RUBI celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. The very first tile cutter was also invented 70 years ago. Coincidence? Not quite… because this invention was the first ever manual tile cutter, nicknamed RUBI! Who would have thought then that this would be the start of a global brand that in 2021 still provides the construction professional with the best solutions for tiling work every day?
THE BEGINNING: IMMEDIATE PRICE!
In April 1951, a young Spanish man named Joan Boada filed a request with the Barcelona Registration and Patent Office to register his invention. It concerned a new tool: a manual cutter for mosaic and tiles.
At the first National Exhibition of Inventions, held in Barcelona in 1953, the RUBI tile cutter immediately won the gold medal. From then on, the Boada brothers, Joan and Antoni, focused entirely on the production, improvement and trading of this new tool.
DID YOU KNOW?
The brand name RUBI comes from the inventor’s hometown: Rubí, one of the main industrial cities located close to Barcelona. The headquarters office is still located here.
First, the Boada brothers opened a little workshop in Rubí. Soon after, a new production location and a warehouse were also located here, but after many decades all of these facilities, ended up being too small due to the rapid expansion of the company. Hence, in 2003 all facilities except the main offices, were moved to Santa Oliva, in the province of Tarragona, some 60 kilometers from Rubí. The production and logistics center at first had an area of approximately 20,000 m2, but it was soon after enlarged to 45,000m2, and has an automated warehouse with the latest technologies for efficient order processing.
THE 60’S
In the 1960s, RUBI manual cutters are equipped with the impact crusher, also invented and patented by the Boada brothers.
Strong demand for manual cutters and constant growth prompted a third partner to join the two brothers. With the arrival of Miquel Escayol in 1969, the company GERMANS BOADA S.A. – Catalan for: BOADA BROTHERS – was founded.
THE 70’S
In the 1970s, GERMANS BOADA S.A, as a company, and RUBI, as a brand, continued their growth and expansion.
On the one hand, the company was strengthening its exports and, on the other, the brand kept up with the innovation of its tools. The invention of the first mechanical breaker was the greatest contribution of the time and, as a result of this new invention, the TS was born, and was later considered worldwide as an excellent tile cutter!
THE 80’S AND 90’S
Motivated by the rise of hard porcelain stoneware, RUBI developed a new line of tile cutters in the late 1980s that were much better adapted to the needs and requirements of international markets.
The decade of the 1990s represented the real international expansion of GERMANS BOADA S.A. The company opened the first branches on European territory: Portugal, Italy, France…
DID YOU KNOW THAT?
It would only take a few more years for RUBI to inaugurate its subsidiary in the UK. The inauguration was in 2004, with RUBI UK Ltd. based in Rainham, and there you can still find the RUBI UK facilities, office and warehouse, with our 15 teammates making up the RUBI UK Team!
THE MILLENNIUM
In the new millennium, the growth of the GERMANS BOADA company remained unstoppable. The evolution of the RUBI manual cutters was crossing new boundaries. This is clearly visible in their design and production, which use the latest technologies to meet modern requirements and needs.
BETWEEN 2007-2012
The company’s upward trend was held back by the financial crisis that hit worldwide between 2007 and 2012.
Even in difficult times like these, RUBI has continued its work and has even been able to improve its products. GERMANS BOADA was then named, together with all the international subsidiaries, GERMANS BOADA GROUP.
FROM 2013 ONWARD
In recent years, RUBI has put the most advanced tiling tools on the market, including the SLAB SYSTEM, the TZ tile cutter and electric cutters with the innovative – TNO tested – ZERO DUST system.
Going forward, there is the long-awaited RUBI TRILLER: an electric tile beater for large-format tiles and decoupling mats. By means of vibration, this handy tile beater sets the entire tile surface in motion, so that the vibration is continued in the underlying adhesive layer. This vibration allows for greater adhesion, making it a lot easier to get the tiles on the same level.
We have also added a new high-torque mixer to our range: the RUBIMIX-9 SUPERTORQUE. Its high torque (40.2 Nm) together with 1800 watts of power makes this mixer one of the most efficient in the market.
And more special tools are coming this year! With all these new tools, RUBI makes the tiler’s work more pleasant, faster, more ergonomic and safer. And it’s been doing so since 1951!
BUILDING THE FUTURE TOGETHER SINCE 2021
In addition to designing the best solutions for the tiler, sharing knowledge is another important focus of RUBI, which is why educating the youth is our top priority! For this reason, our purpose as a company is: BETTER PROFESSIONALS. BETTER PLACES.
RUBI has evolved and innovated quite a bit since 1951 and that is why, to keep evolving, our company’s groups are now named under the umbrella of RUBI Group, as RUBI, our brand, is our most well-known asset worldwide! we’ve never stopped evolving.
As always, together with you – the tile professionals – we will continue to build the future! Won’t you join us?
Did you find this blog post about the 70th anniversary of RUBI interesting and do you want to know a lot more about RUBI (tools) and to know the best tips to how to tile? Then keep reading our blog!
You can also become a member of Club RUBI for free so that you have easy access to all product information, can register your purchases for an extended warranty and even save for gift certificates from Decathlon, for example.
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