Pitched roof tile manufacturer, Russell Roof Tiles, was founded in Lochmaben and having successfully navigated a challenging year of Covid 19 is now continuing to evolve and innovate with sustainability at its core.
The company was founded on its current site in 1964, originally known as The Annandale Tile Company with the purchase of an 11-acre site in Halleaths.
Still on the same site, Russell Roof Tiles now employs a team of 60 in Lochmaben and has recently been given the greenlight for a £1.7m investment programme in plant and building works.
Russell Roof Tiles is the largest independent manufacturer of concrete derivatives in the UK pitched roofing market and as well as Lochmaben has a further two sites in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. The business supplies tiles and accessories for social housing, commercial projects and residential homes, producing thousands of tiles every week that are used on roofs across the country, by premier developers.
Initial site preparations started earlier this year and the pioneering manufacturer has now been given full planning permission to start a major upgrade works to its utility plant. This forms part of its longer terms strategy to improve efficiencies in manufacturing and reducing energy output.
A new structure will house a new packing system, including the firm’s first robotic packer. Russell Roof Tiles is also carrying out a full electrical upgrade and introducing mechanical improvements across key machinery. This will allow an increase in capacity on the production line to meet growing demands for its roofing products, and also help secure the efficiency of this line for future years.
The company has just launched a major recruitment drive for new operatives in Lochmaben.
Andrew Hayward, Managing Director at Russell Roof Tiles said: “Due to Covid-19 our planning application was delayed, but we have pushed ahead with all of the early works. It’s an exciting time, the new production line will be fully operational early in 2022 to allow us to increase efficiencies, by utilising the latest innovations in manufacturing.”
The company is predicting 2021 will be its best year ever, due to massive market growth as well as the company’s post Covid strategy, which saw the firm resume manufacturing in a fully Covid-compliant manner, before any of its competitors.
Despite ceasing production when the first national lockdown was announced in March 2020, the business was quickly able to restart production in May last year. This meant that Russell Roof Tiles has been able to maintain good lead times and fulfil a growing order book, as construction bounced back.
This growth is despite the fact that the construction industry is still experiencing huge materials shortages due to global demand for many materials, due to pent up demand because of lockdowns in 2020, as well as the supply chain output hit by the pandemic.
Andrew Hayward added “We are certainly Building Back Better, with a predicted increase in turnover of 40 per cent year on year. Our investment in the business is very much looking at improvements to our output whilst being increasingly sustainability. Every part of the supply chain is having to adapt and take a different approach towards the use of more sustainable building materials, technology and energy usage and customers are also becoming increasingly aware of how products are made.”
With increased climate change and environment awareness, the construction industry has seen a real drive for sustainability in recent years – impacting each part of the supply chain from manufacturer to housebuilder and driving product innovation.
Russell Roof Tiles has always been at the forefront of innovation and was the first UK roof tile manufacturer to have achieved an “Excellent” rating for responsible sourcing, recognising the company’s dedication to sustainability. The company’s concrete roof tiles are a highly sustainable option. And its successful thinner leading-edge tiles use 15 per cent less raw materials than a standard concrete roof tile increasing transport efficiency.
Andrew adds, “It’s important to us to continue to innovate and invest in our core operations in a sustainable way and we’re delighted to lead the way in Lochmaben, where our business started.”
For more information, please visit
www.russellrooftiles.com
telephone 01283 517070
@russellrooftile
