Anyone who has ever been to Italy can hardly have failed to notice the simple elegance of tiles there, on floors and on walls, and not only in kitchens and bathrooms. So perhaps we are lucky to have a supplier in Oxford that has its roots deep in the Italian tradition of producing ceramics for almost anywhere a cool look is needed.

Minoli Tiles of Transport Way, Cowley, is quietly marking its 50th year as a limited company, though it has actually been in business longer than that.

Managing director Jonathon Minoli, grandson of founder Luigi, explained: “This is a family business, built up over the years by the family and staff.

“I am really just a footnote of history, standing on the shoulders of giants, as it were. My grandparents and parents, and also my sister have been very much involved in Minoli Tiles.”

He added: “My family came to Britain from Italy at the end of the 19th century, and got involved in the flooring business early on. They started in Islington, but moved to Oxford shortly after the Second World War where Luigi built a terrazzo works in Divinity Road.

“In 1960, my father Peter built a new works here in Transport Way to produce terrazzo, which is a virtually indestructible mixture of cement and marble —but messy to make.

“Then he saw the way things were going and decided to import tiles from Modena instead.”

Now the company employs 35 staff, some of whom have been with the firm for 30 years, and turns over more than £5m a year.

It is well known in Oxfordshire for its extensive retail showrooms, but look behind the scenes and it becomes apparent that about 90 per cent of the business comes from corporate, wholesale customers from all over Britain — plus a few from abroad.

Mr Minoli, 41, said: “Obviously, turnover is down since the peak, in line with all firms dealing with the construction industry, but it is picking up again slowly.

“But because there is an element of ‘turning the tanker’ involved in the recovery of the construction industry, we don’t expect a really significant upturn for a year.

“Unfortunately, we did have three redundancies last year.”

Peter Minoli died in 1994, but he left the firm in such a healthy state that his widow Kate, along with Jonathon and his sister Niki, were able to invest in redeveloping the showrooms, despite the recession of the early 1990s — a move which by ‘sheer good luck’, according to Jonathon, then left the firm ready to take advantage of the boom times that followed.

Mr Minoli said: “We have seen ups and downs before. This time around we redeveloped the corporate area in November 2009 as a space for discussing business with developers, builders and people from the automotive trade.”

This last sector — automotive — has been expanding steadily over the years as car showrooms everywhere turn to tiles as their ideal decor.

Indeed Lexus, Infiniti and Nissan are using Minoli tiles for their showrooms here and abroad.

Mr Minoli admits times are hard, and have been for the last year or two, meaning now is not right for celebrating a 50th anniversary. But he said by fostering a spirit of what he calls ‘one team’, to encourage staff in all departments, the business is pulling through.

He said: “The fall in the pound, since we are importers, has not helped us — and I just hope it won’t fall again.

“I look at the politicians as supplying the arena in which to do business, keeping the grass mown, as it were, but it’s tricky when the fundamentals — like the value of the money itself — change too much.”

Mr Minoli’s mother Kate helped build up the business with his father, working mainly on the purchasing and product selection side. Niki eventually left the business in 2007 to start her fashion business, Presenza, in Woodstock.

She now uses her eye for innovative design at her new business, also in Woodstock, the interior decorators La Mia Casa.

Now Minoli’s efforts have been recognised by the industry’s trade body, the Tile Association.

It won the prestigious Excellence in Marketing award. Anyone visiting the company’s new showrooms, where products are displayed as well as they are on the website, will see why.

Mr Minoli said: “Marketing and distribution have been areas of concerted focus for us, so we are delighted to gain industry-wide recognition for our efforts.”

And are Minoli tiles really as good as those you see in Italy? For instance, is it possible to buy tiles that curve up through 90 degrees to go round the edge of a bathroom floor, so making it completely waterproof?

And could I have a shower installed in a room without a shower cubicle at all, but with a floor so well made — like a mosaic in a Roman villa — that the water simply runs away to a drain, cleaning the floor as it does so? After all, you can get such workmanship in Italy.

“We don’t fit the tiles ourselves but we know people who could do that for you, yes,” said Mr Minoli.

Let us hope the economy picks up again, as it did after previous recessions the company has weathered, and that staff will soon find the time is right to celebrate with, of course, a night on the tiles.

Name: Minoli Tiles Established: 1960 Managing director: Jonathon Minoli Number of staff: 35 Annual turnover: £5m

Contact: 01865 778225 Web: www.minoli.co.uk