Started more than 40 years ago by Agostino Falzi, who strongly believed in the market and application of natural stone, Granitex S.p.A. of Verona, Italy, is currently comprised of a network of companies, which are capable of meeting the demand of a worldwide market. With a dedicated team of workers and state-of-the-art facilities, the firm prides itself on delivering quality material at a competitive rate.

The companies of this group are all led by the management of Agostino Falzi himself, his son Michelangelo Falzi in partnership with Manfred Schafer for the area of northern Europe and Sandro Tomaselli for the management of Granitex. Forming the group are: Granitex, marble and granite industry; Eastern Granit Italy, block division Italy; Eastern Granit Germany, block division Germany; Eastern Granit Poland, block division Poland; and its own offices and collaborators in Africa, Brazil and India.

Because of the union of these companies to form one large enterprise, Granitex has a high production capacity. "At this point in time, Granitex is in position to produce 7.5 million square feet of slabs a year, which it credits to 12 jumbo gangsaws and four automatic polishing lines; and about 5.5 million square feet of tiles with seven multi-disc block cutters and three automatic polishing lines," said Michelangelo Falzi, president of Eastern Granit Italy (block division Italy). "Moreover, a modern and very well equipped factory is set up exclusively for cut-to-size manufacturing production, which is carried out with precision and craftsmanship for small, medium and large dimension projects. The supply is therefore completed with a total of 550,000 cubic feet blocks in stock and over 1 million square feet in slabs."

When reviewing a breakdown of the primary markets targeted by Granitex, 55% of the company's production is directed towards North America, 35% to Europe and the remaining 10% to the rest of the world. "Above all, it is the constant attention we pay in being always ahead of our time, researching and anticipating solutions," said Falzi. "This has allowed the company to be always avant-garde."

According to Falzi, the organization is structured in such a systematic way to meticulously control costs, which allows it to obtain competitive prices and a high quality level of products. "Without hesitation, it's the guarantee of being earnest under any circumstances, the accuracy in quality control and organization all addressed to our customers' advantage, which are our strong points," he said.

Granitex believes that its supply of new and unique materials coupled with its devotion to always strive to be at the leading edge of superior quality in manufacturing, is what sets it apart from its competitors. The firm has its own quarries as well as agreements with others to be the exclusive supplier of certain materials. These quarries are located in areas such as Brazil, Africa, India and Scandinavia. "With an excellent global organization and by working exclusive raw materials also extracted from our own quarries, we obtain products of superior quality," said Falzi. "Granitex is the world exclusive supplier of African Lapis Lazuli (sodalite). We can offer our customers immediate availability of the materials, quick deliveries, precision in the workmanship and competitive prices."

As another way to promote its products, Granitex has introduced a new marketing campaign, which it calls "Stonexpo."