COMPANY PROFILE
CERAMIQUE INTERNATIONALE Having had their logo designed and produced by a student of the French artist Henri
Matisse, Ceramique had a pretty impressive start, and they have continued to lead and innovate in the UK tiling sector ever since.
Ceramique Internationale actually started life as a tile fixing company in 1974 as part of the Ibmac Group that specialised in Tarmac, Asphalt and plant hire, before owner and founder Robert J Ibbitson realised importing and selling tiles had far greater prospects.
While the UK tile market was dominated by ceramics manufacturers such as H&R Johnson and Pilkingtons, Mr. Ibbitson formed relationships with two renowned French factories – Fourmaintraux et Delassus in Desvres and Carré in Paris – and became one of very few importers during that period. The chief designer at Carré at the time was Roger Capron, who had been a student of Matisse, and produced Ceramique Internationale’s first logo in ceramic.
The company grew quickly from its base in Thackley, Bradford, with showrooms opening in central Bradford and the prestigious Kings Road in London in the early 1980s, alongside an export office in Singapore, an architectural office in Northern Ireland and a warehouse at the present site on Royds Lane in Leeds. A further retail store, Discount Tile Warehouse, opened on Canal Road in Bradford around 1990.
Business graduate Cameron Fraser was recruited to the company by his father-in-law in 1982, initially taking a role in the warehouse. Turnover had peaked at almost
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£6million in 1988 but shortly afterwards the recession hit and Mr. Ibbitson sold the business to Cameron and two colleagues in 1992.
The Royds Lane site became the new HQ and over the following years the other sites were sold off as the business redefined itself as a regional distributor, concentrating on specification sales, distribution sales and direct retail from the new showroom at the Leeds site.
When one of Ceramique Internationale’s shareholders left the business in 1994, Cameron had the opportunity to bring his old school friend Peter Vann on board as an equal partner. Peter and Cameron met at school at the age of ten in 1968 after both families relocated to Ilkley in West Yorkshire. By 1994 Peter had spent his entire career working in the home improvement market with Shires Bathrooms and Spring Ram Corporation, including a stint in their new tile factory, so was a perfect fit for Ceramique Internationale.
When the third shareholder took early retirement in 2011 the business finally became a 50:50 split between Peter and Cameron and, after a strong financial performance the pair have committed to further strengthening the business, targeting £4million turnover by 2020.
www.tomorrowstileandstone.co.uk
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