K Rend

About K Rend

K Rend is the UK and Ireland’s market leading supplier of premium through coloured renders, mortars and plasters. We are the UK’s largest independent silicone render manufacturer offering a high quality extensive range of renders and finishes, designed to give a durable weatherproof coating and a natural looking finish. Part of Kilwaughter Minerals, the limestone used in K Rend renders is mined from our quarry in County Antrim, Northern Ireland enabling us to ensure consistency of raw material quality which is manufactured on site allowing us to maintain the highest quality standards.

K Rend products are accredited by NSAI and the BBA, offering peace of mind of the quality and reliability of the solutions we provide.
We continue to invest in our in-house R & D function to ensure we lead the market with innovative, high quality solutions which are easy-to-use but provide a long-lasting, low maintenance, stunning aesthetic solution.

Our extensive range of products are sold exclusively through our network of builders merchants throughout the UK and Ireland.

Company culture

Our culture is what makes us unique. We work hard and strive to be world class in everything that we do.We are an ambitious team who pride ourselves on adding value to our customers lives. We take pride in living our company values to deliver consistent high standards to surpass our customers expectations.

We reward ourselves in our job satisfaction and having fun along the way.

We have a relentless focus on health, safety and wellbeing to ensure our workplace is a healthy place to work. We encourage a culture of ground up ownership meaning everyone is responsible for health, safety and wellbeing. It is our upmost priority that everyone stays safe and healthy whilst at work.

We care about and invest in the health, safety and wellbeing of our people and teams through education, training and monthly wellbeing events.

Our Purpose

To add value to people’s lives through high-performing solutions, investing in our people, our communities and delighting our customers

Our Vision

To have a high performing team and set the standard for innovation, quality and customer experience in our industries

Our Values

Our values are at the core of who we are and everything we do.

Safety We place the safety of ourselves and others above all else.

Customers We pursue excellence in our customers experience at every touch point.

Respectful We work as one team and we take pride in all that we do.

Excellence We value individual and team performance and the ambition for great outcomes

Sustainability We are wholeheartedly invested in economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Employee benefits and perks

We are a UK certified Great Place to Work and we are proud of our people, teams and organisation.

Whatever role you work in, we are passionate about providing our people with a positive experience, by creating a great place to work. Encouraging learning is important to us. We are committed to investing in our people to develop their skills so that they can thrive. Our people and teams place the customer experience at the heart of everything so that we have consistent excellence in our delivery.

At Kilwaughter we believe that when staff morale is high, everyone works well. Productivity in general improves when our employees like being at work and enjoy their tasks.

We know that Rewards and Benefits are important. Some of our fantastic benefits include:

• Competitive Base Salary
• Non-Discretionary Bonus Scheme
• 31 Days Holiday increasing with Length of Service
• Employer Contribution Salary Sacrifice Pension Scheme increasing with Length of Service
• Private Medical Insurance with Axa and an EAP Scheme
• Holiday Purchase Scheme
• Early Friday Finish
• Retail Discounts Portal
• Enhanced Maternity / Paternity Pay

Career development and growth

Kilwaughter commits hundreds of thousands to maximise the potential of teams, develop critical skills for future work, and improve people/organisational capability and knowledge.

Kilwaughter’s succession planning begins at recruitment and continues with comprehensive personal development programmes to help all individuals/departments achieve goals, with exceptional contribution recognised/celebrated through annual High Performance Awards.

Kilwaughter recently relaunched its Vision, Purpose and Values which it identifies as key pillars of building/driving company culture. This has been launched with a series of culture workshops throughout the team and will be further supported with quarterly managers forums, Management Board Culture Breakfasts and newly revised mid-year joint reviews – focused on employee wellbeing, values and individual progress.

The 9 Box Grid Framework continues to allow assessment of each employee and highlights those with high performance potential. This is then used, alongside joint reviews to set meaningful objectives to drive personal development and outline PDP’s, training and coaching which can further develop capabilities.

It regularly engages with local schools, adding visits from seven partner schools in the last year alone, to provide advice and pathways to a career with Kilwaughter/its industry. Kilwaughter has recently become a Business Backer to Youth Enterprise NI, cementing another avenue for youth engagement/support.

As approved CPD providers, Kilwaughter extends its leadership to the construction industry in UK/Ireland. This is bolstered by its own K Academy which after a £200K investment, recently celebrated one year in operation and delivered training to hundreds of people. The academy promotes industry excellence and is geared to help address the skills gap facing the construction sector alongside the companies commitment to product innovation, playing its part in securing the future of construction.

EDI (equity, diversity & inclusion) initiatives

Our commitment to fair employment is resolute and we advertise to ensure a wide and open range of applications as an equal opportunities employer.

Our policies remain in place for bullying, harassment and equal opportunities and are a key part of our induction process for new employees – we see it as essential that new employees understand our culture. The company has a value of Respectful and as a key part of the culture, encourages everyone to positively welcome and be inclusive to everyone without exception. We promote this throughout the year with engagement to nationally recognised days.

We measure inclusion through our Great Place to Work Survey and some recent results include:

• People here are treated fairly regardless of their race or ethnic origin – 95%
• People here are treated fairly regardless of their age – 86%
• People here are treated fairly regardless of their gender – 91%
• People here are treated fairly regardless of their sexual orientation – 92%
• My organisation actively promotes mental and physical health among its employees – 78%

The Management Board breakfasts are another way to include a variety of members of the team to engage with the leadership team.  We encourage ownership and inclusion throughout the organisation. Our Health, Safety & Wellbeing Policy outlines the ‘Challenge Upwards’ environment we ask all team members to employ. Again, this reflects our culture and our vision, purpose and values has encouraged openness to compliment or call out where the values have been used positively or negatively.

Additionally the proven commitment to promote internally has been recognised throughout the company in a variety of roles – again promoting openness and inclusion. The Management Board, as an example, now has 3 female members of the 7 overall – this is a strong statistic particularly in manufacturing and construction. This includes the first female Operations Director for the company.

Ongoing company events are scattered throughout the year which are used to bring everyone together as one team – again a holistic approach to inclusion. This can range from company quizzes, to Easter Egg hunts, to company lunches, cupcakes to encourage coffee breaks together.

School ambassador

Caroline Rowley