Where It Began, From Managing Director Anthony Marenghi

In October 2018, my wife, Janine, and I went through the most difficult time in our lives. Over two years we had almost completed renovations to our home near Carmarthen when Storm Callum hit. The river Towy burst its banks flooding our home to a height of almost half a metre throughout.

Being a bungalow, this meant that every room was ruined, extensive works would be required, and so much furniture and contents would need to be replaced. It was through this I met Rainbow and, having taken on much of the restoration myself, the industry suited me. I later discovered the South West Wales franchise territory was available and began making enquiries.

Several months later, in August 2019, my new life journey began as a Rainbow franchisee and the experience gained from my own claim stays with me every time I meet a new customer.

Fun Facts

• We have worked on a total of 530 jobs
• We have sent over 100 tonnes of waste for recycling
• We have travelled over 100,000 miles
• Our area covers approx. 2000 square miles in 9 counties
• Within 8 months of trading, we won franchise of the month (April 2020) from Central Office

February 2020, Our First Flood Surge

Within our first six months of trading, flooding affected most of the South Wales Valleys due to Storm Ciara and Dennis. In four days alone we received seventeen jobs (with the most being seven in one day!).

Our small team pulled together with our technicians working hard to get to as many properties as possible within a short window of time as every job was urgent to help households who had been left in a devastating situation. This really threw the new franchise into the deep end but it was a great learning experience for the whole team and we were able to service all of the properties as needed in a timely manner meeting our contractual KPIs.

March 2020, COVID-19

Another challenge we faced during our first year of trading was operating our business during national lockdowns. Having only just got to grips with processes, the technicians had to shift their way of work to give even more consideration for the customer with wearing PPE, regularly sanitising, and keeping their distance during visits.

Our technicians were very quick to adapt to the new requirements on site and were always considerate of the COVID-19 situation in properties to make sure they and the policy holder were protected.

A key thing we would do is to make sure that any members of the household were in a different room to the one we were working in to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to protect both the household and our staff. Thankfully, we managed to keep COVID-19 out of our business.

Meet the Team

From left to right: Anthony Marenghi (Managing Director), Scarlett Marenghi (Administrator), Richard John (Technician), Dan Williams (Technician)

Case Study: Fire at Residential Property

A job that stands out during our three years is a fire where the damage affected the entire property causing potential structural risks.

To make the building safe to commence works, we installed structural supports to prevent the first floor from collapsing. We also facilitated the appointment of an electrician and gas engineer to make the property safe and provide services as needed.

On arrival, it was found that there were thirteen rooms of contents to list and remove. Three skips were filled with contents to be disposed of and the remaining contents were taken to our unit to be cleaned and stored during the building works.

It was also established that there was water damage on site due to the fire services’ attendance and there was an asbestos risk as asbestos containing materials had been damaged and exposed in the fire. In addition to the contents clearing, we conducted drying to five rooms and removed asbestos from five rooms which included the tedious process of gel stripping. This process is to apply artex stripper, sealing it with polythene and leaving it to set for 24 hours, and then re-attending to remove it. We were able to provide multiple services which made the claims process easier for the policy holder and the loss adjuster.

Case Study: Water Ingress at Commercial Unit

More recently, we conducted the drying of a commercial building which was still under construction. We were asked to attend to conduct a moisture survey following an incident on site which then lead us to conducting the drying to the building.

Various methods were used including trailer-mounted and heat drying making this job one of the largest we have completed.

What Next? From Managing Director Anthony Marenghi

“We’ve come so far and I am so proud of all that we have achieved. I enjoy every element of my work and every day is different; I get my hands dirty in the morning and compile the accounts in the afternoon, learning new skills and delivering new services like trace and access or asbestos removal and there’s so much more to come.

I am making investment in the latest equipment to give better flexibility and cover a wider range of work. We live in a time where consideration to our impact on the environment is paramount so reducing energy consumption has become a high priority.

It’s important to me that the business operates on principals, remains big enough to support our customers and small enough to give a personal and attentive service. I encourage everyone, if you want to learn more about me, the team, or the future of our Rainbow journey, give us a call, I really do enjoy talking to you.”