Brazilian group pursues expansion

After nine years of focusing on the export of granite slabs - mostly to the U.S. - Granito Zucchi's objective for 2003 is to set up a fabricating facility in the Civit area within the city of Serra in the state of EspÂ¿to Santo, Brazil. The intention is to integrate all the companies of the Zucchi Group, with the hope of achieving growth for the entire group and to make internal procedures easier.

The company, which was founded in 1994 by businessman Jose Jonas Zucchi, has always been a lightly structured organization that has concentrated its efforts on attending to overseas customers - especially the American market. To meet its customers' needs, the company has realized the necessity of maintaining an inventory of premium quality products available for immediate delivery. In order to sustain this inventory and increase production, the decision was made to purchase a slab polisher from Breton of Italy, which is able to produce high-quality slabs at a rapid rate, thus a small industrial plant was created.

In 1997, Granito Zucchi's shareholders decided to open Polimento ItalianoR, based in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, EspÂ¿to Santo, Brazil. The factory is equipped with two 19-head Italian-manufactured polishers and an epoxy line, also of Italian technology. The technology for surface finishing includes polishing and automatic process of epoxying with around-the-clock schedules - receiving, processing and delivering slabs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with guaranteed quality that has been totally successful in its five years of operation.

In its 2003 planning, Zucchi Group is re-orientating its industrial objectives, where all the technology developed by Polimento ItalianoR will be applied to new ventures of Granito Zucchi. The first mining company of the group was born, named MineracÂ¿Rio Verde, which is already running the quarries of the exclusive colors of the PurÂ¿aw line, and whose activity focuses on the trade and export of granite blocks.

Plans are also underway in 2003 to create Zucchi Trading, which is being established in order to take a dynamic role in the development of new business activities, and whose challenge is to foresee, understand and attend to the international market. The eldest company of the group is complex. Its function is to focus on hardware rentals for construction and demolition. This branch is also moving to new premises this year, integrating efficient logistics and offering improved customer care to its clientele.

Granito Zucchi's range of products is composed of 24 colors, including traditional Brazilian granites such as Santa Cecilia, Ubatuba and Verde Butterfly as well as exotic materials. In this exotic selection, the PurÂ¿aw line (meaning "beauty" in the Brazilian native language) is very successful. After a successful launching of PurÂ¿aw IPE granite last year, 2003 will be the year of PurÂ¿aw Amazonia, according to Granito Zucchi. This veined material in several shades of green was brought out to pay a tribute to the beauty of the Amazon Rainforest.