David Coster, Director of Advanced Stone & Masonry Supplies, which sells Stain Proof and Tenax products, talks to Andrew Taylor, Director of Granite Direct, in Enfield, Middlesex.

David: Quartz, sintered/porcelain or natural stone?

Andrew: Natural, both as my preference and for the business. It’s a lot more unique, more interesting. For me, it’s superior. Everyone can cut and fix quartz, that’s why there are so many people doing it. Natural stone is a bit more specialist.

David: Straight off the machines or hand finished?

Andrew: It comes off the saw or waterjet, goes through the edge polisher and then its hand finished. We finish everything by hand. That way it gets checked properly. It’s part of quality control because someone is going over it by hand. You get a much nicer finish as well.

Have you made any recent investments in the business, or do you have any planned?

We have replaced a saw. I have bought an Achilli from D Zambelis. I buy my machines from them and I buy my tooling from them because I get good support from them – I get the back-up.

Hopefully, I’m looking to extend again so we can hold more stock. There’s a lot of interesting material and we bring it in ourselves. We’re branching out into terrazzo and we’re selling a lot of marble. We’re also considering stuff like solar panels and electric vans.

That brings me to my next question: climate change. Do you have a plan in place to reach Net Zero by 2050?

I have no direct plan but solar panels are probably the number one thing I have been thinking about for the past year, not only because it’s eco-friendly but it can save us money in the process. We recycle all our water.

Electric vans… I don’t feel they are at the right place yet. They’re not where they should be to make it viable.

Is most of your business local?

Predominantly within the M25. That’s one of the reasons for looking at electric vans – the congestion zones.

You guys are in what I would consider the countryside; one of the nicest areas around here. But I noticed just a quarter of a mile up the road there’s a ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone), even though it still feels like countryside to me. But moving on: have you noticed any backlog from Brexit or Covid?

Multiple things. Brexit, the Suez Canal, Covid, fuel prices – there’s a lot of reasons for getting delays with deliveries. We haven’t had any problems from Italy, probably because for the most part it comes by train and is here in a week. The prices of shipping are going up and people don’t want to do the drive from Spain, so their prices have gone up. I think a lot of people use it as an excuse to put prices up – any excuse. Someone forgets to order a slab, they blame it on Brexit or Covid or Suez. But there have been effects. You just deal with it. We have to tell people it’s going to be six weeks before you can have a kitchen worktop.

The industry has been too quick to promote itself as template and install within ‘X’ amount of time. If everyone said this is actually unworkable it would be better for everyone.

Most bespoke industries will tell you it’s six to eight weeks to fabricate something.

A kitchen manufacturer will say it takes 16 weeks but a fabricator that’s making the tops for that kitchen will sing and dance about the fact they will template and install within five days!

Are you finding it difficult to get all the staff you need?

We lost a couple of staff just after Brexit but we had two people to replace them very quickly. They are very experienced masons. We haven’t really had a problem, although I know a lot of other fabricators have, which drives up the cost of labour. For us, you know, I would like to think we look after our staff because they are proper masons and we have skilled people in the office. The majority of our staff stay with us for the long term – we don’t have a high turnover of staff. It’s important to look after them because without them we don’t have a business.

I notice you are members of the Worktop Fabricators Federation (WFF). What made you want to join and what benefits does it have?

Joining was quite an easy decision for us because historically we prefer to work with the other fabricators around us. There’s enough business for every fabricator without having to drive down prices, make compromises and work for nothing. The main benefit of the WFF is purely sharing knowledge. We are a lot stronger as fabricators sharing ideas and problems. Before, if you went to one of the big distributors and said ‘I’ve had this problem’ they said ‘well, no-one else has had it and we have sold a thousand slabs’. Now we can say ‘this person had the same problem and that person has had it, so we’re all having it’. It’s not about blame, but of identifying problems.

What would you like to see the industry doing more of, perhaps starting with the WFF?

For me, the only incentive to join the WFF is to talk to each other. But that’s a great thing to have. It’s priceless. You can say to other local companies: let’s buy something we are all using in bulk so we are not paying over the odds for it. The WFF can give you greater buying power.

You’re more protected as a group than you would be as one fabricator on your own?

Absolutely.

What trends do you see in the market?

We are doing more and more terrazzo. People have always had this thing: natural stone and terrazzo are difficult. They say they stain, things like, but they can all be treated; they can all be repaired. There aren’t any problems with them. It’s knowing how to process the materials. We do lots of it and for me it’s great that other people don’t want to do it because that drives our business. What’s coming up? I don’t know. We do a majority in natural stone, and terrazzo is increasing. We are seeing less mirror fleck quartz, which is great for me because I’m bored with seeing it.

What do you have planned for Granite Direct?

We are content. We do 15-20 domestic jobs a week. We’re not looking to take over the world. We have got our margins, we’re happy with that.

We have reinvested and we will just naturally grow. If next year we are doing 25 jobs a week we just have to have the capacity to be ready for it. But we are content where we are. We don’t want to do 100 jobs a week or anything like that. You lose control and it becomes less about the quality and doing the bespoke work that we want to do.

Stone Federation is partnering member company Cliveden Conservation to deliver a lime mortar training course at the historic ruins of Reading Abbey on 23 August.

The course includes:

• An introduction to using lime mortar on historic buildings
• Walk down through the Reading Abbey Ruins
• Health & safety toolbox talk
• A demonstration of mixing different binders
• Practical sessions on the application of mortar and techniques for pointing, consolidation and tending.

You are welcome to bring your own small trowels and other small tools, although Cliveden Conservation will provide basic tools and materials, including health & safety PPE.

The address is: Reading Abbey Ruins, Abbey St, Reading RG1 3BA. There is a charge of £200+VAT to take part. To book your place(s), email sara@stonefed.org.uk.

Brick company Ibstock has bought a 75% stake in Generix Façades, the company based in Walsall, West Midlands, formed by John Nolan, originally to supply natural stone façades in conjunction with Blockstone. It also offers porcelains and brick slip façades. 

The attraction for Ibstock is that the façades are non-combustible (popular following Grenfell Tower) and have a low carbon footprint.

Announcing on 3 August its acquisition of 75% of Generix, Ibstock said the move into non-combustible façade systems extends its modular construction technology portfolio and represents a further strategic step in broadening the range of façade systems offered by Ibstock Futures.

Ibstock says the acquisition of Generix aligns closely with the strategy for Ibstock Futures to become a market leader in façade products and solutions that combine the aesthetic appeal of traditional materials with higher productivity and a lower environmental footprint.

John Nolan retains a minority shareholding in Generix and remains the Managing Director. He says: “Being part of Ibstock PLC will provide a fantastic platform for future growth. We are looking forward to this exciting new chapter in the development of Generix Facades and our non-combustible facades systems.

"We are extremely excited about the future and this transaction indicates the direction in which Generix is travelling. The strength of the brand has now gone to the next level and becoming part of the Ibstock family is a lifetime ambition come true for myself and the staff.

"While continuing to strive in the MMC sector with the Genbrix system, it is anticipated that Ibstock Generix will experience major growth in the natural stone and ceramic-porcelain rainscreen market.’’

The cost of the investment in Generix is small (speculation puts it at about £1million) but the Ibstock board believes the business has the potential to grow significantly with the Ibstock input.

Generix was formed in 2013. It has three types of façade systems: Generix-Lite (natural stone panels), Infinity (ceramic panels), and Genbrix (mechanically fixed brick-slip cladding).

Jeremie Rombaut, Managing Director of Ibstock Futures, says: “Generix represents an important strategic step for Ibstock Futures, with a new systems offering into the fast-growing sectors of the UK façades market.

"Through this acquisition, we have a great opportunity to expand our customer offering in new market segments. I welcome John and his team to Ibstock and look forward to scaling the business together in the years to come.” 

Robert Merry thinks it is about time the interiors section of the stone industry started formally recognising the skills of its workforce with qualifications... and why not a Fellowship?

We have a dilemma in some parts of the stone industry. Well, in interiors, to be frank. How do we recognise the skills we have taught our staff and how do we credit their achievements? In the office, the factory and as installers.

Certainly interior stone installation requires a unique set of skills. We would not expect a traditional hand-set mason to work with 20mm stone in a bathroom. The same is true in reverse.

Though there are, of course, many exceptions to this rule and we have all employed fixers who profess to being able to fix anything and everything. They are often caught with their proverbial trousers down at some point. Not a pleasant image – and an expensive one, too.

Fabricator workshops are home to digitized machinery requiring skilled and trained operatives. Forklift operators have specialist knowledge of how to load and unload slabs and move them around the workshop safely. Multi-access CNC technicians. Sophisticated rendering of photography – the art of rendering itself and production of digitized cutting sheets for the automated machinery. And then we have the sawyers and finishers and there is still no replacement for hands-on operatives cutting and polishing.

The link between site and factory – the templater (or, more properly named the site surveyor) handling sophisticated digital equipment and a laptop from which to ping the files to the factory.

It is a varied workforce whose skills are difficult to formally recognise in any collective qualification. Each requires a different set of skills.

Suppliers offer training for users, but rarely does the training extend to understanding the material worked, its limitations, its strengths and weaknesses, how to handle it and how to recognise when limitations have been reached.

Office workers also have their own skill set. Hopefully the days of coping with a light covering of dust on the desk and curling paperwork from the damp conditions, which I experienced in the railway arch we occupied for neigh on 17 years, are long gone.

The language of our trade is complicated at first, contractual obligations and risks vary, depending on the customer – architect, designer, contractor or public. Recognising and remembering the names of the stones and the geological differences between them is a subject in itself.

An obvious umbrella under which all skills shelter in some shape or form is health & safety. A legal requirement, certainly, but how do we recognise and credit the achievements of the individuals and their skills?

Surely we can produce a national stone standard for the interior stone industry to encompass all aspects of these diverse roles, to give us a set of qualifications respected and recognised within and beyond the industry?

In some cases, these already exist but need adaptation or refocusing on stone in interiors.

The National Occupational Standards, on which many stone masonry college courses are based, have an excellent structure with an interiors stone installer module as an option.

So why has the interiors industry been so reluctant to recognise qualifications that are under their very noses?

Perhaps companies don’t know about it? Perhaps there are misconceptions about the system and what it provides? Perhaps a uniting body like the Stone Federation or the Worktop Fabricators Federation (WFF) can galvanise our section of the industry and move the agenda forward.

The Stone Industry Professional Practice NVQ, developed by the Stone Federation and Priestman Associates, has been running for several years and is a case in point. If you haven’t heard about it, contact Mark Priestman. It’s excellent in its wide coverage of the stone industry, including estimating, quarrying, architecture, contracting and site visits. It takes up to two years to complete.

Is that the issue? The industry wants a quick fix? “How do I get operatives on site tomorrow? Do they really need a CSCS card?”  A labourer’s CSCS is only for labourers and cannot be renewed. Skilled worker cards, which apply to installers, are available to those with NVQ or SVQ level 2 qualifications, or if you have registered on a course you can obtain a one-year temporary card. There is no quick fix.

This is our challenge. Not to start again, but to take what we already have and mould it into a suite of qualifications for the interiors side of the stone industry that are relevant and recognised by our customers and the wider construction world. That will enable trained operatives to access CSCS cards and embed standards in interiors that will be long lasting and add value.

And what about a ‘Fellowship’ of the stone industry – a recognition of service and excellence, similar to other industry bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Builders, for one? An accreditation process where industry leaders and long serving individuals who have set the highest standards are rewarded with a Fellowship.

Now that is something to aim for.

www.stoneconsultants.co.uk

This year's Stone in Construction course is once again online and will take place on 12 October. It is open to architects and designers and members of Stone Federation Great Britain (which runs the course).

It costs £60. To book a place, email sara@stonefed.org.uk.

Stone in Construction is the new name of what used to be called the Use of Stone in Building course. It offers a comprehensive overview of designing and using natural stone in construction.

Seminar sessions cover:

• Geology of stone, including selecting and quarrying
• Stone testing, British and European Standards and CE/UKCA Marking
• Detailing of stone, including working drawings and fixings
• Masonry and architecture, including external masonry and rain screen cladding
• Stone for interiors
• External paving
• Ethical sourcing, environmental considerations and sustainability of stone.

This course is ideal for people who who are new to the industry and those looking to refresh and upskill their knowledge.

stonefed.org.uk

The latest design in the white, marble-veined Musa Collection of sintered stone from Lapitec, sold in the UK by The Marble & Granite Centre in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, is Bianco Giulia, available in book-matched, large format slabs.

Unlike the porcelains with which Lapitec is often compared, the pattern is not printed on – it is full-bodied, so the slabs can be machined across their full thickness while maintaining a consistent appearance and performance.

The Bianco Assoluto-effect Musa Collection was launched in 2019. It is available in Lux, Satin and Lithos finishes with different levels of marbling. The latest addition of Bianco Giulia is pictured above.

The marble-effects were the first Lapitec products to be free of crystalline silica, but this year Lapitec has been pushing the message that all Lapitec products are now completely free of crystalline silica, so there is no danger of processing the slabs leading to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in the air.

Inhalation of dust containing RCS, which is naturally present in clay, granite, quartz, sandstone, slate, concrete and other minerals and materials, can cause silicosis and other chronic respiratory diseases that can lead to premature death.

Lapitec says the removal of crystalline silica is in response to new, stricter health regulations, especially in the United States and Australia, and that it has been made possible by the development of a patented mineral formula it calls Biorite, which is a registered trademark.

Biorite is patented – one of more than 25 patents involved in the production of Lapitec, for which the brand thanks the advanced technologies of its parent company, Breton SpA, famous for its stone processing machinery and inventor of the original equipment used to make engineered quartz.

With Lapitec, it decided to keep the process to itself and control production.

As well as being free of crystalline silica, Lapitec is also free of any petroleum derivatives, such as resins and digital printing inks.

Marcello Toncelli, who heads Lapitec, says of the removal of crystalline silica: “We have been experimenting for a long time, and have invested significant resources over the past decade to achieve this outstanding result, which we are very proud of.

“Using natural minerals, we have found a way to synthesise a new mineral that we have called Biorite, a Lapitec exclusive that, together with the other components of the mixture, makes the material completely silica-free and safe for fabricators, installers and anyone mechanically processing the material, starting with our own workers.”

Some have said sintered stone is simply another name for porcelain, but Marcello maintains that the advances made with Lapitec make it a unique material, ideal for use indoors and out. And Lapitec is being used widely in the world for façades, floors, swimming pools, kitchens, bathrooms, decor and more.

And, adds Marcello: “The ability to create certain raw materials [in-house] also makes us more autonomous, allowing the company to respond to the current shortage of raw materials that is paralysing the global market.”

The Marble & Granite Centre says the demand for classic-veined white marble such as Carrara and Statuario, reflected in the Lapitec marble-look products, continues, but that there is also a big increase in demand for more dramatic natural stones – so much so, in fact, that it has just moved 5,000m2 of stone in order to install a new covered storage facility in order to be able to stock more of the luxury marbles and quartzites.

The Kopron cover's open sides still allow plenty of natural light into the area for ideal viewing of the materials.

The Marble & Granite Centre says it is seeing seeing many more interior designers being braver with colour and experimenting with more striking materials, creating increased interest in natural stones such as granites and quartzites, which are more colourful, as well as brighter marbles such as the purple and green Calacatta Viola Monet.

The latest quartzite arrivals at The Marble & Granite Centre include the Brazilian Blue Mare, Explosion Blue, and Patagonia, and from Iran, Vancouver.

During the pandemic more people have taken to cycling and walking and, in response, the government has fast-tracked statutory guidance to local authorities saying they should reallocate road space to these activities. The aim is to provide a safer way for all age groups to use healthier methods of transportation.

Hardscape has made its own rapid response to the move and introduced a range of what it calls ‘Inclusive Infrastructure Solutions’ – kerbs designed to create environments that integrate cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles safely.

The new range continues Hardscape’s tradition of introducing inspirational, innovative products from around the globe, giving landscape architects and specifiers quality and function in a range of natural and man-made materials.

The range includes kerbs with various slopes, end styles, widths, depths, gradients, and radii, in natural stone (granite), concrete, and Kellen Lavaro (concrete that has exposed stones in its surface).

The future of inclusive infrastructure solutions

Hardscape says the extensive research, detailed specification, and implementation of its new range of Inclusive Infrastructure Solutions reflects the company’s DNA, with its commitment to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).

It sees these products as the natural next step in external space design, engineering and planning, creating an urban environment that all users can share equitably and safely.

Paving the way with Dutch-inspired policy and design

During the past half-century the Dutch have mastered the art of creating an environment that safely integrates cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles. And one of the strategies used is logical, coherent kerb systems for actively segregating each group.

Hardscape has worked with Dutch suppliers for more than 20 years, and is now using its knowledge and distribution networks to bring this innovative new product range of kerbs to the UK.

There are options for just about every conceivable project, offering optimum design for attractive infrastructure spaces that are accessible for all.

“We are introducing these products to the UK with the support and impetus of the UK government’s wellbeing principles and directives,” says Hardscape MD Mathew Haslam. “We hope to inspire the next generation of connected towns and cities that are brave in specification and designed to bring a long-lasting benefit for us all.”

The natural granite products use an inherently low carbon natural material, but the concrete products also have a reduced carbon content thanks to the use of Cero geopolymer, which claims to cut the carbon impact by up to 50% compared with cement.

For more about the still expanding range of Inclusive Infrastructure Solutions visit: hardscape.co.uk

Sentencing of two companies involved in bridge repairs that led to the drowning of two stonemasons will take place in October, Limerick Circuit Court in Ireland decided this week (27 July).

The men drowned when a steel cable holding the cage they were working in snapped and the cage fell into the River Shannon. They had been working on Thomond Bridge at Limerick City.

The men were wearing life jackets but were connected to the cage by harnesses and could not free themselves. They were said to have been just 60cm under water. A third man did manage to get free of the harness and was rescued from the river.

The incident happened in 2015 (read the report at the time here).

The men who died were Bryan Whelan (29) from Co Clare and TJ O’Herlihy (36) from Co Kerry. Relatives of the deceased left the court in tears as the court saw a video of the moment the steel cage fell into the river.

Separate investigations by the Gardai (police) and the Health & Safety Authortiy (HSA) followed the incident and, as a result, criminal charges were brought against two companies: Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd of Dock Road, Limerick, and Palfinger Ireland Ltd of Church Hill, Cloncollog, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

The investigations found that a crane was mounted on a flat-bed lorry on the bridge with an extendable telescopic winch that held the cage by a wire cable. A safety mechanism preventing weight overloading on the crane had failed, resulting in “unbearable stress” on the wire cable holding the cage. The cable snapped and the cage fell into the river with the three men harnessed to it.

The two companies were in court this week (27 July). Both pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health & Safety at Work Act.

Palfinger had supplied the winch crane involved in the incident to Nationwide in 2003, but the court heard that the crane’s user manual was missing a chapter on the importance of frequent testing of the crane’s overload protection system, which it emerged had failed on the day of the tragedy.

Palfinger pleaded guilty to having failed to take steps to ensure Nationwide was provided with adequate information about the crane and its operation to ensure it would be safe in use.

Nationwide pleaded guilty to failing to ensure people employed by it were not exposed to risks to their safety, health and welfare.

Dermot O’Brien, lead investigator from HSA, said the two defendant companies had co-operated fully with the Authority’s probe and he hoped the information gathered would prevent similar tragedies.

Judge Tom O’Donnell said it would be inappropriate to deliver an immediate judgment after hearing a significant amount of evidence and “deeply poignant” victim impact statements. He adjourned sentencing to 7 October.

Police are appealing for help in finding the thieves who took stone from a National Trust property in Derbyshire.

According to the Derbyshire Times website, the stone was taken from a property just off Snake Pass and would have required a van to move. It included about 3m² of stone paving slabs and the seat from a stone bench.

This might have been stolen for a specific project and police ask anyone who has had, or knows of someone who has had, about 3m² of aged natural stone paving or coping installed to phone Derbyshire Constabulary on 101 and ask to speak to the Rural Crime Team.