Ssq Europe

International slate specialistsAt SSQ, we supply the highest quality slate for a range of aspirational applications. Our slate is popular with conservation area renovations and listed building installations. Combing the sleek and unique appearance of slate with some of the best weather protection available today, SSQ slate is the building product of the future.Natural slate pioneersForty years ago, Ahmed El-Helw fell in love with natural slate. At a Spanish trade show, he watched as skilled craftsmen demonstrated how thinly quality slate can be split and cleaved. He found it fascinating - so fascinating, in fact, that he’d go on to dedicate the next four decades of his life to the same material.Ahmed founded Spanish Slate Quarries UK Ltd (SSQ for short), and became the first person to bring the finest quality Spanish slate to homeowners and architects around the UK.Discovering Del CarmenHowever, in the beginning, it was far from easy. Ahmed quickly learned that slate, like any natural material, can vary hugely in quality. Even slate from the same country, or the same region, will vary significantly - which meant that if he wanted to offer the best of the best, Ahmed needed to track down a truly outstanding quarry. After commissioning an in-depth geological survey of North West Spain, the country’s natural slate heartland, he found one - Del Carmen.Sensational Spanish slateSSQ’s Del Carmen slate is hand-picked by architects around the world for its outstanding aesthetics.