With more than 200 employees, Rama Arts & Exports of Kaladwas, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, has secured a reputation as a leading manufacturer of semi-precious slabs and customized stonework, as well as other exotic material. The company was founded in 2001 by Anshul Dwivedi and initially focused on industrial minerals and importing semi-precious rough stone. In 2005, it began its quarrying operation.
“I was always passionate about stones, carvings and various patterns in stones,” said Dwivedi. “Because of that, I jumped into the stone business.”
Dwivedi went on to explain that his interest in gemstones was sparked by a friend who introduced him to the precious material. “My friend gave me a quartz stone with a tourmaline in it,” he said. “I was totally amazed by seeing the two different colors in one rock. We took it to the gemologist and found that it was a pink tourmaline with quartz and from then on, my passion towards gemstones started taking off.”
Today, Rama Arts & Exports runs four quarries for marble, granite and talc. The distance from the quarries to the company’s factory ranges from as close as 20 miles to as far as 200 miles.
In total, the company produces approximately 3 to 3.5 million square feet of stone annually. A total of 70% of its production is semi-precious slabs.
A variety of Italian, Korean and Indian machinery are in use at the quarries. These include excavators, block loaders, cranes, dumpers and wire saws. On average, the size of the blocks range from those that are cut into half slabs to those that are used for jumbo slabs — measuring as large as
10 ½ x 7 feet. There are between 100 to 120 workers at the quarry, which is operational every day except on weekends, public holidays and festival days.
At the factory, approximately 160 workers are in place. The facility covers 140,000 square feet of work space. Among the lineup of machinery are three gangsaws — from an Indian manufacturer — to cut blocks into slabs, as well as a Sheng DA ZDMJ-16C slab polishing line, a 5-axis CNC stoneworking center, several waterjets, multi-blade cutters and calibration lines.
On a monthly basis, Rama Arts & Exports produces between 150,000 to 200,000 square feet of stone products. Its markets include the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, with 90% of its exports going to the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It fabricates stone pieces for both residential and commercial applications.
“We have recently finished one project for an Italian international fashion brand’s designer apartments for 39 floors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.” said Dwivedi.
