The Farécla story began in 1934. Back then our founder, Mr Rodney Alfred Hawkins, established Broadfields Garage, a small garage repair business in Winchmore Hill North London. The young company flourished and growth was steady until 1939 when the onset of World War II plunged Europe into conflict.
Company History
Farécla Products Ltd is a manufacturer of polishing compounds and surface finishing products which are used on a wide variety of substrates. From polishing compounds and applicators, to polishing machines and microfibre cloths, Farécla has provided surface finishing solutions to automotive bodyshops, detailers, boat builders, woodworkers, composite manufacturers and other industrial applications since 1952, now in over 120 countries. Farécla joined Saint-Gobain in 2018.
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Small Beginnings
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DIVIDE & CONQUER1944
1944 saw the new company divided in two, with the engineering arm moving to new premises in Enfield, North London and the garage repair business continuing at the original site in Winchmore Hill, now with the addition of a small petrol forecourt.
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Triumph Through Diversification1945 — 1947
The two businesses continued to flourish, with the engineering output starting to focus on the production of component parts for the rapidly expanding motor industry, leading to the creation of supply agreements with major industry players such as Ford, Austin and Morris. New premises were also acquired in Cockfosters, Barnet to distribute vehicles from the Standard Motor Company of Coventry.
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IMPERIAL ACCESSORIES1948
Recognising a growing demand for motoring accessories, Rod Hawkins began exploring opportunities to manufacture and distribute these products under the newly created Imperial brand. The range would eventually expand to include; ‘Per Fit’ branded seat covers, roller type radiator blinds, adjustable spot and fog lamp brackets, adjustable rear window blinds, safety belts and security devices.
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SHINING BRIGHT1952
Georges Fevrier, an industrial chemist from Paris, approached Rod Hawkins with the intention of acquiring a partner in the distribution of a series of abrasive products based on chemical formulae he had developed. These early discussions led to Broadfields not only distributing, but also manufacturing the new products. With Fevrier providing the technical support and Hawkins the commercial expertise, the brand name Farécla was chosen as a combination of French words meaning ‘shining’ and ‘bright’. Our products have been living up to their name ever since.
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THE FIRST PRODUCTS1953 - 1954
The initial Farécla range was sold in the UK and comprised our original rubbing compounds - G1, G2 and G7, in addition to the then flagship Imperial Polish No. 2, a well respected liquid finishing product packaged in small glass bottles. In the same year, Farécla products were first sold into export markets with Finland, Netherlands and New Zealand leading the way.
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INTERNATIONAL GROWTH1954 — 1965
At this stage the Farécla range still represented only a small part of the Broadfields business. However with the Imperial motor accessories range beginning to show signs of decline, greater focus was starting to be placed on this specialist area of vehicle repair. Attendance at exhibitions in both the UK and overseas helped the business gain exposure in international markets and broaden our reach by meeting with potential distributors.
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IT'S OFFICIAL1970 — 1971
The start of a new decade saw a major change in the structure of the Broadfields company with the Farécla brand division acquiring its own specialist premises in Ware, Hertfordshire. This in turn led to the official incorporation of Farécla Products Limited on the 24th November 1971.
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Mr Rodney Hawkins1980
1909-1980: Our founder and Chairman, Rod Hawkins died and was succeeded by David Chambers as Managing Director.
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Land Rover & Range Rover1980 — 1984
This period saw the beginnings of an extension in parent company Broadfields’ distribution network to include Austin Rover vehicles as well as luxury second hand cars from such prestigious marques as Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes. It was also during this period that the business established itself as leading retailer of the British made Land Rover. The partnership proved to be a huge success over the coming years with Broadfields going onto become the largest distributor of Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles in the South of England until its eventual sale in 2003.
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The Birth of a Brand1984
With paint technology evolving during the late 1970s, Farécla recognised the need to update our product range to meet the needs of the new 2-pack systems. A period of development work ensued, culminating in the introduction of a new product, the famous G3 Paste. Partnered with the new G-Mop foam applicator, the product would go on to become our flagship product for many years, revolutionising the industry by providing the user with cut and finish in a single step.
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Exploring New Markets1985 — 1988
Following Rod Hawkins’ example of growth through diversification, this period saw Farécla products move into new markets with the introduction of the Industrial, Boat Pride and Caravan Pride ranges.
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A New Home1993
3 acres of conservation land was acquired in Broadmeads, Ware on the site of an old maltings and a new purpose built factory and offices were built to accommodate the rapidly expanding business.
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A Place for Everything & Everything in Its Place1998
Following the opening of our factory in Ware in 1993 we were still operating a warehouse a few miles away in Hertford. We were able to build a warehouse to sit alongside our factory to greatly improve logistics.
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Switching to Liquid1999
With paint systems becoming progressively harder, Farécla introduced the revolutionary Advanced G3 Liquid. Our first liquid compound, the product brought bodyshops improved economy in use and reduced splatter.
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Branching Out2001 — 2006
A new parent company, Surface Solutions International Limited was formed to oversee group operations. Growth came in the form of new markets with the launch of new Marine Industrial and Consumer Car Care divisions, as well as internationally with Farécla Inc established in Ohio, USA to act as a headquarters and distribution centre for the Americas region.
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Specialist Applications2003
Our Profile Range launched in 2003, providing surface finishing solutions for a wide range of customers working with different materials and finishes - from OEM boat builders to instrument makers.
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A Trip to the Palace2007
Farécla is awarded the prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category in recognition of 5 consecutive years of strong international growth. The year also saw our entry into the original equipment manufacture (OEM) market.
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Rapid Advancement2008
A busy year for the business saw the launch of the innovative G6 Rapid Compound. Specifically designed to provide optimal performance on new high solids and ultra high solids paint technology, the new compound provided our fastest, cleanest way to a high gloss finish to date. In the UK, further inroads were made into the car care market with the acquisition of Mer Products Limited.
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From Bodyshop to Household2011
Our car care business was strengthened further with the launch of the Farécla G3 Professional retail range into Halfords UK stores. A new office is established in Heidelberg, Germany as a base of operations for our Western European markets.
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Welcome to the Future2015
2015 marks a new era in paint refinishing with the launch of our new G3 Premium Compounding System. On average, the new G3 Premium System is 20% faster than the nearest competitor providing a step change improvement in speed and quality of finish on today’s most advanced modern paint systems.
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Solar Power2016
In the summer of 2016, we installed solar panels to help reduce our carbon footprint. The solar panels generate approximately 20% of our electricity needs, with the remainder of our electricity is sourced from renewables via the national grid.
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Nǐ hǎo China2017
To support our activities in the Asia and Pacific regions, we opened our Farécla office and warehouse in the Songjiang district of Shanghai. We welcome the team from China at our HQ in Ware throughout the year.
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G3 Pro Detailing RangeMARCH 2018
Driven by a demand for a full line up of detailing products, the G3 Pro range was extended from 10 products to 26 to provide all you need to correct paintwork defects, deep clean and finish the interiors and exteriors of all vehicles. In addition to the distinctive 500ml retail bottles, trade sizes of 1 US gal and 5 US gal were also added to a range of products. Much of the G3 Pro range is also silicone-free, for safe usage in bodyshops
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G360 Super Fast System LaunchedSeptember 2018
Debuting at Automechanika Frankfurt, the G360 System was developed to remove the need for P3000 sanding discs, saving time and money. Since launching, G360 has been very well received and widely acknowledged as a 'game-changer' in the automotive refinish environment, as well as OEMs working with the next generation of UHS clear coats.
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Part of Saint GobainDecember 2018
Saint-Gobain acquired Farécla Products to complete its surface finishing product range while at the same time bringing its technical expertise to engineer new solutions in the automotive as well as other polishing/finishing markets.
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RSG in North America2019
Farécla is pleased to announce that in North America it will become a member of Saint-Gobain’s Refinish Solutions Group (RSG), an alliance of industry leaders that leverage their core expertise to help collision repair centres optimise refinish processes in order to improve profitability.
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Sustainability Milestones2022
VOC-Free Re-formulations:
- Proudly introduced our G3 Pro All-in-One Polish, marking our first VOC-free compound in the car care market
- The formula of Profile Premium Liquid, now reborn as Profile 350, transitioned to become VOC-free
- G360 Finish has been reformulated, further committing to our VOC-free vision
Operational Excellence:
- Achieved Scope 2 certified zero electricity supply, significantly reducing our carbon footprint
- Demonstrated our commitment to a more sustainable production process by discontinuing the use of bleached cartons on our production lines
Learn more about our sustainability plans »
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Digital Re-launch2023
Enhancing our digital offering to our customers and end users with our new website to help answer your questions about what the best products and process are for your specific issue, and our new eShop serving our distributors and importers around the world.