The new line is one year old, and due to the high amount of automation in the factory, only four men are required to oversee the tile line. During the production process, blocks are processed into strips on a blockcutter, and the strips are delivered to the resin line.
The resin-treating process is completely automated with machinery from Simec, and the first step is for the strips to be dried in a ventilated oven for 20 minutes at 70 degrees C. This removes all humidity and moisture from the stone and prepares it to receive the resin. A UV-activated epoxy resin from Tenax S.p.A. is applied, and it was specially formulated by Tenax to adhere to granite. After the resin is applied, the material sits in a staging area for seven minutes, and it then moves under UV light for four seconds to activate the resin.