Interview with the natural stones personalities – extraction

We start here our series of interviews with some of the most important personalities of the Portuguese natural stone industry, and in particular, of the limestone industry. The 1st interview was done with one of these personalities in the area of extraction, Mr Silvino from the company Solismar. We present below the most essential parts of the interview:

1.Name (person / company)
Mr Silvino, general manager of Solismar – Exploração de pedreiras.

2.Company´s activity
We started our activity 17 years ago. We are specialized on the extraction of Portuguese limestone blocks.

3.Type of products / materials
We work essentially with limestone blocks, and in particular the Semi Rijo variety, also known as Salgueira.

4.% of sales of the national / international markets
90% of our business volume is directed to the national market and the remaining 10% to the international market. However, from these 90%, a large part of the blocks after manufacturing ends up going to the international market.

5.How did you get up to this point? How do you explain your success?
It is important to say that before there used to be much more demand than what we have today. Before, companies would buy for stock, for the possibility of having large projects. Today, companies buy when it is necessary. Our approach has always been of guaranteeing our clients the best supply in terms of quality. We invest much of our time and resources in business analysis and projection, always trying to forecast and understand what the market will need in the future.

6.What is your opinion about the actual crisis? How does it affect your company?
The essential point about this crisis is that we have to pay attention to the market and its evolution. I can say that not all supplies are interesting, because there are many companies that do not have conditions to operate in the market, to pay its suppliers. It is important to pay attention to the market and the companies operating in it.

7.Which is your strategy to overcome the crisis?
Work and develop qualities. When the crisis is established, the economic agents need to pay attention. To get out of the crisis it is necessary to do a very good analysis, to understand which companies are really good business partners. All this is essential for a healthy and confident market.

8.Until when do you think this crisis will last for?
The construction sector is at its lowest point and that is one of the main reasons of this crisis. The construction sector is a leverage of the economy, taking it up or down. Overall, i do not believe that this crisis will end up now, during the year of 2009. I also do not believe that 2010 will be a much better year. I predict the end of the crisis towards 2011 or 2012, i believe these will be the years to look foward. And all this will depend on how the American economy will recover.

9.Which is the future of the Portuguese stone industry? And the extraction?
The Portuguese stones have great quality. What it needs is for its potential to be maximized in the markets. In relation to the limestones, we have some stones of excellency as is the case of the Moca Cream, which has already conquered the international market. Overall, the future of our sector is side-by-side with the future of the construction sector. We depend on the national and international construction sectors.

10.Which are the main challenges for the extraction companies like yours?
We are opressed in the extraction sector, in relation to the expansion of extraction areas. In other countries it happens exactly the opposite, where in the last few years thousands of quarries were opened. In these cases, where there is extraction, there is manufacturing. The strenght of these countries is visible in different international stone fairs, where they have a very strong presence.

But overall, the main challenges of our sector are to maintain and increase the quality of our products, improve commercialization, and having a greater and more efficient use of the stone during the transformation process.