Relying on more than 30 years of experience in the stone industry, Pietro Zola decided to launch Marmi Zola srl in 2001 - a company specializing in the production of slabs. And in addition to being a leading supplier of Perlato Royal Coreno, which the firm extracts locally from its own quarries, Marmi Zola imports blocks of exotic stone from around the world. Once cut into slabs, the material is sold to the international market.

Zola began his career in 1972, when he started working with a company in the stone industry. After gaining some experience, he opened his own business as a stone trader in 1981. During the next several years, Zola's business continued to flourish, and in 1989, he founded Central Graniti srl. The company was involved with the processing and trading of Perlato Royal Coreno blocks and slabs. With ambition of further expansion, Zola - along with Danilo Zola, who is specialized in marketing and business management - created Marmi Zola.

Further strengthening Marmi Zola's reputation is the fact that it belongs to a larger group, which has partners in Verona, Italy. Royal Group, as it is called, has been in operation for more than 30 years. It is comprised of qualified companies that all bring their own specialties and skills to the table, thus offering a more complete service. In particular, the member companies of Royal Group are devoted to supporting and promoting Perlato Royal Coreno.

Quarrying a “prized” stone

While Marmi Zola offers unique stones that are extracted from sites all over the world, it holds Perlato Royal Coreno in highest regard. The material, which is technically a limestone, contains numerous fossils of fauna and flora. The company quarries Perlato Royal Coreno from its nearby quarry in Coreno Ausonio.

Perlato Royal Coreno exhibits significant qualities of strength and durability. Its resistance to weather over time makes it ideal for outdoor applications, according to Marmi Zola. The different tonalities of color and varying striations and shell imprints, also make the stone aesthetically pleasing for almost any design application.

And although the company is partial to its own local material, it also is proud of its collection of exotic and other high-quality stone slabs. These include onyx from Pakistan, rare granites from Brazil and India, marble and travertine from Iran and Turkey, and basalt from the Mount Etna volcano of Sicily as well as well-known stones such as Rosso Verona marble.

Additionally, Marmi Zola offers a selection of engineered stone. The company doesn't see the material as a substitution for natural stone, though, as it believes that it targets a different market.

Cutting the blocks

Among the machinery at Marmi Zola's facility are four gangsaws for cutting blocks. Included in this lineup is a 100-blade BM gangsaw, which can cut two blocks of marble at one time. According to Marmi Zola, this is one of the biggest gangsaws on the market today. The large gangsaw can cut blocks as large as 3 meters long x 2.5 meters wide x 2 meters high.

The company said that it purchased the BM gangsaw two years ago, and it has significantly helped with its production. Additionally, the plant is equipped with BM monoblade saws for trimming. In total, Marmi Zola produces 15,000 square meters of material a month.