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Businessman An explosion in the popularity of make over
programmes and home improvements has contributed to
the success of Thai Mosaic & Ceramics.
Shortly
after setting up, the St Helens-based company was approached
by Bangkok-based Cotto Tiles, looking for someone to
distribute its tiles and mosaics in the UK.
A successful partnership followed and tiles and mosaics
from the company are now adorning homes across the UK
and Europe, as well as in Wetherspoons pubs and a New
York hotel.
“People
are much more adventurous about how they want their
homes to look and are willing to experiment with different
looks and designs,” explained Andy Tucker, Group
Accountant.
Thai
Mosaic & Ceramics was set up five years ago and
initially shared office and warehousing space with sister
company Ceramics in Design.
As
the tiles and mosaics from Thailand proved increasingly
popular, the company grew in confidence: “We had
a think about what else we required and decided to try
larger wall tiles,” explained Andy Tucker. “We
asked the Thai company for examples but weren’t
keen on what they offered, so we presented them with
some of our own designs and they agreed to produce them
for us to distribute.”
The
newly-designed tiles proved a hit with customers, and
flushed with success Thai Mosaic & Ceramics began
to look for bigger premises. They secured 17,000 ft
premises at Lea Green, its location just off the M62
motorway, proving perfect for a company importing goods
to export across the UK.
“The
tiles and mosaics come into Southampton docks and it
is motorway all the way up to our warehouse, apart from
a short stretch of dual carriageway,” explained
Andy. “It is fantastic that we have such easy
access to an excellent road network.”
Two
years ago the company linked up with Thai-based Cotto
Sanitaryware, to distribute its range of sanitary wear,
such as toilets, baths and sinks. Both Cotto Tiles and
Cotto Sanitaryware are owned by the Siam Cement Group.
“We
decided to give it a go and we are now the only supplier
of this range in the UK,” added Andy. The company
also added Cotto floor tiles to its range, and has launched
TMC France, a Brittany-based company distributing Cotto
products across France. Cotto Tiles is keen to pursue
European dominance and now has an eye on Italy.
Thai
Mosaic & Ceramics, together with Ceramics in Design
and North Wales-based parent company Highvogue, employs
100 people, with 20 based in St Helens. It has an annual
turnover in the region of £3.5million.
The
company, headed by Dr Colin Roscoe, Chairman of the
Group and Managing Director Andrew Simpkin, is now planning
to open several retail outlets and a showroom at its
St Helens premises, creating several new sales jobs.
It has been supported by St Helens Chamber.
“Although we are a relatively new Member to the
Chamber, they helped us to find an office junior recently,
a post we plan to develop as we invest in our staff
because we want to keep them,” added Andy. “The
Chamber also keeps us updated of any new developments
and seminars.”
Thai Mosiac & Ceramics can be contacted on 01744
850850.
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