Karen Nelson, business development manager at HOPPE (UK), details the company’s approach to customer collaboration, with insight from Robust’s commercial director Paul Williams.
For HOPPE, success is not simply about supplying hardware. It is about listening to customer needs, applying technical expertise and helping customers reach the right outcome for their market.
Its long-standing relationship with steel door manufacturer Robust UK is a strong example of that approach in action.
Over the past decade, the conventional supplier relationship has developed into something deeper. It is a prime example of a working partnership built on trust, continuity and a detailed understanding of a customer’s business.
For HOPPE, success is not simply about supplying hardware. It is about listening to customer needs, applying technical expertise and helping customers reach the right outcome for their market.
Its long-standing relationship with steel door manufacturer Robust UK is a strong example of that approach in action.
Over the past decade, the conventional supplier relationship has developed into something deeper. It is a prime example of a working partnership built on trust, continuity and a detailed understanding of a customer’s business.
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Learning through collaboration
That depth of knowledge matters when a new requirement emerges. Robust recently identified a need for a cost-effective PAS 24-compliant panic exit hardware solution for its single and double steel security doors, bridging the gap between a basic low-cost offering and significantly more expensive higher security options.
The collaborative process began with exploratory testing using standard panic hardware from ARRONE, a HOPPE brand, and a typical door from Robust. This provided a benchmark and helped the team better understand the test itself. The early result provided valuable insight and was a crucial stage in development to help shape the solution required.
That first stage gave both businesses a clearer picture of what needed to change. Robust gained a better understanding of what was needed from the door, while HOPPE used the findings to refine and develop a more appropriate hardware solution. It was a process rooted in openness and problem solving.
As Paul Williams, commercial director at Robust, explains: “Both sides needed a clear understanding of the project goals and the flexibility to adapt their part of the solution to achieve them.”
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Dan Savage, product engineer at HOPPE, played a central role in that development journey.
His involvement spanned research, design and testing, giving the project a more streamlined path from concept to refinement. The company invested in additional test equipment so it could build its own testing capability further, carry out more indicative work in-house and go into third-party testing with greater confidence.
From Robust’s perspective, that practical support was important. Paul added: “HOPPE took the lead in arranging early test fitting and indicative testing of the new SECUR-DOR 2.1, helping to prove the approach before Robust committed it to a full-scale test programme.”
All of that speaks to one of the biggest strengths HOPPE brings to customer relationships, which is practical support backed by technical expertise. Huge investment is made in training to help staff achieve the widely respected qualifications from the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI).
A relationship built to last
In the case of Robust, the relationship already had strong foundations. Years of liaison with the same team had created familiarity, responsiveness and mutual confidence.
Paul said: “HOPPE has demonstrated over time that it understands the Robust business, its product requirements and where value can be engineered into a solution without compromising quality.”
The wider benefits of partnership working are clear. There is the pooling of resources, with each side contributing what it knows and what it can do. Shared knowledge and learning help to improve the final outcome.
There is also the longer-term value that comes from the process including the confidence, capability and insight that can be taken into future projects.
“This strengthened partnership sets the scene for future collaboration and a better understanding of how to define the initial specification at the outset of a development project,” adds Paul.
Partnerships like this bolster HOPPE’s position, not just as a supplier, but as a responsive, solution-led partner with the engineering flexibility to tackle new challenges.
The relationship with Robust reflects a mindset that HOPPE wants to bring to customer partnerships more broadly.
It is a mindset built around listening first, staying engaged and being open to new ideas. Not every project follows a straight line. But when both sides are prepared to share expertise, work through obstacles and keep sight of the end goal, the result is often better than either could achieve alone.
Why partnership matters
In a market shaped by regulation, performance demands and commercial pressure, that kind of partnership has real value. The relationship between HOPPE and Robust shows that finding the right solution is not about forcing a standard answer. It is about understanding the challenge, bringing the right knowledge to the table, and working together to achieve the best possible outcome.
www.hoppe.co.uk
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