Interview

Rochard et Fils: ‘Natural slate has a soul, a story to tell’

interview rochard et fils

The French family-run firm Rochard et Fils has won the Best of the Best 2024, our annual competition to select the best natural slate roofer.

As part of the prize, they will soon be travelling to our quarries to see the production process for themselves. This year, our winners will benefit from a something novelty too: they will have the opportunity to attend a Real Madrid match at Santiago Bernabéu.

In the meantime, we were able to talk to them about their participation in our competition and their victory.

CUPA PIZARRAS – How do you feel, and what does winning the Best of the Best 2024 competition mean to you?

Rochard et Fils – We are still in the euphoria of having won and it gives us great satisfaction to be recognised through this CUPA PIZARRAS competition for our know-how, which has lasted for over 60 years in our fine trade of slate roofing. With my brother Olivier, we are the 3rd generation, and if our grandfather Albert were still with us, he would be as proud as our father Alain.

Le fort de la conchée

CP – Can you tell us more about how you felt and what you experienced during your participation in the competition? How did you get on?

RF – To be honest, we didn’t think the competition would be such a big hit for us. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of votes in the first round. Once again, we’d like to thank all the voters and the final jury for choosing us. Our friends and family and all the voters got involved by voting and supporting us thanks to our video. We had the impression that we were all invested in this competition as one man and it’s extraordinary to have had so much support.

CP – Can you tell us about your experience with the Saint-Malo Fort project and its special features, such as its location 3 miles from Saint-Malo? Why did you choose CUPA PIZARRAS slate?

RF – The Fort de la Conchée is a Vauban masterpiece dating from 1692 that sits enthroned in the bay of Saint-Malo. It is majestic and has had a crazy history since it was first built. It has survived all the major wars that France has known and was bombed in 1944. We are very proud to have had the chance to take part in its restoration, especially as a local from Saint-Malo. The organisation and logistics weren’t easy because, as you can see in the video, it’s located on the open sea, about 25 minutes by boat.  All the roofing materials, especially the slate, were transported by helicopter. A big first for us. It was incredible! As for our colleagues, they travelled to the fort every Monday morning by boat, slept there during the week and returned to dry land on Thursday evening.

When the fort was being rebuilt in the 1980s, the architects of the Historical Monuments recommended Angers slate for the roofs. However, the quarries in Angers no longer exist, and what better way to replace them than with CUPA slate.

Resturation de Fort de la Conchée

CUPA slate was an obvious choice because of its appearance and character. It was ideally suited to the requirements of the site and was selected with exceptional expertise. It was also suited to the random slating technique, thanks to the different slate models that could be produced. We were not disappointed with our choice. We’d like to thank CUPA PIZARRAS for the work they put into manufacturing the slate and for their support on this project.

CP – What do you like best about natural slate?

RF – Natural slate has a soul, a story to tell, whatever its origin. We are passionate supporters of natural products, of which slate is one. What could be better for a craftsman than to work with such materials, which add a little more value to his skills and experience as a roofer?

CP – As the winners of the competition, you will soon be travelling to Spain to visit our quarries and watch a Real Madrid match. What are you looking forward to? Are you excited?

RF – We are looking forward to visiting your quarries and seeing the entire CUPA slate manufacturing process. We’re at the end of the process line, and it’s hard to imagine that the slate we lay every day comes from a huge block quarried from a mountain. This will be extremely interesting and rewarding.

Maybe we’ll be able to make a slate ourselves… who knows?

Fort de la Conchée

For the match in Madrid, what a chance to be in this stadium to see one of the biggest football clubs in the world, where some French footballers play!

We hope to witness a victory with an atmosphere worthy of the great REAL MADRID and discover the new Santiago-Bernabéu.

CP – Would you recommend other companies to take part in the Best of the Best 2025?

RF – Of course we’d recommend our colleagues to take part in this competition, and if they need a helping hand, we’ll be happy to guide them through their video.

Just one piece of advice: enjoy and believe in yourself!