Tiles from Generation to Generation

Everything started for Théophile Winckelmans in 1894 when he opened an unglazed tile factory in Lomme, in Northern France.

Five generations have followed since then, sustaining the legacy and know-how of the founder whilst meeting the challenges specific to each era: the World Wars and bombing of the factory along with globalisation and the need to open up to export are some of the challenges successfully overcome which have allowed the factory to remain on its original site for so many years.
After the opening up to the world and rapid development of our exports initiated by Jacques Winckelmans in the 1990s, the beginning of the 2000s was a difficult time for the factory which had to make some radical changes. The fifth generation currently at the helm thus decided on a major change of gear, with major investment in production and a move upmarket for the product.
Our company has now achieved global recognition for the quality of its tiles and gained the trust of prestigious names in such diverse fields as haute couture and restoration as well as of known personalities.
Today, it is Barbara, Jacques daughter, who is carrying on with the legacy of our product and maintaining the family values that are key to the survival of our tiles.


A family factory between Tradition and Modernity

Histoire

Our Lomme factory has been operational for over 120 years.
It now employs 120 people, most of whom have spent the bulk of their careers within the factory.These men and women, their full involvement and their knowledge of our product form the basis for our success and are the caretakers of the traditional know-how we have inherited and which we have a duty to preserve.
But preserving it is not enough: in an era of multiple challenges, it is essential that our factory moves with the times and finds a balance between respect for tradition and a modernised production tool.
We can therefore today use this atypical marriage of tradition and innovation to offer an authentic, quality product with nevertheless the flexibility of new technologies in terms of production times and customisation.

  • Beginning of industrial production on our present-day site (paving and unglazed fully vitrified tiles).

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