• Natural stone manufacturing & export
  • Marble, granite, sandstone, limestone, quartzite & slate
  • Shipped to 35 countries across 6 continents
  • Monuments & memorials made to your drawing
  • Blocks, slabs, cut-to-size & finished units
  • Container loads on FOB & CIF terms
  • CAD drawings & sample approval before cutting
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About — Quality & inspection

Stone cannot be
sent back for a refit.

A wrong shade or a misspelt name is not a repair — it is a replacement, six weeks and a second freight bill away. So the checking happens here, at eight points between the quarry face and the sealed container door.

Approved sample kept at the works Full-size lettering proofs Measured inspection sheets Photographs per crate Third-party inspection welcome

Eight checks,
none of them at the end.

Inspecting a finished container tells you what went wrong. Checking at each stage stops it going wrong — which is the only version that helps either of us.

Quarry worker checking a granite block at the face for shade, grain and seams before it is moved At the quarry face CheckedBefore the block moves Shade against the order, grain direction, and cracks or seams that would open on the saw.
Granite slabs coming off the gangsaw being checked for shade drift and sequence-numbered Block to slab CheckedAs it comes off the gangsaw Every slab checked for shade drift down the block, then sequence-numbered so the batch stays together.
Granite tile thickness and squareness being measured on the calibration line Thickness & squareness CheckedOn the line Calibrated stock measured across the sheet, and diagonals checked so tiles set flat and joints close.
A production batch of polished granite laid beside the approved sample for comparison Finish CheckedSample against production The approved sample stays in the works and every batch is laid beside it before packing.
Full-size lettering proof being checked against the signed drawing before sandblasting Lettering proof CheckedBefore any blast The layout goes back at full size with every character as it will be cut. Nothing is blasted until it returns signed.
Finished granite monument being measured against its production drawing Dimensions CheckedPiece by piece Each finished unit measured against the signed drawing, with the numbers recorded on the inspection sheet.
Granite niche fronts being trial-fitted to their own openings before crating Seal & fit CheckedTrial assembly Niche fronts offered to their own openings, crypt fronts to their crypts, chapels dry-built in full.
Numbered granite crates being weighed and photographed before the container is sealed Crate & load CheckedPhotographed Every crate weighed, numbered and photographed, then the container photographed as it is stuffed and sealed.

The approved sample does not go back to you — it stays here and every batch is laid beside it before packing. A finish agreed in March and a repeat order in November are judged against the same piece of stone, not against a memory of it.

Four tests,
and what each is for.

Reports come from an independent laboratory, for the stone actually supplied. Ask for them per consignment rather than per stone type.

  • Water absorptionLow is what mattersDecides how a stone behaves in freeze-thaw and coastal air. The single most useful number on a granite report.
  • DensityMass per unit volumeFeeds the crate weights and the structural calculation for cladding and heavy units.
  • Flexural strengthBending under loadRequired for cladding, treads and any panel spanning a support.
  • Abrasion resistanceWear underfootSpecified for floors, paving and plazas that take traffic.

A test certificate for "Absolute Black" in general proves very little. Ask for the report on the consignment you are buying — that is the one an architect or a cemetery board can actually rely on, and it is the one we issue.

What arrives
with the container.

Paperwork that lets you check the load without opening every crate, and that a carrier or insurer will accept if anything has gone wrong on the way.

  • Inspection sheetPer consignmentPiece list with measured dimensions, finish and the block run each came from.
  • PhotographsPer cratePieces before packing, crates numbered, and the container as it is stuffed and sealed.
  • Test reportsOn requestIndependent laboratory results for the stone supplied, not a generic certificate for the stone type.
  • Packing listPer crateContents, weights, marks and lifting points, keyed to the crate numbers.
Third-party inspectionWelcome at the works, at any stage. We would rather an inspector finds something here than a family finds it at the graveside.
Natural variationGranite is quarried, not manufactured. Shade and grain vary between blocks — which is why a job is held to one run and samples are couriered rather than photographed.
TolerancesStated on the drawing before cutting, not assumed. Calibrated stock to the millimetre; monuments and cut-to-size to the sheet.
ProofsFull-size lettering layouts and portrait proofs returned before blasting or etching, every time, including repeat orders.
If something is wrongPhotograph it before the goods are worked or installed, with the crate number in frame. That is what a carrier or insurer will ask for — and what lets us replace it quickly.
RecordsDrawings, block numbers, finishes and lettering layouts kept on file, so a companion piece years later matches rather than merely resembles.

Send an inspector,
or send a drawing.

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