Special Visit from Secretary of State

Russell Roof Tiles has been handpicked by the UK government as a great example of a business ‘building back better’ with a special visit from the Secretary of State for Scotland.

The firm is delighted to have been chosen as to welcome Alister Jack MP to the 11-acre Halleaths site in Lochmaben today (8 July) – a year since UK Government published its Plan for Jobs.

This comes at an exciting time for Russell Roof Tiles which has recently launched a major recruitment drive for what is expecting will be a record year for the business. This is due to the firm’s dynamic response to the Covid-19 pandemic that meant the company started 2021 with a strong order book and a £1.7m investment in improvements to its manufacturing plant.

Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland said: “It was great to visit Russell Roof Tiles today, to meet their staff and hear first-hand about their ambitious expansion plans. They are a great example of a business which has benefited from the UK Government’s furlough scheme and are now taking on staff and looking to the future now the economy is reopening.”

Bruce Laidlaw, Production Director at Russell Roof Tiles added: “We are certainly building back better and investing in our business after the challenge of last year.  We’re now focused on looking for new recruits to join our team at this exciting period of growth.”

The company is recruiting for mechanical engineers and operators for its Lochmaben site as well as forklift truck drivers and is also taking on apprentices to nurture youngsters to start a career in manufacturing.

Russell Roof Tiles is a leading independent pitched roof tile manufacturer supplying products for the top housebuilders and high-profile social housing and commercial projects.  The company produces thousands of tiles every week that are used on roofs across the UK, for all of the UK’s premier housebuilders and developers.

From L to R Bruce Laidlaw, Production Director at RRT and Scottish Sec Alister Jack