Our Story Then And Now
In 2009 Tom Cullingford started Rubber4Roofs. He worked hard to grow his business to the Rubber4Roofs we see today. Construction has always had a special place in his heart as his childhood was regularly spent on building sites.
From a young age, Tom realised there was a major problem with the construction industry…
There were so many amazing products out there but getting information and training was an impossible task. A prime example of this was rubber roofing. As a builder Tom avoided flat roofing, it seemed too tricky for anyone without roofing experience.
When Tom installed his first rubber roof and couldn’t believe how quick and easy it was. He knew he wasn’t alone… In fact, he knew there were hundreds of builders and roofers who didn’t know just how easy rubber roofing was.
Tom thought to himself… Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy your rubber roofing materials from experts, not salespeople? Experts who can offer training and technical advice as well as taking your order. With that thought, Tom hung up his tool belt and started Rubber4Roofs.
Education has always been at the heart of Tom’s mission
Tom didn’t want to become another online builder’s merchant, selling thousands of products he knew hardly anything about. He wanted to be an expert in the materials he sold so he could support tradespeople and DIYers with their projects. Thanks to Tom’s hard work and willingness to support his customers with technical advice his first year was a success.
After a busy first year of Tom being a one-man band, he knew he needed help. Steve, our now Training Manager was hired to help Tom to get more orders out the door. Within just 18 months the duo had smashed his 5-year plan but for Tom, there was no time to celebrate. Tom knew that in order for him to make a difference in the way construction materials were sold he needed to keep going.
Investing in roofing magic
When Tom was a builder he would regularly get frustrated whilst buying materials on builder’s merchant's websites. Their websites were so unorganised and confusing. This frustration fueled Tom to make buying and installing rubber roofing as easy as possible.
In 2012, the ‘Rubber Roof Wizard’ was launched which is now known as the ‘Kit Calculator’’. At the time this free online service was one of its kind. His customers could get a price for their project in minutes. Not only that his customers could do this in the comfort of their homes, any time they liked without having to speak to anyone. Roofing magic at its finest.
Since the launch, Tom saw online sales increase rapidly and it was clear to him that this type of online tool was definitely needed.
As Tom branched out to sell more flat roofing systems he continued to launch new Kit Calculators to help his customers further. To this day, Tom prides himself on continually developing his Kit Calculators to ensure they are setting the industry standard.
A look into the future
Tom is extremely excited about the future of the roofing industry. As the construction industry is one of the oldest he believes it’s been left behind in terms of technology. We’ve seen businesses like JustEat completely revolutionise the way we order food. We’ve also seen businesses like Air BnB disrupt the tourism industry forever.
The construction industry is well overdue for some innovation and Tom hopes Rubber4Roofs can contribute to this. By combining technology and education he hopes he can support talented tradespeople and DIYers up and down the UK by making rubber roofing stress and hassle-free.
Our business has changed but our values will always remain the same
Over the last 13 years Rubber4Roofs has grown and evolved into a successful million-pound business with over 40 members of staff. Throughout our journey, we’ve adapted to ensure we can give our customers nothing less than the best level of service.
As we grow we’ll always continue to think of new ways we can support our customers. Although we don’t know what the future holds you can be sure our values will remain the same.
