The Story Behind the Origins of SureSet and the Evolution of Resin Bound Surfacing
From Quarry Floors to Industry Innovation
Innovation is the process of implementing and improving new ideas that add value or solve problems. More often, it begins with curiosity - with someone asking why things are done a certain way and refusing to accept that they can’t be improved.
For Peter Watts, founder of SureSet UK Ltd, that journey started as a young boy collecting rocks in the Quantock Hills of Somerset.
Today, the surfacing technology he pioneered has transformed landscapes across the UK, from Windsor Castle to Kew Gardens and countless commercial and residential developments worldwide. Following Vuba’s acquisition of SureSet, Sean Scott, founder of Vuba, sat down with Peter to discuss the origins of resin bound surfacing as we know it today, the industry and what comes next.
A Lifelong Fascination with Stone: The Origins of Resin-Bound Surfacing
Peter’s passion for aggregates began early.
“I just loved stone,” he explains. “The different colours and textures fascinated me.”
After studying geology at school, Peter entered the quarrying industry, first with a small Somerset quarrying company before moving into larger operations in the Mendips. It was there that his expertise in asphalt technology began to develop.
While many might see asphalt as mundane, Peter saw its complexity as an opportunity. Understanding how aggregate grading affected durability became his speciality — a foundation that would later prove critical in developing resin bound surfacing.
But one thing always bothered him.
“Why cover beautiful silver granite or golden Dorset gravel with black tar?” he says. “It never seemed right.”
That simple observation planted the seed for what would eventually become resin bound.
The Search for a Better Surface
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Peter explored ways to create flexible surfaces that showcased natural stone rather than hiding it beneath black bitumen.
Existing systems at the time were flawed. Pigmented surfaces faded, coatings wore away, and most technologies simply couldn’t deliver long term durability.
Peter believed there had to be another way.
By 1995, alongside colleague and chemist Kevin Weston, he began serious experimentation with resin technologies. Combining Peter’s expertise in asphalt mix design with Kevin’s chemistry background, the pair developed what would become the SureSet formulation - a closely guarded technology that remained secret for nearly 30 years.
The breakthrough wasn’t simply finding a resin that worked.
It was understanding the relationship between resin chemistry and aggregate technology.
Why Resin Bound Surfacing Is More Complex Than It Looks
One of the most fascinating discussions in the podcast centred around what truly makes resin bound surfacing successful.
As Sean explains, many people have attempted to combine “stone and glue” over the years. Very few succeeded.
The difference with SureSet was the deep understanding of aggregate grading, binder percentages, stone properties, and application requirements — knowledge rooted heavily in asphalt engineering.
“You have to get everything exactly right,” Peter explains. “The binder percentage, the aggregate shape, water absorption, surface texture — every detail matters.”
Too little binder and the surface fails!
Too much binder and performance suffers!
Rounded aggregates behave differently to angular ones. Surface smoothness changes resin demand. Heavy traffic areas require entirely different specifications from footpaths.
Even slight changes in aggregate composition can dramatically affect performance.
This attention to detail became the backbone of SureSet’s success and remains fundamental to modern to the industry today.
Engineering for Real World Performance
Another key challenge wasn’t just creating a technically sound product - it was making it practical for installation.
“There’s no use giving installers something that’s difficult to lay,” Peter says.
Ease of installation became a core design principle.
The system needed to be durable and visually striking, whilst remaining cost-effective and efficient to install — a balance that remains critical in commercial surfacing innovation today.
Environmental performance also plays a major role.
Long before sustainable drainage became a mainstream concern, Peter recognised the importance of permeability.
Traditional asphalt and concrete force water into drainage systems and rivers. Permeable resin bound surfacing allows water to naturally pass through the surface and return to groundwater systems.
As urban development increases and impermeable surfaces expand, that environmental benefit has only become more important.
Creating an Industry
One of the most remarkable aspects of SureSet’s story is that the company didn’t simply enter an existing market — it created one.
When SureSet first launched, resin bound surfacing as we know it did not exist. Peter and his team had to convince architects, contractors, and clients that this new system was genuinely different.
Over time, they succeeded.
As Peter’s daughter Jenny later described it:
“You invented the market — and Vuba helped create what it is today.”
It’s a sentiment that perfectly captures the relationship between SureSet’s pioneering foundations and the modern innovation now driving the industry forward.
Innovation Never Stops
The conversation also revealed how closely aligned SureSet and Vuba are philosophically.
Both businesses have always prioritised product innovation above traditional approaches.
For Vuba, that has meant pioneering developments such as:
- Easihold
- Vehicle suitable marble systems
- Moisture tolerant resin technologies
- The VubaMac base system
- And many more currently in development…
Most excitingly, Sean revealed that several future innovations Vuba is working on are ideas Peter himself had once envisioned but never had the opportunity to fully pursue.
That continuity, from the original invention of resin bound surfacing through to the next generation of technologies, represents a rare and powerful passing of the torch.
Protecting the Legacy While Building the Future
As the conversation of the origins of resin bound surfacing concluded, Peter presented Sean with SureSet’s original certificate of incorporation — a symbolic gesture marking the transfer of stewardship.
“I wanted SureSet to go to a good home,” Peter said. “I think Vuba will be a good home.”
For Sean and the Vuba team, the responsibility is clear: preserve the history, protect the innovation, and continue driving the industry forward.
Because at its core, the story of SureSet isn’t just about surfacing.
- It’s about curiosity.
- It’s about craftsmanship.
- And it’s about the relentless pursuit of doing things better.
