About EdgeTile®
EdgeTile® was originally founded by the Cochrane family and one staff member in 2010 in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Their mission was, and still is, to set the pace in the advancement of manufacturing bullnose porcelain tile finishes for stairs, pool copings, bathroom tiles and more, both locally and internationally.
Leading the company is Steven Cochrane, who learnt this unique craft from his father, who was a stone mason for over 50 years. In 2007, Steven realized that there was a need in the market for porcelain tile finishes. The only option a client had was to adhere a pre-made “edge” onto the end of their tiles for pool copings and stair treads. For the next 3 years Steven and his son, Shawn, invented and developed various methods to take a client’s own porcelain tile and create a complete, solid tile with a bullnose edge finish. In late 2010, once the method was extensively tested and ready for use, they launched Mr Bullnose and Tile, the manufacturing arm of the business.
Mr Bullnose also opened their tile cutting and mosaic manufacturing sections. Steven’s wife, Karen joined the company to oversee the mosaic manufacturing.
From these humble beginnings this small operation has grown into a strong team of 12, including oldest son, Jonathan.
As the company grew, they slowly added new staff, previously unemployed and unskilled, and trained them in the specialist art of bullnosing porcelain. Each of the staff go through at least a year of training and development, followed by on-going training as new methods are developed. EdgeTile have since imported and modified several machines to create the processes needed, as there are no machines on the local or international market to transform a tile into an EdgeTile.
In 2019, EdgeTile, the retail arm of the business was launched, complete with new branding, signage and a showroom open to the public. Although the company is based in Cape Town, EdgeTile services the entire South Africa as well as international clients. These include both residential and commercial building projects, as well as Government projects including schools and public swimming pools. Clients include tile retailers, architects, designers, builders, tilers, and the general public. The product finishes cater to all income/budget brackets as the EdgeTile options range from a basic EdgeTile bullnose to custom-designed, shaped and manufactured EdgeTile bullnose.
“Our vision for the future is to maintain the high standards we have set in the South African and international building industries in terms of style and trends in the manufacture of solid bullnose porcelain EdgeTile finishes. Our ongoing mission is to understand each individual client’s needs and requirements by offering a professional, personal advisory service, to ensure that they may make an informed choice to satisfy their requirements. We commit to working honestly, ethically and with integrity, showing equal respect to all clients and their staff.”