One of the most photographed exhibits in the Stona fair in Bangalore, held early February 2016, was the giant sculpture of a lion in granite, made by the Indian company, GTP Granites. How it was made is an interesting story.
Natural stone is more than slabs and tiles, claddings and flooring and countertops. Just have a look at the images below of some of the spectacular and original designs seen in the Xiamen (China) Stone fair held on 6 to 9 March, 2016.
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ARAB WORLD. With the ARAB world in turmoil, one of the most important region for demand for natural stone (and of production), many stone companies from all over the world with presence there, have been seriously affected. Libya and Iraq markets almost collapsed, and Saudi Arabia is showing all the signs of a saturated and over supplied market.
1.- The construction industry in China is slowing down and demand for imported stone is declining after 12 years of consistent growth. But this should not be mistaken for an imminent crash in demand for natural stone. The Chinese government has recently announced plans for building infrastructure for a further 100 million people moving from the rural areas to the cities by 2020 and this should mean a lot of demand for all kinds of stones.
Rogerio Moutinho, MGLW (United Kingdom)
What do architects and designers really look for, when they want to use natural stone?
Without trying to be too simplistic, what one really wants when choosing natural stone for a project is:
1.- A stone with the right colour and pattern
2.- A stone that is suitable or adequate for the purpose, i.e., it is hard enough,not too absorbent, etc.
3.- That the natural stone is fairly easily available, i.e., in the quantity that one requires, and is so within the time frame of the project.
An initiative of WONASA (World Natural Stone Association) www.wonasa.com
Antonio Molina,
Technological Centre for Marble (Murcia), Spain
laboratorio@ctmarmol.es
The US 305/2011 Regulation for building products published on 9 March, 2011 comes into effect on 1 July, 2013, substituting the current Directive 89/106/CE for Building Products. The new Regulation does not impose on the manufacturers of natural stone more conditions than those in the Directive, but obliges them to make some changes in the documentation of the products.
Shipping costs for natural Stone are a significant factor in the industry and are closely monitored by the exporting and importing companies. We publish below the latest, approximate shipping costs for closed 20´DV container for some of the most common origins and destinations.
We hope to update this section frequently.
Our thanks to Susie Su, Xoan Martínez, Varujan Ozberg, Dr. Gopal, Aya Alaa and the company TFA Cargo for the information provided.
