About Us

Our History and Company Profile

Above: Union Tiles today

Union Tiles (Pty) Ltd has evolved, from its origin in 1910 Johannesburg, as a small cement and terrazzo tile producer, to a multi faceted wall and floor tile corporation dealing in ceramic, porcelain and natural stone to name but a few, also offering a wide range of associated building material products and services

The founder of Union Tiles brought his terrazzo trade skills and knowledge from Bergamo Italy. These Italian roots and core knowledge are still firmly entrenched in the company’s management style and in the origin and development of its cementitious products, which are manufactured at the production facility near Johannesburg.

The company expanded its operation into three separate divisions under the Union Tiles banner, each specializing in different floor and wall tiles, and related products.

Above: Aerial view of our Union Tiles Head Office in Bedfordview

The ceramic division, namely “Union Mosaic & Tiles”, retails and wholesales a wide range of ceramic, porcelain, and terracotta wall and floor tiles as well as bathroom accessories and sanitary ware.

The natural stone division, namely “Natural Stone Tiles” (National Tiles (Pty) Ltd), specialises in all forms of natural materials in tile and slab form, from sandstone, slate, marble, granite, limestone, quartzite and Silestone® amongst others. Natural Stone Tiles also developed a separate division, namely; Dia Star Stone Technology (Pty) Ltd, specialising in all natural stone polishing, processing and quarrying equipment.

Finally, the mother company “Union Flooring Tiles “, is a manufacturer of a range of cementitious tiles, wall coatings and plasters, pebbles and coloured stone chips. In addition we are also suppliers of white and grey cement.


Above: Our ealy manufacturing plant, company founders and premises

The company is always searching for the latest trends and developments in the tile and wall and floor décor industry.

It prides itself on the latest tile fashions from Italy and locally produced goods. Newly developed and manufactured products include, coloured wall plasters – “Plastex, coloured floor screeds – “Floatex” as well as waterproof coatings and other cementitious paints “Platinum” and “Unicemtex”.

Worldwide trade fairs are frequently visited to ensure we stay abreast of the wall and floor tile industry and trips to quarries around the world to find the best marbles, granites and sandstone are a common activity within the organization.

Overview

The company has enjoyed continuous growth over the years, having endured several economic depressions and erratic business conditions in the domestic environment.

Union Tiles have twelve distribution outlets in Bedfordview, Randburg, Centurion, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, George, Ballito , Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town as well as in Windhoek and Lusaka (Zambia), with its factory located in Bedfordview.  The group covers other outlying regions through its independent distribution network and supplies large export contracts to neighbouring countries. Corporate products are always supported by a team of specialised technicians who give on site assistance and sales service. 

The Union Tiles group has over 300 employees within its various divisions.   The company prides itself on the ongoing development and upliftment of its staff members, many of which have over 20 years service with the organisation.  In certain circumstances, some employees have progressed from positions such as labourers, to specialist product sales executives and supervisors.