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His old Volkswagen van is having a hard time when Ramon Huigen drives three and a half thousand kilometres back from North Africa to Utrecht in 2003. In the back is a batch of colourful authentic cement tiles. Ramon had come across them by chance during his surfing holiday in a small tile workshop in southern Morocco. He was immediately sold. And so were the tiles. The motifs, the colours, the artisanal, natural production process and the rich history fascinate him so much that Ramon decides to take a few boxes back to the Netherlands for his own use.
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At home he lays a beautiful new colourful cement floor full of patterned tiles in his kitchen and on his terrace. This does not go unnoticed by his family, friends and acquaintances. They want that too. Ramon decides to have a container of cement tiles shipped over from Morocco with his last savings and when some time later his entire circle of acquaintances imagine themselves in Mediterranean atmospheres at home, he knows that he cannot deprive the rest of the Western world of this pleasure either. This had to be tackled on a larger scale.
Own production
Together with his then brother-in-law Martijn Dijkstra, Ramon starts looking for possibilities to have the tiles produced themselves. They end up in countries such as Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Vietnam also appears to be a good option. Not only is the production process cheaper there, there is also craftsmanship and the quality of the raw materials cement, pigment and marble powder is better there. After much travelling, arranging, calling, emailing and faxing, www.designtegels.nl goes online in 2006. Containers full of high-quality cement tiles find their way to the Netherlands. They all have a colourful Moorish design and are given the new brand name "Azule". Designtegels.nl is born.
From garage box to major supplier
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The first orders are processed from a small garage box on the Duurstedelaan in Utrecht. The demand is so great that Ramon and Martijn have to rent a new garage box every six months. It is clear: this hobby is getting out of hand. Designtegels.nl can no longer be combined with a permanent job. Both budding entrepreneurs therefore decide to follow their passion and from now on dedicate themselves full-time to further expanding their company. Nowadays, Designtegels.nl is one of the larger suppliers of cement tiles, also called Portuguese and pattern tiles, in Europe. In recent years, new products have been added to the range, such as Spanish and Italian wall tiles and Moroccan zelliges.
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With a standard stock of at least fifteen thousand square meters, more than four hundred and fifty different designs and deliveries to more than 20 countries in Europe, the company has grown into a full-fledged player in this niche market of tiled floors and walls. At Designtegels.nl, 20 people now work full-time in the Netherlands and at the foreign tile workshops, more than a hundred professionals now throw all their skills into the battle to manufacture the best and most beautiful tiles. Designtegels.nl now has two branches in the Netherlands. One in Breda where mainly the stock is managed, the designs are designed and the production is supervised. The other is the large showroom and that is located in Utrecht. A third branch was recently opened in Germany under the name Designfliesen.de
Volkswagen T2A 1969
In the shed behind the recently completely renovated and modernized Utrecht showroom, there is still the same gray Volkswagen T2A from 1969 with which it all started in 2003. The bus, which is over forty years old, has now been completely restored. But if you look very carefully, you might still find a single grain of stray Sahara sand...
Ramon Huigen & Martijn Dijkstra
Designtegels.nl