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FROM BILLIARDS TO FLOORING, FROM PORTALS TO SHINGLES, ITALIAN SLATE REINVENTS ITSELF THROUGH TRADITION
For centuries it has been the material of choice for the roofing (shingles) of houses in the Italian region of Liguria. Then, during the last century, it was used as prime material in the making of billiard tabletops. Ligurian slate (www.portale-slate.com/ENG/index.html) has remained a precious raw material for flooring (also paired with other materials such as marble, Italian "cotto" or wood) or architectural elements such as portals and staircases, but also shelving, fireplaces, skirting boards, tabletops and benches. Recently, producers have been exploring opportunities in the interior design space - proof of the material's innovative potential. This is a confirmation that even a product apparently unchangeable such as stone can be reinvented using technology, creating new uses for it and updating the material's potential, not least from a commercial perspective.
"Our tradition in stone masonry - explains Franca Garbarino, President of the Italian slate district - allowed us to develop technologies that can guarantee excellent precision and finishing, thanks to machinery which is almost entirely Italian-made". However, until a few years ago, using innovative machinery often did not allow to adequately exploit the slate's thickness, undermining our ability to use the material. "In the past - Garbarino explains - our local craftsmen were able to work the slate and obtain significant thickness, up to 1 meter, as one can admire, for example, in the Basilica of San Salvatore dei Fieschi, in Liguria. That mastery was lost through the centuries and until a few years ago the maximum thickness we could manage was 5-6 centimetres".
More specifically, one could go from 1-centimeter-thick slate sheets used for shingles, to the 5 centimetres used for billiard tabletops, passing by the 3-4 centimetres of stones used for flooring. "But there was a time - Garbarino points out - when in local houses it was not uncommon to find kitchen sinks made of slate. So it was clearly possible to work the stone to a greater thickness". The lost craftsmanship was regained thanks to a project that involved companies and the Liguria regional administration. Thanks to the funding (around 10 million euros), a new piece of machinery was developed which could replicate, with a satisfactory level of finishing, pieces of work which used to be the result of traditional craftsmanship. "We have developed new products, in particular for bathroom and kitchen furnishings", Garbarino explains.
While competition from markets using cheap labour force, and ever-increasing extraction costs make competition more difficult for the sector, Italian slate manufacturers are preparing to face new challenges. "The objective - says Garbarino - is to try and salvage the scraps to create composites and agglomerates which can compete with other high-range materials such as granite. An investment of EUR 15 million would be enough to recycle the leftovers". These are not trivial numbers for a truly niche sector, which involves exclusively SME's (70% extraction companies, 30% companies working solely on the crafting): there are just above 40 companies with less than 300 employees and a total turnover of EUR 60 million. "We confide in measures which will reduce taxes on research investments", the district President concludes.
But even product innovation is not enough where there is no adequate brand promotion. In this case as well, the institutions worked together with the slate district. The origin and quality marking "Liguria Slate" was created in 2006, in the context of a covenant between the ICE and the Regional authority. A consortium was recently created to protect the trademark, and which will ensure it is registered in all EU countries as well as in North America. The trademark's use will be granted by the consortium to all producers who will guarantee the material's Ligurian origin and uphold sufficient product quality standards.
A complete branded line and a series of promotional gadgets - already used for the 2006 Stonexpo (Las Vegas), and which will be reused in the 2007 edition - were also created on the basis of the trademark. The objective is to highlight the peculiarities of the Ligurian production and offer a visual appeal to the final consumer. At the same time, the marking of origin and quality should encourage producers to diversify their production and reach a higher innovative standard.
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