Case Study 6.1 Segmenting the Market for Wavin
Wavin Group (www.wavin.com) provides plastic pipe systems (the name derives from a contraction of
the words WAter and VINyl chloride). Its products are used in the building industry for all aspects of
water management, plumbing, heating and drainage. Headquartered in Zwolle in the Netherlands (where
it was founded in 1955), it is the leading global supplier of these systems and solutions in Europe, with
a presence in 25 European countries and 40 manufacturing sites. Outside Europe, it has a global network
of agents, licensees and distributors. It employs about 5500 people and has an annual turnover in the
region of €1.2 billion. Since 2012, Wavin is part of the group Orbia, a global supplier of polymer,
material and infrastructure solutions.
Wavin’s industrial brands (including WAVIN, OSMA, Hep2O, Hepworth) span products and systems,
designed and produced for a wide range of applications including gas, water, sewer systems, building,
land drainage and irrigation, and cable ducting. It holds over 300 patents on products and processes and
has a strong commitment to innovation as part of its overall business strategy; the group aims to achieve
20 per cent of its income from products less than five years old. Innovation also supports Wavin’s
sustainability priorities, the company introducing technologies to ensure that its plastic pipes contain
over 50 per cent recycled materials. It is ISO 9001 qualified and its products meet the requirements of
BS EN ISO 140-1 and BS EN 1329-1 for non-pressure underground drainage pipes, and soil and waste
discharge pipes, respectively.
Wavin provides complete solutions for customers, backed by a dedicated sales force with full marketing,
technical, sales and operational infrastructure. And there is a very extensive range of different end-users
for Wavin products, including:
• the jobbing builder replacing a set of gutters, fitting a new kitchen, building a new bathroom or
repairing cracked drains below ground;
• the small building contractor refurbishing a whole house or building from scratch;