Already a major supplier of American stone for projects in the Middle East, Rock of Ages has supplied 400 cubic meters of Bethel White granite for the Qatar Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, designed by Murphy/Jahn of Chicago, IL. The blocks are being processed by Campolonghi Group of Massa, Italy.

The project is being fabricated by the Campolonghi Group at its facilities in Massa, Italy. Earlier this decade, Campolonghi fabricated blocks of Rock of Ages’ Salisbury Pink granite for another noteworthy project in the Middle East - the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (“A colossal stone achievement in the Middle East", October 2005 Stone World). 

The Bethel White granite panels feature a honed finish, and a signed slab is in place at the factory to establish the proper color range.

In processing the granite for the project, work begins with gangsawing of the blocks. After the raw slabs are honed, they are then delivered to a unique multi-head saw from F. Meccanica of Italy. This machine, which has 10 cutting heads, is able to produce panels at a high rate of speed. Prior to cutting, the machine automatically scans each slab of material, determines the best series of cuts to make in each piece, and then delivers them to the cutting area.

Once the material is cut to the proper size, it is loaded onto a machine that drills the anchor slots prior to packaging. It is then placed into crates that are custom made for each bundle to avoid breakage and allow for the most efficient shipping.