Last October, the ScapinGroup, which specializes in the processing of marble, granite, composites and agglomerates for the building and furniture industries through its Marmo Arredo and Quartzforms® brands, inaugurated the Marmo Arredo Stone Gallery in Tombolo, near Padua, a new space dedicated to the world of surfaces: more than 6,000 square meters, thousands of slabs of more than 300 stones from all over the world, with a wide range of Quartzforms® mineral surfaces, including sustainable Ecotone™ slabs, together with Marmo Arredo surfaces. It was an opportunity to meet Marco Scapin, the company’s young art director.
The Stone Gallery is a big investment. What made you create it?
This new entity within our group was created to give space, literally, to a product sector that has always been in the company’s ropes. We started out as stonemasons and then evolved, even exploring technical materials. The Stone Gallery is designed to help the designer choose materials; we had nothing like that. We used to work in smaller spaces, show samples, and then bring in the slabs from the warehouse. Let’s say we put a dress on the natural stone collection we always had. Then, as they say, appetite comes with eating: with the space, we also greatly expanded the stock of the material.
How does the facility work?
It is like a large showroom, with a bar/hospitality area where the client (architect, sometimes together with the client) is welcomed and can work. It is a useful service especially for the final client, who may not be prepared and in this way can “see” the project better. This is also why we paid special attention to the lighting, which we wanted high output and calibrated to 3,500 degrees Kelvin, which is that of interior lighting. Of course, everything can also be taken outside to see the material in sunlight. It is an extra service that is usually the prerogative of those who sell the material, not those who process it. With this investment we try to make the service we give to the customer even more complete.
Taking a step back, how did your group get started? What makes you different from other companies in your sector?
The Scapin Group was born out of a family history that, in short, tells the story of the transformation of stone, a material that we began to work with for the building industry. Then we realized that there was a whole unexplored market, the furniture market, which did not have dedicated suppliers: in my opinion, this was one of the main moments of the company’s evolution. It was then that, in addition to Scamar, the first name of the company (Scapin Marmi), Marmo Arredo was born. It is a different world: in furniture, the product – tables, kitchen worktops, etc. – is at a maximum distance of 50 centimeters from our body. Our eyes perceive more details, the precision must be maximum. To fill this gap in the market, technology had to be developed and our strength was to never stop researching, finding machines and solutions.
Another important element for us was innovation in workflow management. For example, we introduced the concept of the “double bench” where we could work simultaneously on the same slab. An idea that allowed us to save time before the introduction of CNC machines. And to become the market leader. Another thing I’m proud of is the strength of my family: we have always been willing to reinvest, everything has always been put back into the company to grow, to continue and to create. This has led us to be really innovative and to come up with patents such as the “invisible joint”, a precision machining that allows you to hide the joint between two slabs. We use it for both engineered stone and natural materials (in this case we call it the “perfect joint”). These are all stories that speak of our tenacity.
Then you started working with engineered materials…
Another milestone in our journey: first it was marble-cement, then marble-resin, then quartz-resin. We believed in it because, knowing natural stone well, we knew its limitations in terms of possible industrialization. Instead, these new materials offered easier use and maintenance and allowed us to work with automatic handling. And finally, they penetrated the market. This led to a different way of designing the kitchen, for example: at first, the countertops offered by manufacturers were almost always made of laminate. Not any longer – we see it everywhere. And for the customer, this is a fundamental difference. We started by importing two engineered stone brands in Italy, Technistone and Caesarstone. Then, in 2010, we acquired Quartzforms, a German company: from distributors and processors, we became producers, always in a process of verticalization. And between 2015 and 2016 we developed internally a technology that allowed us to create in this material a through vein, original and above all taking into account production schedules.
Plans for the future?
The group now includes another company, Eulithe, which makes a material to support lightweight floors, called box constructions. We developed a product because in the past they used wood or metal elements, but they all had some negative aspects. So w came up with a high-density polyurethane foam with a special formulation that does not produce dust but chips, so it also goes to preserve the machine that processes it. And the health of the workers. So we got into the boat business, the model business, and the furniture business in general, so it kind of took its own direction. In parallel, of course, there is the sustainability factor: an issue that has to be addressed not by thinking about it in marketing terms, we put ‘eco’ in front of something, we buy forest shares and things like that, but by trying to see it across the board. First of all, energy supply: in Germany our product is mainly made from wind power, here in Italy at the end of the year we will reach almost 2 gigawatts of photovoltaic installations, so we are pretty much saturating the energy needs with renewable sources. Then of course we recycle all the water used in industrial processes, and specifically in the engineered stone formulations we have focused on reducing CO2 emissions by working with biological resins, by-products of biodiesel production (so it doesn’t affect food production). We are also working across the board on the reuse of recycled materials. The third very important thing for us is social sustainability: our engineered stone has a low crystalline silica content, so it is healthier to work with. We were also the first to use water in the entire process, which eliminates dust.
Still speaking of the future – do you think it is possible to control the evolution of tastes, of the market?
Partly, yes, but not completely. Even those who put a lot more intellectual (and even financial) effort into it never really succeed in the end. Let’s say you can be proactive in a complex system, but to say you can influence it is, in my opinion, an exaggeration. Underlying everything is a complex humus that then explodes into a new demand, a new need, a new fashion. For example, nobody wants granite anymore. We know that we are part of a chain that we can partly influence, but at the same time there is no decision-maker who says from today to tomorrow that this is good and that is bad. It is something that happens a little bit influenced and a little bit by purely random and sociological dynamics. But here the discourse would get out of hand…
