IKO (Belgium)

Category: Bituminous tile IKO IS A PIONEER AND LEADER IN THE GLOBAL INDUSTRY OF ROOFING AND RELATED PRODUCTS. The company was founded in 1951 and produced roofing cardboard. Later, the production of roll roofing with bitumen coating began. In 1959, a factory for the production of tiles was opened in Brampton, Ontario province in eastern Canada. Success in Brampton led to further expansion and entry into the European market in 1972 with the construction of a tile factory in Hame, Belgium. The expansion of production sites continued in Canada as well, with the opening of a new plant in Hawkesbury, Ontario in 1976. In 1979, IKO entered the US market and built plants in Hillsborough, Texas and Hagerstown, Maryland. IKO is one of the leading vertically integrated manufacturers in its industry, producing almost all the main components that go into its roofing tiles and related roofing products. The plant in Clarksville, Tennessee (USA) produces fiberglass threads. Another plant in Danville, Illinois (USA) uses them to produce fiberglass mats, which are among the heaviest in the industry. IKO independently processes bitumen (oxidation process) by passing hot air through hot bitumen, which significantly increases its resistance to the influence of natural factors. At its quarries in North America, IKO mines basalt, crushes it and paints the granules for further coating of bituminous tiles. That provides reliable protection and an attractive appearance. Independence in the supply of most of its own materials to all of its enterprises means that the company controls the quality of its products on all markets where they are represented. Today, more than 60 years after its foundation, IKO has become one of the world's largest exporters of bituminous tiles. Currently, IKO is a worldwide vertically integrated company with more than 3,500 employees and more than 25 production facilities in Canada, the USA, England, Belgium, Holland, France and Slovakia. Roofing products under TM IKO are delivered to 96 countries around the world.