The Gripsure Story


From humble beginnings

Gripsure was born out of a rainy day conversation between Mike and Ross back in 2004.

In those days, Mike and Ross ran a contracting company for resin surfacing. They had just completed a contract for Cornwall County Council. This involved supplying timber planks coated in non-slip material to upgrade the South West coast path.

But Cornwall (UK) is a notoriously wet county. The boys often found their expensive equipment and expectant gangs of road workers unable to work, due to the inclement weather. So, one rainy day, they came up with the idea of using their non-slip expertise to develop a process for applying the resin to decking boards.

And from their first business premises of a local farmer’s cowshed, they started making more of the timber planks, thankful for being able to work in the dry.

Within a few years the non-slip decking boards were selling better than the resin surfacing. The Gripsure brand was introduced. Soon the cowshed gave way to a rather large but chilly disused china clay drier in the heart of Cornwall. Productivity rocketed under the engineering skills of Ross and Mike’s sales experience.

To a global brand

Fast forward to the current day, and Gripsure is now one of the best known decking brands in Europe. In addition to a wholly owned French company, Gripsure SAS, Gripsure has a manufacturing partner in Japan and plans to establish its non-slip decking brand in 12 more territories, including Australia in 2023.

Despite its global outlook, Gripsure has stayed true to its roots. All of our non-slip decking boards are handcrafted by our own hardworking team here in Cornwall.

Looking back to that rainy day in 2004, neither Mike nor Ross could have dreamt how far they would come. From those humble cowshed beginnings to the establishment of a worldwide business, Gripsure is now a truly global brand.

THE FOUNDERS


Mike Nicholson, Managing Director (left) and Ross Crouch, Production Director (Right)