A German missionary had set up the first tile factory at Mangalore in 1860 after they found large deposits of clay by the banks of the Gurupura and Nethravathi rivers. It was called Basel Mission tile factory, and was the first ever tile factory in India, located on the banks of the Nethravathi River, near Morgan’s Gate. Since then the industry flourished in India. Several other tile factories came up in the years that followed. Mangalore tiles, which is also known as Mangalorean tiles are a type of tiles native to the city of Mangalore, in India. These red tiles, prepared from hard laterite clay, are in great demand throughout India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Far East and are even shipped to East Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia. These were the only tiles to be recommended for Government buildings in India during the British regime as these are very popular form of roofing and are preferred over concrete due to its excellent quality.