Mike Farrelly tells us about their flagship product ‘Merayo’ and the story behind the naming of the product.
Mike was the buyer for Spanish slate for some 13 years whilst with his previous employer Cembrit, where he also ran the Southampton branch for 25 years.
Mike had built up a very close relationship with the suppliers over this time and when he joined The European Slate company he was able to negotiate an exclusive deal with the same suppliers which in turn provided access to the same products he had bought and sold successfully for many years.
As the name of the product was marketed under a registered trade name of his previous company we had to find a new name. The product was first introduced by a highly respected supplier Pibal which was owned and run by Ignacio and his partner Myriam, some 20 plus years ago. Ignacio was an extremely impressive guy. He was known by everyone within the Natural slate industry and his knowledge and expertise was second to none.
Unfortunately Ignacio passed away 3 years ago but my relationship with Miriam has remained strong and she has continued his great work. When coming up with a new name for the slate we decided that using the name ‘Merayo’ which was Ignacio’s family name would be a fitting tribute to him. We discovered that Merayo is also a name used for a famous wine in the region. It has been described as the Pinot Noir of Spain.
All our customers tell us that finding a slate they can trust is key and although it’s a new name we and the UK market have a long history with this product. It is one that is suitable for coastal locations as it has a non reactive pyrite and is available in several sizes. 60×30,50×30 and 50×25 are available ex-stock with slate and half to suit all.