This past spring, stone fabricators from around the country gathered at Cadenza Granite & Marble Inc. in Concord, NC, for a Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA) Workshop. As part of the extensive program, two SFA members offered a hands-on demonstration of their techniques for seam setting and top polishing.
As homeowners continue to look for countertop materials made from exotic stone materials, fabricators are being asked to work with fragile materials more than ever before. This past spring, skilled stoneworking professionals at Cadenza Granite & Marble, Inc. in Concord, NC, detailed all of the various steps that can be required when processing a Rainforest Brown marble countertop. This educational session was part of a workshop by the Stone Fabricators Alliance.
For those of you who don’t already know, the “scare tactics” regarding granite and radon are out there once again. Basically, it’s the same old re-run from years ago: “Are granite countertops killing innocent families? We don’t know, but we’re looking into it. In the meantime, why don’t you try this alternative material?”
A few hours outside the city of Fortaleza, Brazil - which is renowned for its pristine beaches - stone aficionados can find a seemingly endless range of quarry sites for exotic materials as well as traditional stones.
Located in the region of Fortaleza, Brazil, with its many high-end projects along the beachfront and beyond, RL Mármore Granito has developed as a specialist for fabricating architectural stonework. In processing these works, the company relies on a carefully chosen range of machinery as well as the skill of its workers.
Amid the horse and cattle ranches just outside of Fortaleza, Brazil, lies the industrial compound for Rochetec, which processes granite and other stones into a variety of finished products. The company, which has recently added to its equipment collection and product line, is preparing to export finished products to an international client base.
Granos S/A of Caucaia, Ceará, Brazil, near the city of Fortaleza, was founded 20 years ago by Francisco Silveira, whose background included work in the residential construction sector. In the course of his work, he became interested in the granite industry. The company began by supplying stone for commercial projects in Brazil, and it started exporting slabs to the U.S. in 2002. This included a range of exotic materials.
Founded in 1989, Granistone has developed into one of the largest granite and marble extraction companies in Brazil. The company headquarters are located in Fazenda Lagoana, Santa Quiteria, in the middle of inland Ceará, about 150 miles from the capital city of Fortaleza. Among its many endeavors, Granistone extracts material from its massive Ceará White granite quarry in Santa Quiteria, and it also extracts a variety of exotic materials from neighboring states.
The state of Ceará, Brazil, is situated on the Northeastern coast of Brazil along the Atlantic Ocean, right below the equator. And while the general public may recognize the state for its beaches and warm weather, the stone industry knows Ceará for its wealth of natural resources - including a broad range of exotic stone materials.
When mentioning the top stone-producing firms in the world, the name Antolini Luigi & C. is virtually always part of the discussion. Recently, the company has added a new component to its empire with the completion of its state-of-the-art slab-processing plant near Vitória, Brazil.