Tobermore Factory Tour – What to expect

What to expect on a Tobermore customer visit

One of the questions we are asked most is ‘what happens on a Tobermore customer visit?’. This blog by red kite landscape architects, who recently visited Tobermore, provides an insight into the type of day to expect, when visiting Tobermore.

Red Kite Blog – Discovering Tobermore

We have specified Tobermore’s concrete paving for several of our projects, so in June we ventured to County L’Derry to Tobermore HQ to see for ourselves if Tobermore’s innovation and eco credentials really lived up to what their rep Nick Watts told us.

From the first step in the factory, it was great to see the passion driving this rural family business which started in 1942. David Henderson, the MD, with decades in the business and still striving for perfection, models Tobermore’s concrete products on the best quality European style paving. His down to earth honesty on where things didn’t go quite so right in Tobermore’s past and how this shaped the future to build Tobermore into a multi-million pound business was refreshing.  Although 250 employees from the locality remain at the heart of the business, Tobermore are smart with technology investing in the best robotic machinery in the business shipped in from Germany. Tobermore deploy a vapour curing process to virtually eliminate efflorescence which strikes with vengeance in many of their competitor’s products. The production line is immaculate and the innovation behind new products, processes and testing rigour before products are released in the commercial market was great to see.

As it’s really crucial for us at Red Kite to understand the origins and sustainability of any products we specify, we got excited to see this is not an afterthought at Tobermore, who use 100% renewable energy and rainwater during manufacture. Tobermore HQ has more than 1,250 solar panels, a 250kW wind turbine, rain-water harvesting, their own neighbouring quarry and a strong recycling policy whereby all plastic, wood and concrete waste is recycled. They are intending to wrap their products in alternative non-plastic means in 2020.

We were inspired and it’s great to see a business of this kind doing so well. Thanks Tobermore for letting us explore your world and grab a little of wonderful Northern Ireland.

Would you like to visit Tobermore?

If you would like to visit Tobermore, drop us an email at sales@tobermore.co.uk and we will happily accommodate.

We look forward to meeting you!