CFRP Natural Stones builds upon success

Less than 30 years ago, CFRP Natural Stones was formed, which now is the largest Brazilian exporter of Imperial Coffee granite

CFRP Natural Stones of Caldas, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, currently quarries approximately 1,000 cubic meters of Imperial Coffee out of its largest quarry in Caldas, MG, Brazil, on a monthly basis.

Due to the rainy season in Southeast Brazil, the site closes a few months per year.

CFRP Natural Stones is a company that specializes in the extraction and commercialization of granite blocks. Founded by brothers Carlos Fernando and Lino Marcos da Paz in 1989, in Caldas, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, the company is now the largest exporter of Imperial Coffee granite.

“We were the first to start working with this material,” explained Fernando da Paz, sales manager at CFRP. “Imperial Coffee is a beautiful granite known for its rich brown coloring and delicate pink veins.”

Currently, CFRP quarries approximately 1,000 cubic meters of Imperial Coffee out of its largest quarry in Caldas, MG, Brazil, monthly. The average size of a block is 1.7 x 1.7 x 2.5 meters. “The quarry is about 20 years old,” said Paz. “In the beginning, we only worked with boulders.”

Because of the rainy season that frequents Southeast Brazil near the end of each year, the Imperial Coffee quarry is only operational until December. To extract its material, the company utilizes diamond wires and drilling machines from Atlas Copco Stonetec (formerly Perfora S.p.a.) in Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy. Other equipment from OSM-Tools apS in Funen, Denmark, are also used.

In addition to Brazil, CFRP caters to a range of countries throughout the world, including the U.S., Canada, Italy, Poland, France, China and Taiwan. CFRP also has a factory about 15 miles away from its quarry in Andrades, MG. A total of 70 employees are spread out between both sites.

The company is currently working towards the opening of its first white marble quarry, due to the material’s high demand, which it anticipates soon. “Our white marble quarry is still in the research phase,” said Paz.

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Heather Fiore is the Editor-in-Chief of TILE Magazine. She has also served as the Associate Editor of Contemporary Stone & Tile Design and Stone World for the last five years. Before she began working at BNP Media in these capacities, Heather Fiore was an associate editor for The Sun newspapers in Central New Jersey.