As part of Industrie Caucci - a group that has been quarrying Roman travertine since 1939 - Estraba S.p.A. is a leading supplier of travertine. Its material has been used for projects around the world, including the Bank of China in Shanghai. Estraba's quarries, which are located in the historic region of Barco near Tivoli, Italy, span over an area of approximately 2.7 million square feet.

“Barco,” which translates to “boat,” is the area where the Romans used to cut blocks. The craftsmen would then load the blocks onto boats that would travel with the material down a nearby river to Rome. The travertine from these quarries was used for architectural features throughout the ancient city, and the chiseling that was done by the Romans can still be seen in Estraba's quarries today.

A large fabrication plant - equipped with state-of-the-art machinery - enables Estraba to efficiently output travertine blocks, slabs, tiles and cut-to-size pieces for large commercial projects within Italy as well as worldwide. According to the company, tiles and cut-to-size work are its primary business.

A total of 60% of its material is exported, Estraba reports. European countries such as Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany rank among the company's number one export targets, while the Middle East market follows Europe. Additionally, the Far East and U.S. also are significant importers of Estraba's Roman travertine as well as South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela.

Among the machinery in the plant are a line-up of gangsaws with diamond blades, several Pedrini bridge saws, a Breton slab polisher and a Pedrini tile line. The Levibreton slab line is equipped with diamond abrasives from Tenax. Additionally, Estraba recently purchased a Breton automatic resin-application plant, which had not yet been completely installed at the time of Stone World's visit.

Estraba runs one shift from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an hour and a half break in between. The workers in the factory dedicate their efforts to producing high-quality material quickly and efficiently. During Stone World's visit, tiles were being packed and crated for a job in Tokyo, Japan.

The company offers a wide selection of travertine, including Noce - a darker material that is found at the top layers of the quarries. The color of travertine becomes lighter at the deeper layers. Among the three finishes offered for the travertine are:

• sawn
• filled and honed
• filled, honed and polished

According to Estraba, 18- x 18- and 24- x 24-inch filled and honed tiles are most popular in the U.S. The company has two managers who focus their attention on the U.S. market.

In total, Industrie Caucci employs a total of 300 workers throughout its four companies. As a family-owned business, it strives to maintain a solid reputation as an international supplier of travertine. Presently, the next family generation is finishing their university studies while learning the company business.