Cosentino of Spain: Manufacturers of Dekton and Silestone

Andy and I and some of our customers had the privilege of visiting Cosentino in the province of Almeria, Spain.

Our first port of call was to the mountains around Macael. Cosentino have a quarry from which they extract the Macael Marble. From the viewing platform you can see across the whole valley to where the blocks are removed from the hills, and look down on the digging machinery and workmen far below; it is only their presence all the way down there that gives a sense of scale to the whole scene. Driving back down from the hills we saw previous quarries which had been covered with earth for regeneration, some now filled with solar panels for local electricity generation.

The marble produced from this area is white and much of it is made into floor tiles as well as slabs, but it is also used for sculptures and, traditionally, for pestle and mortar sets. In fact, the town of Macael claims to have the world’s largest pestle and mortar in its centre, as featured in the Guinness Book of Records!

Size and scale were what immediately struck us on arrival at the Cosentino Factory. There are several factories and warehouses as well as the “Pyramid” which houses their central offices and showrooms. The whole complex covers the area of a small town. This would be impressive in itself, but when you take into account that only 30 years ago there was just one small factory on the site, it is quite extraordinary.

The showroom in the pyramid is a visual feast, with its central glass-roofed atrium and water feature reflecting the light around the sculptures and worktop displays. After I had walked past a particular column several times I suddenly realised that it was covered in book-matched Dekton Aura.

The showroom is filled with all the Cosentino products, with displays of Sensa granite, Eco and Silestone quartz and, of course, Dekton. One of the most beautiful displays was the stunning floor to ceiling Prexury range, backlit to take full advantage of the translucence and colour of the stone.

One of the walls is covered with the Integrity sinks in many of the Silestone colours. We were also very excited to see the new extra-large Integrity sink which should be available in the UK later this summer.

I was personally very interested to see the factories making the quartz. However, our key reason for visiting Cosentino was to see the new Dekton factory and understand the Sinterized Particle Technology® manufacturing processes and some of the properties of the product. Once again, we were impressed by the sheer size and scale of everything, and what this says about Cosentino’s investment in the Dekton brand as central to the company’s future. Although some of the processes are kept strictly secret, we were able to enter and see the new factory. There is something awe-inspiring about an industrial space over 23 metres high, with its other dimensions to the same scale. The raw materials are mixed in mountainous quantities, the vats are colossal, as is the giant press which can create the 60,000 tonnes of pressure needed to fuse the particles into slabs. Those slabs are finally baked to 1800 °C in a tunnel oven – 180 metres long!

We were excited to view a small flat which was completely furnished with Dekton, with interior and exterior wall cladding, floor tiles, shower tray, kitchen doors as well as, of course, the worktops! We also viewed the massive warehouse which can hold over 90 000 finished slabs. Due to the advanced digital printing processes used, the possibilities of design on Dekton slabs are infinite. At one point I had to go and touch a slab to check that it was not a real natural marble. As well as printed images there are numerous textures to match so that, for instance, wood grain can look really natural.

Our guide, Jan, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the company and products which meant the trip was fascinating as well as educational. Our visit to the factory ended with the honour of meeting Francisco “Paco” Martinez-Cosentino who left a board meeting especially to be with us and answer questions.

All in all, a totally worthwhile visit, where we were well received by a most impressive supplier. We are proud to be Cosentino Silver fabricators, offering an enviably affordable price on Silestone and Dekton worktops.

 

Naomi King (Business Manager, Affordable Granite)

You can read more about Dekton via our sister site here.

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The Macael Marble Quarry

 

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Andy Phillips at the quarry, chatting with our regular customer David Mizon, of House of Building, Reigate, and our Cosentino guide, Jan.

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The world’s largest pestle and mortar – not sure it is of much practical use!

 

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The central atrium of the Cosentino Pyramid.

 

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Our MD and Chairman inspecting the Prexury display.

 

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Integrity Sinks

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Natural tones and textures in Dekton

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Part of the Dekton plant

 

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Mixing vats.

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Just part of the Dekton plant

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