The numbers are in for Keymer!

12/04/2010

More than 4000 architects and specifiers have agreed that it's a sad day for the roofing industry. It follows a survey by Keymer, centuries old producer of handmade clay tiles in a response to mass-manufacturer Redland, which has started selling concrete tiles under the same colour names as its smaller rival.

With its tongue firmly in its cheek, Keymer ran a survey asking architects nationwide what they thought. When the numbers came out they were clearly in Keymer's favour - with 4379 professionals agreeing that Redland's actions are sad. Only 59 of their colleagues disagreed.

The figures show the roofing industry holds fast to its established values of craftsmanship, quality and tradition. Neil Tobin, Managing Director of Keymer and a keen advocate of the heritage of British hand made clay tiles, agrees.

"They do say that imitation's the highest form of flattery, which is probably why they wanted to copy us. You can always tell the difference between the vibrant look of a handmade clay tile crafted with centuries of local knowledge compared to the dullness of a flat concrete copy - and it appears that the industry sees it the same way!"

"I have to admit that I am rather impressed that they should have gone to such lengths to produce a concrete tile to match a Keymer. They even went the extra mile and decided to use our tile names and colours just in case the customer fails to make the connection to the real thing."

Encouraged by the vote, Keymer now intends to spread their tongue in cheek campaign to other roofing and industry professionals to see what they think.