Tour our manufacturing plant in Salisbury NC, and you’ll see why a Tiger is our emblem. (No, it’s not because the current Charles Taylor graduated from Clemson!)
Actually, the tiger stands for our top of the line product, and has been emblematic of family heritage and pride for more than 150 years.
To get a real feeling for the history, imagine Charles Jr’s great great grandfather, who came to the Ohio River Valley from England.
The year was 1832. He discovered a good supply of flint clays in Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and realized that this clay would make superb brick products. By 1862, he had founded a company and had begun producing brick under the name Charles Taylor and Sons Refractories. (National Lead bought the company in 1944, but the Taylor name still remains on some of its plants.)
Charles Taylor named his top grade line of brick “tiger” for its handsomeness and strength. Just as surely as our quality hasn’t changed, our theme remains the same – and you will see that tiger on everything from our business cards to our advertising.
Fast forward to Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1949. Charles D. (Chuck) Taylor, father of our current company President, Charles D. Taylor, Jr., had come to the Salisbury area to help Isenhour Brick build a kiln. Isenhour was so impressed with his skill that he offered Taylor a job. But Taylor decided to remain in Salisbury and build his own plant which was designed for glazed tile and brick. Rather than supplying the residential market, at that time, Taylor wanted to supply the architectural market.
Presently our primary focus still remains on high quality architectural products, with additional products being recently added for the local housing markets. These include tumble, blade cut, roller textures and special coatings that give that unique look homeowners want.
Isenhour maintained an interest in the early company; in fact, the first facilities were even built on the Isenhour family farm, which still can be seen at the present location.
