Our Story
1966. Stokes Valley.
A workshop, a welder,
and a plan.
Silbery Roofing didn't start with roofing.
It started in 1960 as Silbery Engineering, with Lionel Silbery Senior working steel out of a Stokes Valley workshop. His wife Ruth wasn't on the tools, but like any good partner she held everything together behind the scenes.
In 1966 the work turned toward roofing manufacturing, and Lionel Senior brought his two sons, Lionel Junior and Geoff, into the business as Lionel Silbery and Sons.
Between the sparks and the early mornings, Lionel Senior spent the next three decades turning Lionel Silbery and Sons into a name Wellington could count on.
He built something that outlasted most of the companies around him.
Three Lionels
The name
carried on.
I never got to meet my grandfather. He left this world before I arrived in it.
But I was given his name in his honour, making me the third Lionel in the family. My uncle got bumped up to Senior and I picked up the Junior tag.
I'm told we share more than a name. Apparently, the stubbornness came included.
Like any decent family, we've had our rough patches, Ups and downs, a few sideways moments, and the odd loud conversation in the workshop.
But that was a long time ago.
Mum took the wheel
Back from
the brink.
On the 2nd of April 2000, my mother, Angela Silbery-Dee, took full ownership and changed the name from Lionel Silbery and Sons to Silbery Roofing Ltd.
I'll be honest, I was dragged into the business kicking and screaming. I was young, and the idea of hard work when I could be doing absolutely nothing didn't exactly appeal to me.
Turns out Mum had other ideas.
Angie worked long, hard hours to bring Silbery Roofing back from the brink. Twenty-odd years ago this company was on life support, and mum was the one who kept it breathing.
For years she was the only woman in the roofing manufacturing industry, and she didn't just survive in it, she ran the place.
She taught me what solid foundations really mean, and not just the ones under a roof.
I joined the business in 2005, over twenty years ago now. Somewhere along the way I stopped complaining and started caring.
These days I genuinely love what we do, and I wouldn't change a thing.
The people behind Silbery
Not just a name.
A family business is more than a name above the door. The staff who built this place over the years have earned their retirement, and a new team has stepped in behind them. Plenty of our customers have been coming back just as long, swapping banter across the counter and catching up between jobs. Here, you don't stay a stranger for long, you end up part of the family.
Keith Willis
Keith came in as a young fella and spent his career running our roofing machines. He retired in his mid-50s and took up golf, which he reckons is harder than roll-forming. He still pops in from time to time, and we still haven't managed to get rid of him.
Alphie Rawiri
Alphie made flashings for around 30 years. He helped set up our Thorndon branch from scratch, transitioning to manager and building relationships with builders, tradies, and customers across the city one job at a time. A lot of the reputation that branch has today goes back to the standards he set. He knew the machines better than anyone and the customers even better. He was well known and well liked. The workshop was never quite the same after he passed away from cancer in 2020. We miss him.
These days it's just me, Mum, and Leo the workshop dog holding the fort.
Leo takes his role as head woofer very seriously, even if his actual contributions are mostly supervisory.
Community
Giving back.
Silbery Roofing has always believed in putting back into the community that's supported us.
Over the years, Mum has contributed to the Dowse Art Museum during its construction and donated the re-roof of Te Omanga Hospice. Those are just the bigger ones. There have been plenty of smaller charities along the way too. She never made a fuss about any of it. That was just how she operated.
These days I carry that on in my own way, supporting HUHA (Helping You Help Animals) wherever I can. When business allows it they get the work for free, and when it doesn't they always get the best price we can offer.
Some things are more important than margins.
What we stand for
Fair price.
Proper job.
No nonsense.
We pride ourselves on good old-fashioned values, the kind my grandfather would have believed in.
We're not perfect, and we can be a bit old school at times.
But in a world that moves faster every year, I reckon there's something to be said for a handshake, a fair price, and a job done properly.
I was born in an era without technology and now I live in one where you can't make a cup of tea without an app. Fortunately, bending steel hasn't changed much. We've just got better at everything around it.
The team at Silbery's believes in a fair competitive price and outstanding service. Always have. Always will.
Lionel Silbery-Shoji
Third generation, still Junior
What makes us different
Manufacturer.
Installer.
Same company.
You don't have to coordinate between a steel supplier, a flashing fabricator, and a roofer who'll be out of business in five years. You ring us.
We measure, we manufacture, we install, we sign it off, and we're still here when you call ten years later.
One company that makes your roof and puts it on, with the same name on the warranty as on the truck.
Want to talk?
Pick the one that fits.