Founded in 1961, L.I.M.A. (Lavorazione Industriale Marmi e Affini) s.r.l. of Erice, Trapani, quarries a broad range of marble varieties, including Perlato di Sicilia, Perlatino, Granitello, Nerello and Avorio Fiorito, which is an exclusive of the company. And with a range of stones and updated machinery, the company supplies tiles and cut-to-size work to an international client base.
According to Diego Favuzza, managing director of L.I.M.A., each of the materials has an important role in the overall product selection. For example, the most requested material is Perlatino di Sicilia Classico, and the company has three quarries for this material just to keep up with demand. Meanwhile, Favuzza explained that Avorio Fiorito has a high degree of durability that allows it to be used in a bathroom environment.
L.I.M.A. fabricates tiles as well as other products such as staircases, cladding, molding and sills. Overall, it processes 1,500 tons of standard commercial products a month, and it also does a broad range of cut-to-size work as well, shipping 600 tons per month. It does some block sales as well.
One recent project completed by the company was City Hall in Rome, for which L.I.M.A. custom fabricated stone flooring. Also, at the time of Stone World's visit, the company was fabricating architectural pieces for Gregorian University in Rome, including wall bases and door surrounds.
In addition to work within Italy, L.I.M.A. also ships to the U.S., and it exhibits at the Coverings exposition to showcase itself to the marketplace. It also exports a great deal of production in India.
During tile production, blocks are processed on one of two blockcutters, including a model from Pedrini and a newer one from Cemar. The L.I.M.A. company also has a range of bridge saws, including ones from Cemar and Simec, for cut-to-size work.
In addition to the regular challenges of stone fabrication, the products that L.I.M.A. works with present some additional obstacles. Working with Nerello, for example, can be difficult, and it requires some specialized knowledge on the part of the workers.