"Well ahead of its time": Redland celebrates 40 years of Cambrian Slate

The launch of Cambrian Slate was a world-first for the roofing industry in the mid-80s, bringing a natural slate roof tile to the market with all the qualities of an engineered product. The system represented an entirely new approach to recycling by taking some of the large amount of waste rock generated by the slate quarrying process and turning it into an attractive, durable slate tile. Cambrian made it possible to balance traditional aesthetics alongside engineered performance and sustainability.

Reflecting the ground-breaking nature of Cambrian, during 1984, its development was kept tightly under wraps, with a brand-new factory built in Wales – just a few miles from where the slate is quarried – which remains the heart of production to this day.

Within a decade of its launch, Cambrian also won the 1991 Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement. BMI’s commitment to innovation has seen further developments over the last four decades, with the most recent being its compatibility with the Redland PV InDaX Adapt in-roof solar system.

“When we launched the Cambrian tile in the mid-80s, it was the world’s first natural slate composite tile, combining the best of traditional Welsh slate with the quality and uniformity of an engineered product,” says Mat Woodyatt, Product Manager at BMI. “In the years since its launch, the tile has helped housebuilders and roofers to elevate levels of quality,  maintaining traditional natural slate aesthetics and even prioritising sustainability – so it was well ahead of its time.

“It truly is a product for the whole team to be proud of and it is genuinely reflective of the innovative culture that our company is built on.”

Suitable for a wide range of projects and architectural styles, Cambrian Slate is a specially engineered system, which can be specified with Cambrian fittings to create a complete system. Made using over 60% responsibly sourced Ffestiniog Welsh slate, it is lightweight, suitable for pitches as low as 15° and simple to install.

BBA certified, Cambrian comes complete with a 60-year product guarantee alongside a 15-year weathertightness, durability and design liability guarantee when specified using SpecMaster.

Discover the full potential of Cambrian at  bmigroup.com/uk/cambrian