Focusing on Turkish granite and travertine

Granitas Granit Sanayi ve Pazarlama A.S. heads the production of four quarries in different regions of Turkey. It was founded by the Turkish industrial group Borusan in 1989 and gave the granite branch to its chairman at the time, Suat Sarisoy in 1998. Unlike most Turkish stone producers, which focus on marble, Granitas has made its name in granite manufacturing, and it has also expanded its focus to travertine production.

The company's granite quarries in Turkey each produce a unique material. In Aksaray, the company extracts a light gray granite called Aksaray Yaylak. In Giresun, Granitas produces a dark gray granite called Giresun Vizon. Bergama has a site for standard gray granite referred to as Bergama Grey, and Balaban Green granite is quarried in Kirklareli.

All of the granites are processed at the main production plant in Bilecik, Turkey, which has approximately 150 workers. This manufacturing plant sits on 430,000 square feet of property, with 92,000 square feet of covered area to house the fabricating machinery. Equipment includes modern machinery from Italy, including 10 Gaspari Menotti gangsaws, two Breton polishing lines, a Breton slab calibrating line, a Breton cut-to-size line, a Breton tile production line, eight bridge saws from Pedrini and Zonato, edge polishing and profiling machines from Comandull and Montressor, a flaming/bushhammering unit from Pellegrini, a CNC contouring machine from Brembana and a wire shaping machine from Candiani. The company also has a waterjet from Ingersoll-Rand for complex cutting.

In addition to granite, Granitas also quarries Scabas travertine in the Sivas Province of Turkey. Production was bolstered in 2002 with the establishment of a production plant in the same region, which is capable of processing over 1 million square feet of stone per year. Virtually all of this production is shipped to the U.S. market.

The annual production capacity for Granitas is about 4 million square feet with the intent to increase capacity by 50% in 2004. In order to achieve this increase, Granitas will be adding smaller plants located near the quarries. In addition, the Bilecik factory plans to install more gangsaws for a boost in production.

Also in 2004, the company hopes to add two more warehouses in Spain and Romania, expanding their marketing activities. In 2003 Granitas opened new export facilities in Bulgaria and other surrounding countries, which led to a successful year, according to the company. Other established offices lead marketing efforts in other areas in the world, with branches in the U.S. - located in Palisades Park, NJ - as well as in the United Kingdom.

The company's products have been used for a broad range of architectural projects. â€œGranitas, having fulfilled many projects since 1989, has a very experienced staff in this branch,â€ the company stated. â€œIt is a firm capable of studying the projects and creating alternatives according to the customer's needs.â€ Granitas has supplied stone for many hotels, plazas, hospitals and airports. In 2003, Granitas also completed the Tekfen Tower, which is the largest and most sophisticated natural stone project in Turkey, according to the company.