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Glasgow business celebrates 100 years of family history

Scotland’s oldest and largest ceramic, wall and floor covering specialist is celebrating its one hundred-year anniversary with a nostalgic look back at its roots.

In 1912, Alberto Domenico De Cecco, a talented young artisan, made the journey from his Italian hometown to Glasgow and began what was to become a long and prosperous career in tiling with the launch of A De Cecco seven years later.

A De Cecco’s reputation as a Terrazzo and mosaic specialist grew, working across the UK shipbuilding industry with iconic projects such as the QE2 built at John Brown’s shipyard in Clydebank and the formidable Canberra built by Harland & Wolf, Belfast for P&O liners.

As the decades and business adapted to changing demand, the third generation of the De Cecco family joined the business – current chair, Alberto De Cecco has been instrumental in the business’ survival and growth, diversifying from the marine industry to major construction projects.

As a result, A De Cecco has been involved in high-profile renovation projects, such as the external mosaic cladding of the Hamilton County Buildings, The Burrell Museum, The Turnberry Hotel and Gleneagles Hotel.
The business is currently refurbishing stations on Glasgow Subway, some 41 years on from when the business was first contracted to supply and fit wall and floor covering to Kelvinbridge station in 1978.

Chair, Alberto De Cecco, said: “A De Cecco maintains its Italian heritage thanks to the specialist knowledge my grandfather brought with him – I am very proud that his legacy is still going strong and that the business has been involved in some of Scotland’s biggest construction projects.

“In my grandfather’s day, the business was based in Anderson and he would have used a handcart to carry materials to the shipyards 100 years ago. To have maintained his legacy and the skills of his Italian tiling heritage is a real honour, and, I am very proud of our staff for their hard work in delivering the quality and standards we are known for across Scotland.”

Glasgow business goes underground for second time

Scotland’s oldest and largest ceramic, wall and floor covering specialist is celebrating a contract milestone with work on the Glasgow Subway, almost four decades on from the first tile it laid on the city’s underground.

Glasgow-based A De Cecco is currently working on Kelvinbridge for the second time, some 37 years on from when the business was first contracted to supply and fit wall and floor covering to the station in 1978.

The £107,000 project will see the A De Cecco team deliver new wall tiling to the escalators, main ticket concourse, re-tiling platform floors as well as tunnels and head walls as part of the station upgrade.

Working on the project is Skillbuild 2016 apprentice of the year, Gordon Cook, who beat UK-wide hopefuls to be named wall and flooring tile winner. At the age of 34, Gordon has exceled in his new career with A De Cecco, and, thanks to a string of major project experience, he is well on his way to becoming a master tile fixer.

Chairman, Alberto De Cecco, whose grandfather left Italy in 1912 bringing his artisan skills to Scotland, said: “A De Cecco maintains its Italian heritage thanks to the specialist knowledge my grandfather brought with him – I am very proud that his legacy is still going strong and that the business has been involved in some of Scotland’s biggest construction projects.

“To be working on the Glasgow Subway four decades on from when the business was first commissioned to provide tile coverings is very rewarding and demonstrates the quality of our work. To be encouraging the next generation of master tile fixers like Gordon, who came into the business as a mature apprentice, is very important to us and we look forward to being able to create more job opportunities to carry on delivering the quality of work we are known for.”

Gordon Cook, apprentice tile fixer for A De Cecco, said: “To change careers and begin a trade where I would be starting again was a little daunting, but, I have been supported along the way by very experienced colleagues and had the opportunity to work on projects like the Subway, Robert Gordon University, Edinburgh Military Tattoo along some of Scotland’s leading contractors.

“Winning apprentice of the year was a real boost to my confidence and fantastic recognition of the progress I’ve made.”

A De Cecco was delighted to be awarded the Best use of Tile in a large construction contract at the TTA's 10th Anniversary Awards in 2010 – a rewarding testimonial to the company’s efforts.