The Quartz Worktop Company is comprised of a highly regarded and respected team capable of delivering quality and service. We work with a large and comprehensive selection of Quartz, Granite, Marble and Porcelain. All domestic and commercial projects are seamlessly passed from start to finish within our complete production facility. Completing all projects to the highest of standards is our commitment to you.
Designer Surfaces are completely committed to offering the highest quality granite & quartz worktops to our customers in a simple and stress free way to help them create their dream kitchen. That has been our No.1 aim for over 25 years and that aim is at the forefront of our service today.
Valentia Slate, a natural stone derived from Valentia Island in the Republic of Ireland has been officially recognised as a heritage stone.
Awarded the status of 'International Union of Geological Sciences Heritage Stone', it has been used internationally, including on the floors and roofs of the House of Commons in London and Trinity College, Dublin. The status is only given to stone that has a history of significant use and which is still available for conservation purposes today.
Globally, only 55 stones are recognised by this designation and it was achieved through research by the Trinity research group Stonebuilt Ireland based in Geology in the School of Natural Sciences and led by Professor Patrick Wyse Jackson and Dr Louise Caulfield, in collaboration with colleagues at Valentia Slate Company Ltd and Carrig Conservation Consultants. Connemara Marble is the only other stone in Ireland with this recognition.
The slate which can be used in construction and domestic settings is extracted underground on Valentia Island in the same facility that was opened by Peter Fitzgerald, the Knight of Kerry, in 1816. The company operates a zero-waste policy in extracting slate for a wide variety of purposes including flooring, roofing slates, worktops and headstones.
Valentia Slate, a natural stone derived from Valentia Island in the Republic of Ireland has been officially recognised as a heritage stone. Awarded the status of 'International Union of Geological Sciences Heritage Stone', it has been used internationally, including on the floors and roofs of the House of Commons in London. The status is only given to stone that has a history of significant use and which is still available for conservation purposes today.
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Valentia Island, Republic of Ireland
Professor Patrick Wyse Jackson said: “Valentia Slate is a unique stone type that only occurs in Co. Kerry. Its characteristics allowed it to be split into roofing slates but also large slabs and it was utilised for a wide variety of domestic and commercial applications. Amongst the more unusual uses were for headstones, garden benches, billiard tables, water tanks, and walling for bonded warehouses. The research project Stonebuilt Ireland, funded by the Geological Survey Ireland and Office of Public Works, enabled research on this important sustainable commodity.”
Aidan Forde, a geologist, is owner of Valentia Slate Company Ltd and commented: “This recognition is also of the expert and hard-working staff of Valentia Slate who have made the company what it is today. This award is recognition, not only of their own efforts in keeping Valentia Slate available for use in sustainable construction, but also the work of the many generations of South Kerry people who worked at the quarry.”
Materials expert, Peter Cox who is founder and managing director of Carrig Conservation International Limited and has forty years of experience in the conservation of historic buildings across the world concluded: “Valentia Slate is one of the purest and finest products I have come across in my forty years working in this sector. The material has been used on many very important international buildings; it is vitally important that historic materials such as Valentia Slate are available for conservation and repair of these buildings. It is an added bonus that slate is now available from an Irish source to reduce carbon in our modern construction market”.
To read the full report published in the Irish Journal of Earth Sciences on which the Heritage Stone status is based, click here.
Dorset-based Albion Stone has opened a new state-of-the-art production facility to launch its innovative natural brick range – Heritage Portland. The mining and manufacturing business – which has supplied stone to prestigious buildings including Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral – will use surplus Portland stone to produce naturally sourced bricks as a low-carbon solution for construction. The process involves cutting blocks of stone into slabs and then into bricks and produces 75% less embodied carbon than manufacturing traditional clay fire bricks. One million bricks per year will be made thanks to the new production line.
The company was supported by a £450,000 asset finance package from Lloyds Bank and, as a result of the new facility, the business has employed an extra five team members and is on track to grow turnover by 20% to £10m in 2025.
Albion Stone’s new facility and Heritage Brick range will mean it can process an additional 8,800 tonnes of Portland stone, which is the equivalent weight of 20 747 jumbo jets. The business also has plans in place to open a second Heritage brick range manufacturing plant to increase production capacity.
Founded in 1952, the fourth-generation family-owned business also lead the sector’s switch from quarrying to mining Portland stone.
Dorset-based Albion Stone has opened a new state-of-the-art production facility to launch its innovative natural brick range – Heritage Portland. The mining and manufacturing business – which has supplied stone to prestigious buildings including Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral – will use surplus Portland Stone to produce naturally sourced bricks as a low-carbon solution for construction.
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Albion Stone
Michael Poultney, managing director of Albion Stone, said: “We’ve been extracting and producing Portland stone for just gone 40 years. Twenty years ago, we switched from quarrying to much more environmentally sensitive mining of Portland stone, but in just 12 months we’ve made some of the biggest and most innovative progress the natural stone market has seen for some time.
“Our surplus blocks of Portland stone have always been an issue - these stones have a range of geological features that are deemed too variable for most traditional architects. We’re really excited to be able to take advantage of this stone in a fresh and innovative way, and create a whole new product that will dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of some of the world's biggest and most historic projects.
“The support provided by Lloyds Bank has allowed us to lay down foundations that will fuel the business’ growth for the next five to ten years. It will inject a new lease of life into our manufacturing process through state-of-the-art technology that will also help us provide a quality low-carbon product to a new set of customers.”
Daren Rose, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, commented: “It’s so encouraging to see a business like Albion Stone making moves to enhance its growth trajectory by investing in both product and manufacturing. The business has taken creative steps to challenge an issue that’s persisted for years with the results being a huge disruption to the natural stone sector and a problem solver for the built environment.
“We’re proud to support a local business that continues to showcase the gold standard within their trade, and we look forward to seeing them embrace new growth opportunities for years to come.”
