Rioned - 60 years of sewer and drain expertise - at your service every day

The start of the 21st century marked a new era for Rioned. Under the watchful eye of Jan Pieters, who has held the position of Managing Director at Rioned since 2001, the company has intensified its focus on innovation. Jan describes these activities in detail in the article entitled Rioned, innovative producer of sewer and drain equipment. However, the company’s drive to innovate encompasses more than the sewer and drain equipment produced by Rioned. The company’s internal and external organisation and aftersales support have also been restructured and strengthened. Jan Pieters enthusiastically tells us more about Rioned's successes and plans for the future in this interview.

Rioned's primary asset: experienced colleagues alongside talented young people

Jan Pieters explains: “I took over at Rioned during a period of dynamic change. In 2001, we relocated to a single site in Tilburg. Production and engineering were still located in Goirle prior to the move, and the commercial department operated from an office in Riel. In addition to relocating to a single site, we also needed to restructure our internal organisation in order to work more efficiently. We started this exercise during the course of 2002. The objective was to encourage the departments in our company to work together in a different way. That involved reassessing the flows between the departments and reviewing our business processes. The process was tantamount to a complete reorganisation and led to significant changes. We also rethought our human resources approach. After all, our employees are our principal operating asset and we wanted to firmly anchor their expertise in the organisation. We have achieved this by clearly documenting the tasks and responsibilities associated with the individual positions and by offering growth opportunities. The results have been overwhelmingly positive. Rioned’s staff turnover is extremely low, meaning that we retain expertise successfully. So the young and talented people who join our company can always rely on adequate support from experienced older colleagues.”

Completely new distribution set-up

Jan Pieters continues his story: “We also restructured our distribution set-up in selected countries. We worked with several distribution partners before the reorganisation. The first change occurred in Belgium in 2002, when we started to supply and service our customers direct. After that we have gradually implemented this approach in more countries. In other countries we work with a well trained distribution network of Authorized partners. Local presence is the key to the successes of our business.”

Company-owned rental fleet in England

Jan continues enthusiastically: “England is a special market for us. Rioned acquired an English business called Wards Flexible Rod Company in 2006. We used a combination of both company names for a while, but the English company is now called Rioned UK. Rioned has been successful in England since the acquisition in 2006. We expanded our activities again in 2013 when we acquired Andy Guest Jetters. These acquisitions have brought us significant market share and even allowed us to enter new markets. In addition to offering our own machines, we now also supply machines for the budget end of the market via Andy Guest Jetters. Furthermore, we are active in the rental sector. Rioned has set up its own rental fleet in England. We purchase the vans ourselves, fit them out and install the machines. We intend to pursue this policy in other major markets in the years to come.”

Increasing attention for aftersales

Jan: “Aftersales is another significant development. This activity is increasingly important for Rioned. We have worked hard to expand our after sales in recent years. And we will continue to do so in the years to come. We provide effective and affordable solutions to minimise machine downtime. For example, by offering maintenance contracts to keep the machines in optimum condition. We have service engineers on the road and available at our site in Holland and England. In countries where service is done by a distributor, we rolled-out a comprehensive training program. If a machine breaks down, we can repair it within 24 hours 99% of the time. If we are unable to do so, customers receive machines and materials from us on loan. This minimises disruption to our customers’ business operations. Keeping your business flowing is still our primary objective.”

Would you like to know more? Please contact our aftersales department.