse in the Chandlers Ford area of Southampton.
The company began to grow consistently so that, by 1998, a far larger storage depot was leased in the Hedge End area of Southampton to warehouse the growing range of products, and in 1999 the company was consolidated again into one unit, again in Chandlers Ford. Around this time, Lubetech began the development, growth and promotion of a range of products today known as 'Classic'. In conjunction, a more comprehensive catalogue was produced that invoked some areas of innovation, and which began the ascent to market leadership. In 2003, The company moved again to larger premises in the same area, and 3 new catalogues were produced in a short space of time.
By 2006, Lubetech began the drive to operate only through distribution, and we began to pass our direct accounts to our existing resellers. The freed time and resources allowed development of new products for the benefit of those end users, and from this R&D-driven approach Lubetech developed both the 'Superior' and the 'Back and White' ranges, to provide give a `good-better-best` product delineation. As Lubetech became more involved in distribution and working with reseller partners, the need for a sustainable product range was identified. March 2007 saw the first `Natural` products going through live trials and by September, a version was produced that outperformed anything of its sort ever seen before. A corresponding catalogue was again produced and the range widened further, demonstrating true examples of innovation.
In 2008, the company moved again to it's existing distribution centre in the Hedge End area of Southampton. A purpose-built 30,000 sq ft Distribution Center proved perfect for the company's needs and enabled a professional, final transition of end user customers through to our reseller partners. Office space alongside allows for sales and support staff, as well as the training & survey team. The company took huge strides forward through 2009 and 2010, engaging with major industrial reseller partners, growing fast and putting more investment than ever before into marketing and product development. In early 2011, a new brochure was launched, with a corresponding web presence for the benefit of customers and distributors alike. Today the company continues to witness a steep upward trend in growth, defying economic trends with its `sustainable`, `best value` business approach . A further 15,000 sq ft of external covered space is currently in use, with an additional 10,000 sq ft of product storage on an external site. Now in 2012, The Lubetech Skills Centre is the latest innovation in on- and off-site training, expanding our service and education support to all in industry for the benefit of business now and future generations.