HARVEY ROOFING PRODUCTS: HRP EcoTile® to Totally Disrupt Roofing Market

Exciting things are happening at the Harvey Roofing Products (HRP) plant in Gauteng. In a world-first, this expert manufacturing business has installed all-new equipment capable of producing an innovative, strong, and in-demand new product that will reshape the company’s journey in the future.

Historically, HRP (part of Macsteel Service Centres SA) has been a preferred manufacturer of steel roof tiles. The company’s steel tile is stronger, longer-lasting, lighter, and will not succumb to adverse weather. The paint used is of the highest standard available anywhere and is guaranteed against abnormal  fading for 15 years.

But steel is expensive, and local production has been under pressure for years. Chemicals used in paint are rising in cost. With protection of client property highest of the list of priorities for HRP, the company looked to cover itself – futureproofing, managing cost, but never budging on quality.

Experimenting away from its familiar material of steel, HRP has invested in a sustainability initiative that will drive a circular economy strategy within the business, while providing the strength and durability that the brand has been built on for the past 55 years.

“As a management team, we looked at the situation and it is similar to that of four years ago,” says General Manager, Albie Jordaan. “The cost of steel and cost of paint is a risk we cannot control so we agreed we must diversify the business. For the first time in more than 50 years, we started investigating other options. We are in the roofing game and we started looking at other products.

“We interacted with an inventor of a new concept that would change the landscape of roofing, not just in SA but internationally. It has been under the radar for a long time as we were fearful of being copied or reverse engineered. We found this new product that is not steel, we went through all the research, but realised that if we are to launch a new product that is not steel, then it must tick all the boxes from a contracting point of view while also being green. The product must be sustainable – that is the way to go and that is the future.”

The essentials from a contractor include easy and fast installation, low maintenance, weatherproof, attractive, compatible with solar panels, Agrément certification, and quality-assured with SANS-10177-123 accreditation. With these successfully achieved in testing, the company launched the Harvey EcoTile®, made from 98% waste materials. This breakthrough product is 100% recyclable and provides all the strength that would be expected of a HRP tile.

Full production is expected to begin in February 2023 but Jordaan is excited by the extent of enquiries rolling in already.

“Our plant is a world-first, there is no other plant like this anywhere in the world. It’s fully automated with seven robots. It extrudes an engineered product – a mineral composite, 100% waste material,” details Jordaan. “The components comprise HDPE recycled plastic, which acts as a binding agent, and mineral waste. Our production plant is waterless. When building a plant of this magnitude, you cannot buy off a shelf – everything is designed according to our specifications. Many of the products within are imported to ensure the very best. Then, Covid hit and we faced some challenges, but we are almost there.

“The interest has been unreal – I have never seen anything like it,” he smiles. “People complain about economic circumstances, but this new tile has taken the market by storm – we’ve had interest from Europe, Australia, around Africa, and the product has created overwhelming interest. We are not at full capacity but we think we should be there by Q1 2023. The plant has the capability of producing 28,000 tiles per day.”

ROBUST DIVERSIFICATION  

This new focus on the EcoTile® does not mean wholesale change for HRP’s strategy. “We are still manufacturing the traditional Harvey tile,” confirms Jordaan.

Absolute quality – whether on commercial, domestic or industrial – is guaranteed through a 20-year warranty, and each tile is inspected before being stamped with the Harveytile Quality seal. This is the same across the company’s Elite Tile, Thatch Tile, Solar Bracket, Greystone, Harveycote®, and EcoTile®. However, input costs and margins cannot be ignored. In South Africa, steel prices have rocketed. Weak local production followed by supply chain and transport issues resultant from the Russian war in Ukraine, and long-term economic issues, have fuelled the steel market with uncertainty. Similarly with paint and coatings, sourcing basic inputs has become expensive, and those increases are passed through the value chain.

Even since Enterprise Africa’s last discussion with Albie Jordaan just two years ago, the market has shifted dramatically. “A lot has changed, and when things change you have to adapt – that is what we’ve done,” he says.

“What has transpired, even before Covid hit, looking at our company – we have two main input costs, steel and paint – there has been a strong need for change. Given our 20-year warranty, we can’t use any inferior product; we only use quality, there are no corners cut. In our industry, if my cost is subject to the cost of steel and paint, I have no control over those components and there are escalating steel prices. Coupled with that, there is also a subdued market which puts you under pressure. We have Covid in SA, we have high unemployment, high inflation, and it all makes your tile expensive. When that happens, you see a reduction in sales and that puts any company under pressure.”

This environment catalysed the company’s investigation of alternative products. Revolutionising the industry by designing steel tiles to replace concrete, mitigating against South Africa’s harsh climate, HRP is known as a trailblazer and was happy to live up to expectation with the EcoTile®. With minimal change or disruption in the roofing industry in decades, the steel tile and the new recyclable tile are testament to the pioneering nature of HRP and demonstrates the company’s desire to drive change.

“It has taken a number of painful exercises to develop this new product. We have been building plant for three years as we realised that many have tried to innovate but they often fail because of product mix and scale – you must have volume. If you don’t have the market and you don’t have volume, you might as well not get out of bed,” says Jordaan.

He adds that the company’s 175 people have been key in getting the new product through difficult development stages, while servicing clients with the existing product range.

“When you produce a new product, you have to ensure you meet certain standards through testing. We have passed all the tests with flying colours. This tile is lightweight (70% lighter than a concrete tile) so transport costs are reduced, you require less roof trusses, it cannot corrode, the wind cannot blow it off – it provides many savings. We have developed a unique solar bracket that fits without perforating the tile. Solar will be the way to go in South Africa because of the unreliability of our energy system,” says Jordaan, highlighting a new green focus for HRP, feeding into the company’s new long-term direction.

FUTURE BLUEPRINT

When full capacity is reached at the new HRP plant in early 2023, the success of the EcoTile® will become clear. Currently, estimates suggest that South Africa alone has a housing backlog of more than two million. And many existing formal homes require significant investment in terms of structure to bring them up to modern international standards. This creates opportunity for HRP. If current demand and interest materialises, the company, alongside its shareholder, would be keen to expand further.

“Macsteel has an appetite for investment, and this plant cost a lot of money, but it was challenging to secure during a tough period. We still believe that if this plant is successful, we will build a second plant as we have learned so much,” explains Jordaan.

“If you want to complete a plant of this magnitude you have to automate. We partnered with an expert in robotics – Yaskawa. When the product is extruded, you have to cut off before moving it into presses. From there it moves on conveyors onto processing, packaging, and that is not an easy process,” he says of the complex system in place to produce the new tile.

But, even with the positivity around the product, viable economic conditions must be present for true success to be achieved. Infrastructure strikes around ports and rail systems have added to an already beleaguered economic backdrop, but the construction industry is expected to grow in real terms. It’s a complicated time to manage, but HRP has experienced many peaks and troughs through its long history and is keen on encouraging local trade.

“The cost of recycled plastic has increased in the past few months and that is a consequence of the Russian war in Ukraine. Mineral waste is available in abundance, and the main cost is transport. 100% of the input for the Harvey EcoTile® is locally sourced. We are proudly South African and we try to support local industry wherever possible,” says Jordaan.

He is optimistic about the future with the EcoTile® signifying a new approach, and the traditional product range continuing to provide unrivalled quality.

“The majority of Harvey is sold to retailers and eventually the DIY market. In that space, the consumer is focused on other areas. They are not focused on a construction product that is not cheap – that is why we diversified. I do see rays of hope with increased sales on the horizon as we enter new markets,” he concludes.

Importantly, alongside the new EcoTile® and focus on sustainability, HRP will continue to deliver its tried and tested promise – durable, low maintenance, versatile, weatherproof, lightweight tiles for any structure, with a 20-year warranty. Like its product, this is a company set for the long-term, with innovative new products paving the way for a more circular future.