Placing an emphasis on efficiency
Upon entering the stoneworking facilities at Latina Vitória in Serra, Espírito Santo, Brazil, one of the first impressions is the level of organization and efficiency within the plant. Stone materials move through the machinery like parts in an automobile assembly plant, and the company’s large indoor storage facilities are impeccably arranged to make slab viewing as smooth and easy as possible.
As the Brazilian branch of Cosentino - a major international stone producer based in Spain - Latina Vitória is only five years old, but it is managed with decades of experience in the stone industry. It is being managed by Roberto Payan, Marketing and Export Manager, and it has been awarded by the Brazilian government for its environmentally conscious production for two years in a row.
The facility currently produces 80 containers of material per month, much of which is exported to the U.S. market.
Payan explained that from the very beginning, the goal was to make sure that Latina Vitória would be equipped with the latest generation of stoneworking machinery from Italy. The key piece of equipment in the shop is a Levibreton KG 3000 polisher from Breton S.p.A. of Italy. The machine has 21 polishing heads, and it is also equipped with a Profile Scanner. This unit features an optical reader that memorizes the slab profile, while a sonar reader memorizes its thickness. These two systems work without any contact with the material, and they automatically control the raising and lowering of the polishing heads as well as the spindle bridge travel - based on the exact size of each slab being polished. This allows the slab-polishing unit to work with maximum speed and efficiency.
Slabs are also treated with resin products from Tenax S.p.A. of Italy, and the resin is applied by hand as needed - depending on the natural characteristics of the material being processed. The SenSa granite collection from Cosentino features slabs that are not only treated with resin products, but the material also undergoes a proprietary “SenGuard process” to protect the granite from staining. According to the company, SenSa granite also carries a 15-year warranty.
Latina Vitória maintains a very large inventory of slabs, including granite as well as varieties of Spanish marble and its Silestone quartz product. All of the slabs in stock are tagged with a bar code that contains the material type, dimensions and other pertinent information.
In addition to polished slabs, Latina Vitória produces some cut-to-size work as well as countertop “blanks,” which have finished edges. Machinery for this production includes an Edilux edging machine from Comandulli of Italy as well as bridge sawing equipment.
The total size of the facility is 222,500 square feet, and another 260,000 square feet of space is currently being added to the operation.
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