Ahmed El-Helw, founder and director of SSQ, reflects on 40 years in the slate sector...

When you’re dealing with a material that’s hundreds of millions of years in the making, forty years can seem like nothing in comparison.

But for any business, let alone one that’s family owned and run, and boldly set out to create a new market that had no guarantee of success, four decades is an impressive milestone.

Before SSQ began, in the UK, ‘slate’ meant ‘British slate’ – predominantly from Cornwall and Wales, the same places people had been quarrying it for thousands of years.

But the problem was, by the 1980s, those Welsh and Cornish quarries were hardly extracting anything – which meant that waiting lists for, say, a Welsh slate roof, were typically measured in years, not months.

If you were one of the thousands of homeowners who weren’t in a position to wait years to put a roof on their house, there was no alternative – or at least there wasn’t, until SSQ came along.

The core idea behind the bold new venture Ahmed El-Helw started in 1980 was simple, even if the implementation was anything but.

Britain was not the only place you could find slate. In fact, it was quarried all over the world – in much greater quantities than it was in the UK. Thus, if someone could bring that slate to Britain, people could have slate roofs, floors and more in a fraction of the time.

It sounds simple – but making it a reality was a lot more challenging.

The search for a supplier

The thing about slate is that it varies hugely. It’s a product of nature. Just like no two trees or mountains are identical, no two pieces of slate will ever be exactly the same.

Slate from different countries, different regions, different quarries, even different veins of rock, will differ greatly. And some will be of a much higher quality than others.

The first slate that grabbed Ahmed’s attention was Spanish. Slate from North-West Spain was already renowned around the world – but to make his business work, Ahmed needed to find a Spanish quarry that produced outstanding quality material, and was willing to sell it into the UK.

To achieve the first objective, he commissioned an extensive geological survey of Spain’s slate-producing regions to identify the very best quarries the country had to offer.

And that was how he first found Del Carmen – the world-class Spanish quarry that has been in an exclusive agreement with SSQ for the best part of forty years.

Convincing Del Carmen

But it wasn’t simply a case of finding Del Carmen one day, them signing on the dotted line the next.

Ahmed had to work hard to convince them to work with him.

Largely, that’s because by far the biggest demand for slate comes from Europe – France most of all (and 90% of the slate sent to France goes to just one region, Brittany).

The French really value slate, and are willing to pay high prices for it. That means many of the world’s best quarries will send everything they produce to France.

Others will sort their material by quality and send the cream of the crop to France, while everywhere else just gets the dregs.

But after a lot of effort, Ahmed was able to convince Del Carmen’s owners to put their faith in him, and SSQ became the first company to bring quality Spanish slate to Britain.

In the decades since, millions of Del Carmen slates have been installed by SSQ customers all over the world – and with quality controllers based practically on site in their Spanish office, the company’s uncompromising commitment to supplying only the best ensures that their products meet the most exacting international standards.

But while SSQ could’ve happily continued supplying just Del Carmen for decades to come, Ahmed soon set his sights further afield.

He had access to some of the world’s finest slate, but now he wanted to add another material to the SSQ range – phyllite.

Finding phyllite

Phyllite is a lot less well known than slate, and at first, the name sounds a little strange. It’s taken from the Greek word ‘phyllon’, or leaf, which we think stems from its distinctive greenish tinge, or its ability to split extremely thinly.

Phyllite exists in a perfect geological sweet spot. Hundreds of millions of years spent underground have made it hard and strong – even more so than slate. But it’s not so hard that it can’t be split for roofing and other purposes.

Its mica flakes, and the tiny crystals on its surface, give it an unmistakable silky appearance – known in the industry as a phyllitic sheen – and its attractive grey-green colour instantly distinguish it from other products on the market.

Tracking it down, though, can be challenging – and over twenty years on from first signing the deal with Del Carmen, Ahmed found himself on the lookout for another outstanding quarry to supply the UK.

But this time, instead of establishing an agreement with one, he bought one – the San Luis quarry in La Repressa, Argentina – and launched a new brand: Riverstone.

Riverstone

SSQ’s Riverstone phyllite isn’t just one of the most stunning, but also one of the most extensively tested and accredited architectural stone products in the world.

Assessed to ASTM C406 standard, Riverstone was awarded an S1 rating, indicating it will last a minimum of 75 years.

It’s also been tested to see how reactive the iron oxides on its surface are. Highly reactive iron oxides lead to discoloration and leaching over time. Riverstone, on the other hand, received T1 classification – meaning it’s highly unlikely that any leaching will occur.

It's for that reason that Riverstone comes backed with some of the most extensive guarantees in the industry.

That outstanding performance, combined with Riverstone’s stunning natural aesthetics, have seen it accepted for use on historic buildings all over the world.

In Britain, that includes Grade II* and Grade I-listed buildings - Christ’s College in Brecon, Powys, the St Thomas Church in Exeter, Kresson Kernow Records Office in Redruth, and Devon’s Grade I-listed Pig at Combe Restaurant and Hotel all have Riverstone roofs.

SSQ’s biggest challenge yet

After 40 years in business, Ahmed is no stranger to challenges – so how has SSQ fared perhaps the biggest of the lot, COVID-19?

“We were affected by the lockdown just like everyone,” he explains. “I don’t know of any business, in any sector, that was able to escape being impacted in some way or other.

“In particular, the three-month national lockdown seriously affected our ability to operate day-to-day.

“When you’ve spent 40 years doing business face-to-face, adapting to the world of Zoom calls and social distancing was a very steep learning curve.

“But thanks to the dedication and versatility of my fantastic team, we adjusted very quickly – and our Zoom CPD sessions, led by our Specifications Sales Director Barry Saltmarsh, proved especially popular.

“And while some types of sales and enquiries inevitably dropped off during that time, it wasn’t all negative – we managed to come across a number of major project opportunities.

“Despite all the uncertainty we face in the here and now, I’m still very optimistic about the future.

“People have been making things with slate for hundreds of thousands of years – and as long as humans are building, I believe there will be a demand for it.

“2020 has been challenging and unpredictable – and I suspect 2021 will be too. But in the medium term and beyond, I think our prospects are extremely good – and that not just SSQ, but the slate sector as a whole, has a bright future ahead of it.”

Find out more on SSQ’s natural roofing solutions here.