Peruvian marble operation continues to rise

MarmolerÃa Gallos S.A., located in Lima, Peru, was formed over 140 years ago and has seen generation upon generation pass through its doors. Its continuous operation of stone quarries in South America has allowed the company to succeed as one of the leading marble producers in the Americas, with steady annual growth of over 30%. In order to achieve success, it has also invested in top-of-the-line machinery and innovative production developments, including the opening of a new state-of-the-art factory as well as quarry sites within Peru.

The company owns and operates more than 14 quarries, which are located at more than 13,000 feet above sea level in remote areas of rough Andean mountain topography. The quarries provide a wide variety of stones with color richness and dimensional depth - offering the look of marble and travertine with very high density and extraordinary desirable mechanical properties, according to the company.

And once blocks have been extracted and transported for processing, MarmolerÃa Gallos fabricates the material in one of two modern plants. The new plant - as well as the original facilities - include the latest generation of stoneworking machinery, and they also utilize â€œexperimentalâ€ technology that has allowed them to produce very large tile sizes in 1-cm thickness. The modern equipment has also reduced turnaround time while increasing overall material yield, Gallos reports.

For tile production, blocks are first cut into strips on Pedrini blockcutters, and they move to a complete tile line, which includes equipment for chamfering, calibrating, cross cutting and polishing. The tile line features equipment from Pedrini and Levi Tunisi.

For slab production, blocks are cut on BM gangsaws, and the resulting raw slabs are processed using state-of-the-art Breton polishing machines from Italy.

The company supplies material to the U.S. as well as Italy, France, England, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Caribbean, South and Central America, Mexico and Canada.

A range of products

The small plant that had been developed long ago is now a full-fledged, three-plant operation that produces tiles, slabs, cut-to-size work, profiles, mosaics, columns, sinks, cornices and sculpted products in a wide range of finishes.

Its list of products includes a range of tile sizes - from 5â„8- x 5â„8 -inch mosaic pieces to large-format sizes such as 36- x 36-inch tiles - available in 3â„8-inch thicknesses. Slabs come in any finish, and range from 2 to 6 cm thick in size. Sinks are produced in a range of designs, and architectural pieces include fireplaces, pool surrounds and tumbled tiles in different finishes and special patterns, including color blend patterns. A new line of architectural products offered by the company includes columns, interior facade cornices, door jambs and large exterior facade panels in large sizes.

Cut-to-size work includes stone production for commercial buildings, hotels, offices, hospitals and residential work.

The company offers a long list of stones, which includes Angelica, Crater, Storm/Coliseum, Imperial, Tatiana, Andino, Yurac, Estela/Sombra, Negro Santa Ana, Colonial, Fiorito, Weko, Inti and Crema.

One advantage the company has is the ability to supply tiles in multiples of 24-inch widths in 3â„8-inch-thick pieces, such as 24 x 24, 16 x 24, 18 x 24, 24 x 24, 24 x 36, 24 x 28 and 24 x 72 inches. This unique advantage permits speed in tile setting, and is regarded as a future trend, reports MarmolerÃa Gallos. The company expects this novel product offering will inspire designers to move away from square-only floor patterns and allow for rectangular and other patterns utilizing a range of colors.

For optimum turnaround time and to ensure quality, it is the policy of MarmolerÃa Gallos to fully control its product supply - from quarries to production to packing supplies.

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