Introduction
In this episode, host Jacob Edmond sits down with Jesse Collins, Director of Marketing and Product Management at REHAU, to talk about how the company has grown from an edgeband manufacturer into a full decorative surfaces and cabinet door provider. Jesse shares her 17 year journey at REHAU, starting as an intern and working her way into leading both marketing and product strategy for the company’s Millwork Solutions division. Together, they cover polymer technology, the REHAU Laser Edge and zero joint edgebanding, how European design trends get filtered for the North American market, sustainability, and how REHAU approaches marketing in an industry that still runs largely on word of mouth. Whether you manufacture cabinets, specify materials, or just want to understand what is changing in millwork products, this conversation is full of practical detail.
About Our Guest
Jesse Collins is the Director of Marketing and Product Management for REHAU’s Millwork Solutions division. She grew up around the company, her mother worked at REHAU for 32 years, and Jesse started as an intern doing odd jobs while still in high school before taking on a more formal internship in college. She joined REHAU full time right out of college and has spent the past 17 years building her career there, starting on the edgeband side of the business in a marketing coordinator role and gradually taking on more responsibility across branding, communications, and product management. Two months before this conversation, she took over product management for REHAU’s decorative surfaces and cabinet door materials, a move built on her deep product knowledge and her early hands on experience with the business.
What You’ll Learn
- How REHAU evolved from a 55 year old edgeband manufacturer into a full decorative surfaces and cabinet door provider.
- Why manufacturing their own edgeband, instead of distributing someone else’s, lets REHAU innovate faster.
- The real differences between PVC, ABS, and polypropylene edgeband, and where each one fits.
- How the REHAU Laser Edge achieves a zero joint look through a co-extruded polymer layer.
- Why matching edgeband to a laminate or panel takes more than color, including print layers, texture, and gloss level.
- How REHAU filters European design trends through an American lens before bringing them to the US and Canada.
- Why premium surfaces like RAUVISIO noir offer more durability and scratch resistance than standard TFL.
- How REHAU now offers finished custom cabinet doors and a moldings program on top of board and edgeband.
- Jesse’s approach to B2B marketing, built around solving shop problems through education and self-service tools.
- Why getting designers and architects to specify edgeband by name, not just ‘a match,’ remains an uphill battle.
Where to Learn More
Website: https://www.rehau.com/us-en/millwork
Jesse’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-collins-9144b96a/
REHAU’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rehauinterior/posts/?feedView=all
REHAU’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rehauinterior/
REHAU’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rehau.interiors.na/
REHAU Laser Edge: https://www.rehau.com/us-en/millwork/edging/zero-joint
REHAU Edgeband: https://www.rehau.com/us-en/millwork/edging
REHAU Interior Surfaces: https://www.rehau.com/us-en/millwork/surfaces
Final Thoughts
What comes through most in this conversation is how much REHAU’s growth has been driven by staying close to the shops and designers who actually use its products. From building the first self-service edgeband ordering tool to adding finished custom cabinet doors, Jesse’s team keeps returning to the same question, how can we help a shop solve a real problem. That focus, more than any single product, is what has carried REHAU from an edgeband supplier to a full surfaces and cabinet door partner.
