The team at Russell Roof Tiles (RRT) in Lochmaben recently welcomed a very special guest to the site.
The daughter of the founder of the roof tile factory, Mary Colburn (nee Gibson), who worked at the site for her father, visited with her husband Paul, and daughter Maria and son in law Glen.
Mary’s father John Gibson founded (what was originally) the Annandale Tile Company. She remembers the very birth of roof tile manufacturing at the Halleaths site in 1965. The Gibsons were a respectable family of master tilers and slaters, dating back to 1842.
Both Mary and Paul still follow the progress of Russell Roof Tiles and have become good friends of the business, regularly keeping in contact with its team. They were having a few days holiday in Scotland and took the opportunity to visit the site. Mary and her family were given a tour, which is still at the same location as when her father started the business.
Bruce Laidlaw, Operations Director, welcomed the guests and showed them around the facility, which is benefitting from a number of significant investments. He commented “We were delighted to welcome Mary and her family back to Halleaths and to show them all around the site, explaining the recent developments and our plans for the future.”
Russell Roof Tiles, has invested over £3 million in the last two years in projects at its various sites, to increase operational efficiencies, with a new ridge tile plant becoming the latest investment. A £750,000 major upgrade is currently taking place in Lochmaben, one of the biggest improvements the site has seen since its operation began.
The Dumfries site, was the first UK factory to manufacture a thinner leading edge interlocking concrete roof tile, and it continues to innovate and develop new products that can be seen on housing and commercial construction projects. RRT is the largest independent manufacturer of concrete derivatives for roofing in the UK and employs approx. 60 staff in Lochmaben.
