ABOUT MR BULLNOSE

Mr Bullnose was founded by the Cochrane family and one staff member in 2010 in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Their mission was, and still is, to set the pace in the advancement of manufacturing bullnose porcelain tile finishes for stairs, pool copings, bathroom tiles and more, both locally and internationally.

Leading the company was Steven Cochrane, who learnt this unique craft from his father, William Cochrane, who was a stone mason for over 50 years. Steven himself (among other things) was a stone mason for over 30 years too.

In 2007, Steven realized that there was a need in the market for porcelain tile finishes. The only option a client had was to adhere a pre-made “edge” onto the end of their tiles for pool copings and stair treads. For the next 3 years Steven and his son, Shawn Cochrane, invented and developed various methods to take a client’s own porcelain tile and create a complete, solid tile with a bullnose edge finish. In 2010, once the method was extensively tested and ready for use, they launched Mr Bullnose and Tile CC.
From these humble beginnings, this small operation has grown into a strong team, including Steven’s eldest son, Jonathan Cochrane who joined a few months later.

Mr Bullnose also opened their tile cutting and mosaic manufacturing divisions. Steven’s wife, Karen joined the company to oversee the mosaic manufacturing and did so until her passing in 2021.

Mr Bullnose’s first customer was the esteemed Italcotto who helped launch Mr Bullnose and was their biggest client until they closed in 2020. They now deal with All the Major Tile Companies.
As the company grew, they slowly added new staff, previously unemployed and unskilled, and trained them in the specialist art of Bullnosing porcelain. Each of the staff go through at least a year of training and development, followed by on-going training as new methods are developed. Mr Bullnose has since imported and modified several machines to create the processes needed, as there are no machines on the local or international market to transform Your standard Porcelain tile into a Mr Bullnose Pool Coping or Stair tile.

Although the company is based in Cape Town, Mr Bullnose services the entire South Africa as well as international clients. These include both residential and commercial building projects, as well as Government projects including schools and public swimming pools. Clients include tile retailers, architects, designers, builders, tilers, and the general public. The product finishes cater to all income/budget brackets as the options range from a basic Half Bullnose to shaped, round and custom-designed Bullnoses.

Sadly, Steven Cochrane passed away in June 2023.
His 2 sons Jonathan Cochrane and Shawn Cochrane are keeping his legacy alive with Cochrane Bullnose (Pty) Ltd trading as Mr Bullnose.

Under the leadership of Jonathan and Shawn, the desire to improve constantly is an integral part of the Mr Bullnose ethos and culture. Our business and staff is our family, it’s a home away from home where new technology and inspired, creative ideas live in harmony with traditional values such as hard work, honesty, integrity and humble pride.

The results speak for themselves: our products are crafted to perfection, manufacture to endure, and they are backed by the knowledgeable family who invented these processes. Nothing is better that the Original.

Jonathan: “Most of my client’s don’t know my real name, I will walk onto a new site and the tiler will greet me or my brother as ‘Mr Bullnose’, it is an honour to be called after my father and mentor.”