The allure of Iko shingles

The story of  IKO Industries is not much about its well over 50 unbroken years of operations as it is about its innovative and quality products which, within this long period, have maintained attraction and allure for home builders.

 Established in 1951 as a roofing specialist, Iko is based in Alberta Canada with presence in 50 countries around the world. It presently operates over 20 manufacturing locations across Canada, United States and Europe.

The company is today the largest manufacturer and exporter of roofing shingles in the world, and its asphalt shingles have been used in roofing many residential and public buildings in Nigeria and other African countries.

Recently, Eddy De Peuter,  the company’s Commercial Country Manager, Rusia and Account Manager, Africa, was in Lagos Nigeria at the instance of Seven Stars Industry. Seven Stars, a Lagos-based company and a member of Euroguard Services Limited based in United Kingdom, is the sole distributor of Iko roofing shingles in Nigeria.

The high point of Iko shingles is that they  are much more resistant to wind than any other product and De Peuter explained that bitumen-based shingles are much more wind-resistant than aluminum-based ones. “Bitumen Shingles have 220km/hour resistance to wind and have been tested in countries like Canada which experiences hurricane”, he said.

Hyman Ilonze, Seven Stars Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, highlighted some of the advantages which Iko shingles have over their competitors.

“The product is sound-proof and prevents transmission of heat into the interior part of the building. Because of the process of its installation, the roof hardly leaks; it is bitumen-based unlike others which are aluminum-based. These other ones are mere improvement on the common long span aluminum roofing sheets we see all over the place”, he said, stressing that bitumen shingles have layers of boards which make them sound-proof even to the noise of rainfall and also that of an aeroplane.

Iko roofing shingles are popuar in Nigeria and Ghana and have been used at the Kotoca International Airport and the ECOWAS quarters in Ghana. The products have also been used extensively in Nigeria and presently, have changed the skyline of the Monrovia Street by Aminu Kano Crescent in Abuja where they form the canopy of the Victorian buildings in the estate.

With well over 100 percent increase in its volume of trade after 36 months in Nigerian, Iko Industries, says it is in control of a significant share of the building materials market in the country.

De Peuter revealed that  since they started with Seven Stars three years ago, they have recorded 50 percent annual growth, stressing that they have, within this period, doubled their volume of import into this country.

The company believes that innovation is the hallmark of their product offering. “We also have to be competitive, innovative and better in our product offering. To this extent, we have launched a new type of shingles in the market called the Skyline which combines the advantages of both Armourshield and Cambridge—another roofing material in their product range. We have launched this product in colours that are popular in Nigeria”, he said.

De Peuter who was in Nigeria for an on-the-spot assessment of a project being executed with Iko shingles roofing in Abuja hoped that with their new product, “we will be several steps ahead of our competitors; we believe that with a new innovative and technology-driven shingles, we will be ahead of our competitors”.

He disclosed that the Abuja project is very important to them and also to their distributor, explaining that it is going to be a breakthrough for other projects coming up in that area. “This kind of project is a catalyst for more business for us in Nigeria and we thank our distributor for his ability to get the project done with Iko shingles”.

Chuka Uroko