Location: /Bespoke Projects (Architects & Developers)

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Bespoke
Bathroom Warehouse UK offers special services for clients wanting to create something unique for their bathroom experience; whether it is for your home or business we are able to provide you with a bespoke service.

From concept to reality:

In the summer of 2009 we were approached by an Austrian company “Bergdorf Priestteregg“ to supply Cast Iron baths for their luxury Chalets.  Quality and price were their criterions on this project. A company executive was swiftly despatched to London to view our operation first hand. Having seen our product range and quality, they were more than happy to purchase from us.
As our business relationship matured the company approached us once again to supply outdoor spas. We were able to source the products within a few days.  A spa was required for each chalet, but what had first seemed a great idea posed a few problems; local bi laws in Austria are very strict on outdoor spas for use in hotels.  Various restrictions and inspections of such equipment were seen to be an obstacle.  Nevertheless, Bergdorf Priestteregg wanted to offer their discerning clientele the facility of a relaxing bath outside viewing the panoramic of the plateaux of Steingebirge range exposed to the wilderness.

We were given a simple drawing to source a product that could be used for outdoors.
 

From these simple drawings, we began our search contacting various suppliers internationally. We were looking for something that would match our client’s specification. We approached our current list of suppliers and found this!
 

This seemed to meet our client’s requirement, but it lacked something, they wanted something more, so we suggested Quartz Stone.   An ordinary Quartz stone bath retails between £2500-£3500. Our clients were working on a budget and were weary how much this would cost them.
Our search began once more. We had approximately 10-14 weeks to source a new company, produce 3D images of the final product and then finally create a mould from drawings provided by Haslinger Waltl Architects & Engineers http://www.dasplanungsbuero.at/.  Our time constraints meant the products must arrive before the end of the year for their grand opening, it was now October 2009.
Once we had found a company that could meet the price, standard and the deadline we sent them various drawings.
(Copyright Warning: This website and its contents are copyrighted.  Copyright for all of the images on this website remains with Bathroom Warehouse UK Limited or the photographers or Haslinger Waltl.)

From these drawings the manufacturers were able to produce 3D images within 2 days.

It was paramount importance for us as a company to make inspections and checks at that the first stage; mould production was exactly according to our clients’ specification, and error at this stage gone unnoticed would have been catastrophic.   Frequent inspections were carried out by our local agent in China, we also despatch our own executive to make final checks on the mould stage.

Creating such a large mould for the factory was a first; it was a testing procedure that was successfully achieved, but there were a few hiccups on the way.  The mould itself came in two parts the outer mould and the inner mould.   Following the mould stage the first bath tub was cast, the outer mould was removed revealing the bath tub.  The first attempt to remove the bathtub from the mould resulted in the bath cracking and a whole day’s work was lost.   The bathtub was removed too early, a lengthier time was need for the cast to set properly and a new procedure was required to remove the heavy cast from the inner mould.  It was case of trial and error.

Finally three days latter the first complete bath tub was revealed

The manufacturer adhered to their own quality control and our company inspectors based in China made their own assessment of quality and packaging after doing so they sent us their detail written and photographic report. Due to our experience and knowledge we take great care that manufacturers follow our and our clients detail instructions.   To underpin our determination for customer satisfaction we have contractual agreements with fines and penalties imposed for non compliance, the companies we deal with have the highest reputation and penalties has never arisen.

The goods were ready and the logistical problems needed to be resolved in a cost effective way.  Shipping containers were sent to the factory for loading, our U.K based shipping agent with a permanent office in Hong Kong lead the first part of bathtubs journey.  In mid November the bathtubs were collected and sent to Port of Guangdong China bound for Port Hamburg in Germany.   This part of the journey took 23 days.  Once the containers had reached Hamburg they were collected by lorry bound for the city of Wuppertal to another logistical hub, where the containers would be unloaded and loaded by a German based haulier onto new trucks onto its final destination.   The lorries arrived on the weekend as planed and were met by the client, at this stage the client needed to inspect the goods at the point where the first carrier had terminated its operation and the second would take over.  At all times the goods where insured on transit
Two days later the goods arrived at their destination and with in days had been fitted ready for the grand opening of http://www.priesteregg.at/