Being an association of two well-known manufacturing companies: Marmoraria Belem, founded by Albertino Ignacio Duarte Cintra in 1946 and today run by his grandchildren, Alvaro Ignacio Duarte Cintra Jr. and Valdir Ignacio Duarte Cintra; and Bras Cubas Marmores e Granitos Ltda, a 40-year-old company run by Edimar Alves Martins, the company offers many decades of experience in the stone industry.

Antares is considered one of the most modern fabricating companies in the stone sector in Brazil, according to its owners. The company's facility spans an area of 12,000 square meters and is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, including two CNC machines (a Contourbreton NC350 from Breton and a System Plus from Comandulli), four bridge saws from Italy, three edge finishers and a flaming machine. The Contourbreton NC350 is the company's most recent acquisition.

The equipment allows the company to produce high-quality cut-to-size jobs, countertops and fireplaces as well as furniture pieces made of marble or granite. The company's production is around 120,000 square meters a year, with a task force of 50 workers directly operating in production.

The working environment and its employees' health is always a concern for Antares. As a result, the company invests in modern equipment to avoid dust in the production area and to properly treat the water used during the production process. "This water load can cause pollution to the environment, so for this reason, in the end of the process this water is treated, and the material residues are used as sub product," said Valdir Ignacio Duarte Cintra, industrial director of Antares.

A new objective for the company is to hire women to work in the finishing sector of the production area. "Although most of the people who work in the production line aren't able to identify imperfection, Brazil has a good standard in quality," said Cintra. "Women's sensibility can help in finishing details, and they can operate the machinery with agility. Contracting women will be a novelty, and we will be pioneers in this area," he said.

Currently, 20% of the company's jobs and 20% of its pre-fabricated products are marketed to the U.S. Additionally, 30% of its work goes to other foreign destinations such as Germany and the Middle East, while its domestic market comprises the other 50%.

Antares exports to the U.S. and the world through the brand name of LuxStone, which is a joint venture of two well-known Brazilians companies: Antares and Itaarte. At the moment, LuxStone is supplying countertops, vanities and other granite items for a Four Season Hotel near Nassau in the Bahamas. Besides producing specific jobs, they also supply pre-fabricated tops, furniture, borders and cut-to-size jobs in both Brazilian marble and granite.