Queen of the Hub: The human touch behind Exel’s structural profiles
Around the world, infrastructure and utility projects are being re-evaluated through a long-term lens. Engineers are searching for materials that offer extended service life, reduced maintenance, and reliable performance in environments where corrosion, theft, and repeat interventions cause real operational strain. With the new composite Eurocode making design work clearer and more accessible, and with maturing recycling and end-of-life processes, composite structural profiles are being recognised not just as an alternative, but as an increasingly sensible default.
Yet materials alone don’t determine the success of a project. Behind every smooth installation, every fast prototype and every confident purchase decision is a partner who understands the realities of delivery, availability and service.
At Exel Composites, that partner is often Manuela Gravez known internally as the “Queen of the Hub.” As structural profiles sales specialist overseeing Exel’s European distribution centre in Belgium, she is the person customers rely on when they need guidance, stock information, machining support, or simply a quick turnaround. Her blend of practical experience and personal attention has made her a trusted point of contact for customers across industries. Many say they are “buying from Manuela,” not just from Exel.
Why composites win on cost, reliability and practicality
Although composites can appear more expensive at the time of purchase, they frequently reduce total project cost. In one recent project, an Exel customer achieved around 30 per cent overall savings by switching from steel to composite structural profiles. The reduction came from lower transport costs, smaller installation crews, no need for heavy lifting equipment, and significantly faster on-site assembly. The profiles also resist corrosion and, unlike metal or timber, are not at risk of being stolen, an increasingly important factor for public infrastructure operators, where theft-related downtime and replacements can be extremely costly.
These savings are not theoretical. In the United States, composite utility poles made using Exel profiles allowed EasyStreet Systems to cut installation time from days to hours. The combination of light weight, durability and ease of handling reshaped the project schedule and reduced labour costs dramatically.
For harsher environments, the Delos offshore platform demonstrates long-term performance in conditions where corrosion-resistant metals can still struggle. In every case, composites give customers a route to longer life, fewer interventions and greater predictability — outcomes that matter deeply to operators responsible for keeping infrastructure safe, stable and uninterrupted.
A hub designed around customers and shaped by one woman
The Belgium hub is central to Exel’s structural profiles business. Stocking more than fifty standard profiles, with new shapes added continually based on customer demand, it provides manufacturers and builders with fast access to the profiles they need. Its role goes far beyond warehousing. Low minimum order quantities allow customers to test concepts, create prototypes or build demonstrators for their own clients. When a new idea needs to be proven quickly, the hub makes it possible.
Exel’s additional services in CNC machining, drilling, cutting and other post-processing services take this further, allowing customers to receive profiles ready for immediate use. Orders can range from a handful of pieces shipped by UPS to full container loads delivered directly from Exel’s global production sites. For large-volume projects, Manuela helps coordinate direct factory shipments; for smaller experimental orders, she ensures customers receive exactly what they need without unnecessary delays.
Ther 24–48-hour response and dispatch target has become a signature of the hub. A customer can request a sample or place an order one day and have it shipped the next, a level of responsiveness rarely seen in structural materials. Over time, this reliability has cultivated strong relationships. Customers know who to call, know they will get an answer, and know that the logistics will be handled seamlessly from end to end.
Quality built on decades of expertise
Behind the service sits a foundation of deep technical expertise and decades of experience. Exel has been manufacturing structural profiles since the 1980s and was instrumental in the creation of EN 13706, the key European standard for pultruded profiles. Today, the company continues to exceed the requirements of that standard, delivering profiles with exceptional straightness, visual appearance, and predictable mechanical performance.
Exel’s global R&D team ensures that profiles produced across Exel’s global manufacturing network meet the same strict criteria, regardless of where they are made. This repeatability gives engineers confidence that every beam, channel or tube shipped from the hub will behave exactly as expected on site. For customers managing risk, variation is costly, and consistency is invaluable.
Looking ahead: evolving with customer needs
Much of Exels’s hub’s current offering has been shaped directly by what customers request. As industries explore new applications for composites, Exel continues to expand its stock range, invest in machining capabilities and advance its testing expertise. Fire performance, in particular, is a growing area of focus, with Exel already supporting customers in developing composite solutions for demanding regulatory environments.
New shapes, material combinations, and project-specific kits are added based on real usage scenarios observed. This feedback loop between customers, engineering and logistics is a key reason the hub remains effective, and why customers return to it repeatedly.
A partnership that extends beyond materials
As composite structural profiles continue to gain ground, the choice facing engineers and buyers is no longer simply about weight or corrosion resistance. It is about reliability, responsiveness, and trust. Through its Belgium hub — and through the work of people like Manuela Gravez, Exel Composites offers not only high-performance materials, but an experience that supports customers at every step, from concept to installation.
Structural profiles may be highly engineered products, but their success often depends on very human expectations: clarity, speed, consistency and service. Exel’s approach ensures that customers receive all four, backed by decades of expertise and a forward-looking commitment to innovation.
