Global manufacturer of bathrooms Roca is celebrating its 30th anniversary in the UK.

Roca UK was founded in 1993 with a team of seven people and began with a focus on local merchants, before expanding to include distributors, national merchants, then retail and specification.

In 1999, Alan Dodds was appointed as UK managing director, in the same year the group acquired Swiss sanitaryware brand Laufen.

Sponsored Video

Quarter sawn Tulipwood

He has led the company which oversaw the opening of the Zaha Hadid Roca London Gallery in 2011, achieved sales of one million pieces of vitreous china in 2014 and opened a dedicated Roca office and showroom – uniting Laufen and Roca UK operations in 2019 – plus a distribution centre in Ireland.

However, during the past three decades, Roca UK has faced challenges too, such as when a fire started in the warehouse in 2001.

The team set up a temporary working office in a local hotel, sourced alternative warehousing and were back up and delivering within one week.

New offices and warehouses were built and ready for use the following year, though multiple expansions in the years saw a need for purpose-built larger facilities, which it is based in today.

In 2022, Alan Dodds adopted the new role of chairman for Roca UK and Ireland, and promoted Rashpal Sidhu to the role of managing director.

Chairman of Roca UK and Ireland Alan Dodds said: “When I look back at everything that we’ve achieved over the last 30 years, I couldn’t be more proud.

“From our modest beginnings to today, what defines our business is our people. Roca UK really does have a family culture, which probably explains why our staff retention is high and we have a significant number of people who’ve been here for over 20 years, even one person for 30 years, here since day one!

“I’m excited to see what the future brings. Here’s to the next 30 years!