27283698 Marketing Strategies and Distribution Channels for Marble Industry

MARKETING STRATEGIES & DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS FOR MARBLE INDUSTRY

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management-Ahmedabad

- 1 -

THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNING & MANAGEMENT, AHMEDABAD

THESIS TOPIC “MARKETING STRATEGIES & DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS FOR

MARBLE INDUSTRY”

SUBMITTED BY Abdul Latif Sultan PGP/SS/04-06

ALUMNI REFERENCE ID: SS/04-06/AHD/MKTG/16(A)

SUMISSION DATE:

January, 2010

GUIDED BY Prof. Premchandrahas Sastry

SIGNATURE OF STUDENT: -

SIGNATURE OF THESIS GUIDE:-



2

LETTER OF CONSENT

To,

Prof. Pabitra Ranjan, IIPM, Ahmedabad, 19, Inqulab Society, Gulbai Tekra, Ahmedabad-380015.

Respected Sir,

Subject: Letter of Consent With reference to the thesis to be undertaken by Mr. Abdul Latif Sultan

(student of batch PGP/SS/04-06), this is to inform that I will support

him as a guide throughout his thesis on the topic “Marketing strategies

& distribution channels for marble industry”. I will help him in all

possible ways.

Thanking you, yours sincerely,

Dated: - June 1, 2009 Prof. Premchandrahas Sastry



3

LETTER OF APPROVAL THESIS TOPIC APPROVAL (MARKETING) PGP/SS/04-06-AHMEDABAD

Student Name: Abdul Latif Sultan Dear Abdul, This is to intimate that Prof. Premchandrahas Sastry would guide you

through the Thesis. This letter is a formal approval to the topic

proposed by you “Marketing strategies & distribution channels for

marble industry”. Pleas go ahead with the Thesis.

Remember to register yourself at the Library & send the id number to

Prof. Pabitra Ranjan Chakravorty at the Academic department for his

records. Furthermore, you are required to send Prof. Pabitra Ranjan

Chakravorty at the Academic department at least 6 Thesis Guidance

Response Sheet every time you interact with your Guide during the

course of the Thesis.

The Response Sheet should contain the following Details:

1. Your Name

2. Your ID number

3. The Topic of the Study

4. Questionnaire which you have made to collect Primary Data (in the

first or the second Response sheet)

5. Date when the Guide was consulted.

6. The outcome of the discussion

7. The Progress of the Thesis

Wish you all the best.

Regards,

Pabitra Ranjan Chakravorty

Dated: 08/06/09



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PREFACE Operating in today’s global landscape is different from the previous

years due to the dispersed configuration of business activities. GPL

(Globalization, Privatization, & Liberalization) has opened the doors for

almost any business to go global. The core facilitators for such a drift

are growth in the telecommunication sector, internet, availability of

data, grounded infrastructure for business conduct, growing economy,

easy & faster transportation system. Furthermore, tough competition

has made the marketers to compete in terms of not only quality but

also with respect to lower price & value added features. Along with the

establishment of norms and standards in the “organized sectors”, a

country such as India comprises of a huge “unorganized sector” of

industries that fail to understand the current nerve of market.

The “unorganized sector” comprises of industries that have not yet fully

adapted to market forces and lack the degree of professionalism in

business conduct.

The aim of this thesis is to shed light on some of the challenges the

unorganized sector faces. In order to do so, we have based our

analysis on the Indian marble industry that comprises of players that

are highly unprofessional and lack the capability to operate in a

globalized economy.



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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

No thesis like this happens without the help & counsel of number of

people. A mammoth thesis of this nature calls for intellectual

nourishment, professional help, & encouragement from many quarters.

I would like to express my gratitude to:

> The pioneers in the field of marketing management who have

shaped their understanding through their rich & varied

contributions.

> Professors & seniors for providing the stimulus for making

this thesis successful.

> A number of academics & practitioners for generously sharing

their insight & experience with me.

It is my immense pleasure to work under the guidance of Professor

Premchandrahas Sastry, & I heartily thank him for providing me the

guidance whenever needed.

I am also thankful to Prof. Pabitra Ranjan Chakravorty, who gave me

guidance. My heuristic approach towards the project was one of the

major contributors in the outcomes that we arrived at. I’d like to thank

my institution, IIPM – Ahmedabad, for providing me this great

opportunity & attempting to inculcate the traits needed to succeed. I am thankful to my father for sharing his thirty years of experience of

mining with me & that he once involved me in the family business for

three years as a Business Operation Manager before I joined the B-

school.

I am thankful to various gang saw industries at Abu Road which help in

revising my past practical learning related to the value chain of marble.

I am thankful to various traders for providing me data which proved to

be helpful in finding strategic alternatives & marketing options for



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marble. I am also thankful to Mr. Zeeshan Sultan, Research Assistant, Chair

of Microeconomics and Industrial Organization at WHU-Otto Business

School of Management (Vallendar, Germany), for analyzing my

thesis. I am thankful to Mr. Hanif Sultan, Privatization Directorate,

Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority & the member of

International Desalination Association (IDA) for critically analyzing

my thesis.

I am thankful to various industry experts & executives for sharing

relevant information & valuable thoughts with me & helped me

in writing my thesis.



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SYNOPSIS Synopsis for the thesis titled “Marketing strategies & distribution

channels for marble industry”

Objectives of the thesis

• To study this unorganized sector where profit is more than 300%.

• Growth in marble products & its market size.

• Its domestic, as well as international market.

• Market focus of local producers.

• Value chain of marble.

• Missed opportunity.

• The future opportunity.

• Kinds of marble most demanded.

Research methodology:

Primary research

By visiting & interviewing various marble mines & industries dealing with

marble & marble products, various organizations attached with this

industry.

Secondary research

Through various sites, blogs, news, books & articles, magazines on

Marble industry.



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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A country like India is rich in natural resources, whereby, most of the

exploitation of these resources is done by small & medium players. Up to

certain extent the metal industry falls under the organized structure of its

sector, the marble & stone industry still fall completely under unorganized

sector category.

The marble and stone industry in India constitutes of small local players that

operate on informal and non-professional means of business conduct with

feeble marketing constructs. These firms operate locally and are family-run

businesses having limited knowledge on the policies enacted by the Indian

government and often run into financially unstable environment.

En route to pacing developments in India, GPL (Globalization, Privatization,

& Liberalization) has helped many industries to restructure their activities

and build competitive tools. India has its strength in these unorganized

sectors as it employed a significant amount of its population in the rural

India. Over the years, with governmental aid, some of the unorganized

industries have been transformed into efficient industrial domains, whereby,

they have learned to adapt to competitive pressure emerging from

multinational corporations (MNCs) and have set up a strong foot hold in the

national market.

The thesis efforts to study the value chain of the Indian marble industry and

to indentify innovative marketing strategies for the same. Often it is the

case in industries operating in the unorganized sector that they are deficient

of a financial muscle and are not able to generate financial aid.

The thesis further pinpoints the ongoing marketing strategies and the

distribution channels of the marble industry. The industry, belonging to the

unorganized sector, faces a few setbacks that have a negative impact on the

profitability of the firms. Therefore, this document outlines a few strategies



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whereby firms can further operate with reduced inefficiencies and

significantly enhance their profitability by adopting professional means of

business conduct.



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TABLE OF CONTENTS: - Pg. No.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 16

1.1 MARBLE INDUSTRY: - THE NATURE OF THIS SECTOR 16

1.2 MARBLE (A DIMENSIONAL STONE) 17

1.3 TYPES OF MARBLE FOUND WORLDWIDE 18

CHAPTER 2 MARBLE PRODUCT PARAMETERS & MARKET 20

2.1 PARAMETERS FOR THE SELECTION OF MARBLE: 20

2.2 PRODUCT CATEGORIES AFTER PROCESSING 20

CHAPTER 3 WORLD MARBLE INDUSTRY 22

3.1 EXPORT & IMPORT TRENDS 23

3.2 GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS 25

3.2.1 ITALY 25

3.2.2 TURKEY 26

3.2.3 CHINA 28

3.2.4 SPAIN 29

3.2.5 GREECE 31

3.2.6 INDIA 32

CHAPTER 4 INDIAN MARBLE INDUSTRY 36

4.1: INDIAN STONE INDUSTRY - AN INSIGHT 36

4.2 A TRADITIONAL CULTURE 36

4.3: MARBLE INDUSTRY IN INDIA 37

4.4: MARBLE RESERVE IN INDIA 37

4.5 CLASSIFICATION OF INDIAN MARBLE (AS COMPARED TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARD) 38



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4.6 PRODUCTS & PROCESS TECHNOLOGY OF RENOWNED INDIAN STONE INDUSTRY: 38

4.7 STATE WISE CLASSIFICATION OF MARBLE 40

4.7.1: RAJASTHAN 40 4.7.2: GUJARAT 40

4.7.3 MADHYA PRADESH (MP) 41

4.7.4: HARAYANA 42

4.7.5 ANDHRA PRADESH 42

4.7.6 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 42

4.7.7 UTTAR PRADESH 42

4.7.8 ASSAM 43

4.7.9 CHHATTISGARH 43

4.7.10 JAMMU & KASHMIR 43

4.7.11 NAGALAND 43

CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS 44

5.1 BUSINESS STATUS 44

5.1.2 ACCOUNT MAINTAINING 44

5.1.3 HUMAN RESOURCE 44

5.1.4: PRODUCTS & PRODUCTION 45

5.1.5 SLAB COST DISTRIBUTION 45

5.1.6: TRANSPORTATION 46

5.1.7 FINAL PRODUCTS 47

5.1.8 MAIN MARKET OF MARBLE 48

5.1.9 WASTE MANAGEMENT 48

5.1.10 DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS OF MARBLE 49

5.1.11: INFRASTRUCTURE 49

5.1.12: ROYALTY 49



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5.1.13 COMPETITORS 50

5.1.14 MINING TECHNIQUES FOR MARBLE 51

5.1.15 MARBLE JOB WORK (VALUE CHAIN) 51

CHAPTER 6 GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN MINING 53

6.1 GOVERNMENT RESEARCH CENTRES & INSTITUTES FOR

MINING POLICIES, REGULATIONS & DEVELOPMENT 53

6.1.1: INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES (IBM) 53

6.1.2 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ROCK MECHANICS (NIRM) 55

6.1.3 DEPARTMENT OF DIMENSIONAL STONE TECHNOLOGY 56 FEASIBILITY STUDY Pg. No. 7: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 57

7.1: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 57

7.2: SAMPLES 57

7.3: OBSERVATIONS & FINDINGS 57

8: SWOT ANALYSIS OF MARBLE INDUSTRY 64

9: CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS 67

10: BIBLIOGRAPHY 73

11: GLOSSARY 78

12: ANNEXURE: ARTICLES & QUESTIONNAIRES 82

13: RESPONSE SHEETS 134



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LIST OF TABLES

Table 5.1 Flow Diagram (Production Process) for Mines and the processing 52



14

TABLE OF FIGURES………………………………........................................Pg. No.

FIGURE 3.1 WORLD DEMAND STATISTICS 22

FIGURE 3.2 MARBLE & MARBLE PRODUCTS 23

FIGURE 3.3 WORLD MARBLE CONSUMPTION 24

FIGURE 3.4 WORLD MARBLE IMPORTS 25

FIGURE 3.5 ITALY-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 26

FIGURE 3.6 ITALY-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FOR THE EXPORT OF WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE 26

FIGURE 3.7 TURKEY’S MARBLE EXPORT 28

FIGURE 3.8 CHINA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 29

FIGURE 3.9 CHINA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 29

FIGURE 3.10 SPAIN-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 30

FIGURE 3.11 SPAIN-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 30

FIGURE 3.12GREECE-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 31

FIGURE 3.13 GREECE-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 32

FIGURE 3.14 INDIA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 32

FIGURE 3.15 INDIA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED 33

FIGURE 3.16 INDIA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FROM WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE IMPORTED 33



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FIGURE 3.17 INDIA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FROM WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE IMPORTED 34

FIGURE 3.18 WORLD’S TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FOR THE TOTAL EXPORT OF ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE 34

FIGURE 3.19 WORLD’S TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FOR THE TOTAL EXPORT OF WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE 35

FIGURE 4.1 MARBLE DEPOSITS IN INDIA 37

FIGURE 4.2 ITEM WISE EXPORT OF GRANITE, NATURAL STONES & PORDUCTS FROM INDIA 39

FIGURE 4.3 MINERAL MAP OF BANASKANTHA DISTRICT 41

FIGURE 4.4 LOCATION ANALYSIS MAP 42



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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 MARBLE INDUSTRY: - THE NATURE OF THIS SECTOR

As far as India is concerned the marble industry falls under unorganized or

informal sector.

The unorganized sector constitutes a major proportion of Indian industries

and the marble industry being one of constituents in this segment. The

unorganized sector comprises of low skilled labor possessing no degree of

specialization. Firms operating in this segment are crowded by uncertainties

due to lack of documented information and the complexities in accumulating

and managing industry specific resources. The National Account Statistics

(NAS) report that the unorganized sector acts a strong production base for

India economic indices and is yet neglected or unaware from taxation point

of view due to its complex structure.

Although the Indian government holds a huge number of articles for small

scale & tiny sectors, yet their data is never known in exact terms because of

the exclusion they have got in majority of tax applications.

On the other hand, the organized sector possess detailed documents with

descriptive statistics via the budget documents or reports etc. whereas,

unorganized sector signifies those enterprises whose activities go without

maintaining any regular accounts or regulation of any legal provision.

As per the NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization)’s survey during

1999-2000, only 28 million workers are employed in the organized sector

out of total 397 million workforce & the rest of them lie in the unorganized

sector. (INFORMALSECTORININDIA)

Considering the world’s top three highly populated countries, i.e. Japan,

China & India they transformed the huge population lying in large numbers



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of villages & small industries in to a productive source through different

strategies. Japan did it with its high skill in technology development via

large sector & free market system, whereas in China each such unit meets

the norms under its closed economic system.

India has a ‘mixed economic policy’ till date that follows a protectionist

policy for the growth of these industries. Furthermore, these industries could

not be widen because of the lack of an industrial infrastructure,

technological backwardness, uncertain market behavior, changes in the

growth strategy with the arrival of an important development on a major

scale etc.

Though, there is an advantage of its own kind in the rural unemployment &

penniless too have had their pressures on the planners to let this sector a

befitting status, at least to the extent that it appears on paper or is not

neglected.

According to Peter Drucker, ‘marketing’ is so basic that it cannot be

considered as a separate function. It’s the thing seen from customer’s

perception. For the understanding of the role of marketing, it is required to

bring in matters like production, finance, personnel & of course last but not

the least, customer. [Kamal Taori]

1.2 MARBLE (A Dimensional Stone)

The word dimensional stones refer to the durable stones which can be cut to

sizes, polished & used for construction purposes, i.e. marble, granite, slates

etc. These stones belong to a same family resulted from the combinations of

different minerals such as calcium compounds (calcareous) for marbles,

Silica compounds (siliceous) for granite & Shale clay for slate & it is the

mineral base in these stones which distinguishes them from each other.

Marble is a crystalline, compact variety of metamorphosed limestone,

consisting primarily of calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg (CO3)2 or a



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combination of both minerals. The formation of marble takes place from

the contact metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks such as

limestone, dolomite or metamorphism of older marble, thus it is a

metamorphic rock. This chemical formation results in to an interlocking

mosaic of calcite, aragonite &/or dolomite crystals from the recrystallization

of the original rock. The fossils & sedimentary textures present in the

original rock get destroyed due to the temperatures & pressures.

The metamorphism of very pure limestone results in to a pure white marble,

whereas clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert present as a layers or grains in

the limestone result in varieties of colored marble.

Mineral impurities add color in multicolored patterns, though pure calcite is

white. Wide deposits of marble lie in various countries like Italy, India,

Pakistan, Spain, Greece, Brazil, China, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Great

Britain & in the United States. If taken in a commercial term, marble refers

to the composition of any rock with calcium carbonate including limestone

that takes polish. If we extend the term further, it includes other stones too,

such as alabaster, serpentine & other soft rocks. The thickness of marble in

terms of gravity varies between 2.68 to 2.72.

Marble is quite sensitive towards moist or acidic environment & disintegrated

easily under such environment. Thus, it must be protected from such

environment & rain as it is a durable product under a dry atmosphere.

Statuary marble is the purest white form of marble with visible crystalline

structure. The unique shine of these marble results from the reflection of

light lying in the surface of inner crystals.

1.3 TYPES OF MARBLE FOUND WORLDWIDE

The major categories of marble comprises of ‘Beijing White’, ‘Boticena &

Onyx’ (Green), ‘Carrara’, ‘Danby’, ‘Fauske’ ‘Katni’, ‘Llano Pink’, ‘Macael

Nabresina’, ‘Parian’, ‘Red’, ‘Thassos’, ‘Vencac’, ‘White’ and ‘Yule’ that are

available worldwide. [See f. ex. (Annexure-1)]

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Fauske

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Macael

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Yule_Marble



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Since the ancient times, white marble have been a primary choice for the

monuments for its softness, relative isotropy, homogeneity & a comparative

confrontation to devastating. Besides, the waxy looks of a human body

sculptures form due to the low index of calcite which allows light to

penetrate some millimeters in to the stone before being scattered out.

CONSTRUCTION MARBLE

The word “crystalline calcite rock” is used in the construction & dimension

stone trade for any crystalline calcitic rock. The Holston formation (as the

name given by geologists) which form the “Tennessee marble”, which are

thick grainy fossiliferous gray to pink to maroon Ordovician limestone are

useful as building stone.

INDUSTRIAL USE

For the use of calcium carbonate in various products such as paper,

toothpaste, plastics, & paints colorless & light-colored marble (aka ground

marble) are used as it is a pure form of calcium carbonate. Around three-

quarters of the calcium carbonate worldwide is made from ground marble.

ARTIFICIAL MARBLE

For the artificial marble, i.e. a paint which will resemble original marble, faux

marble or faux marbling technique is used.

CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS

The Greek & Roman culture tell their association with marble through their

monuments & sculptures which is known worldwide. Wide range of varieties

& color choices availability for marble make it a first choice as decorative

material.

Marblehead, Ohio; Marble Arch, London; the Sea of Marmara; India's Marble

Rocks; & the towns of Marble, Minnesota; Marble, Colorado; & Marble Hill,

Manhattan, New York are some of the globally known places named after

marble. (absolute astronomy)



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CHAPTER 2 MARBLE PRODUCT PARAMETERS & MARKET 2.1 PARAMETERS FOR THE SELECTION OF MARBLE:

Marble is selected on the basis of various parameter meant for its

specific & end use. They are rated on three basic characteristics namely,

color, pattern and grain size.

COLOUR

Color has its importance in the market for marble which varies as per

time, markets, and marble type from country to country, i.e. European

markets prefer white marble while Middle East & far eastern markets

demand for white, black & beige marble.

PATTERN

Pattern has its effect on the looks of marble, thus it plays a major role.

GRAIN SIZE

Fine, medium & large grain materials are the general form of grain size.

Grain size is meant for the use of marble rather than its looks. Fine grain

materials have a micro hardness & are meant for load bearing areas &

sharp corners, whereas Medium & especially the large grain materials

are unsuitable for those areas as there are chances of their breakage &

cracks. Thus, the vary combinations of colors, sizes & patterns are

meant for different segments of customers, i.e. customers with high

price range look for rare color, fine grain & homogeneous pattern of

marble or for medium grain, common colors & homogeneous pattern. &

for the medium price range, the market has the marble with rare colors,

large grain size & heterogeneous pattern.

2.2 PRODUCT CATEGORIES AFTER PROCESSING

SLABS

Large semi processed sheets of marble with varied sizes & thickness of

nearly 2 inches are called slabs. They are either exported to the



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international markets or processed further in the local industry. There

are various uses of those slabs such as table or kitchen tops, wall facing,

flooring & other related purposes. Price range of slabs depends on their

quality & the size of the sheet.

UNPOLISHED TILES

The segment which opts for lower price of marble succumbs to

unpolished tiles. Units which don’t have machineries to finish & section

them sell them this way. Though, normally, they are sent for further

processing.

POLISHED TILES

Well & fully processed tiles of marble are known as polished tiles. They

are pretty expensive than the unpolished tiles & are sold with price

variation based on their vein structure, shades & color.

DECORATIVE ITEMS

Various fancy items such as vase, sculptures, pillars etc are produced

worldwide with the variation of their manufacturing techniques, i.e. in

developing countries like India these are produced without the high tech

machineries, whereas in the countries with high labor cost carving is

done with CNC machines.

MARBLE CHIPS

Tiny pieces of crushed marble which are produced on completely

different machinery meant for stone crushers of various grades. They

vary in size which ranges from 1 inch to 0.5 cm as per the consumer

choice. They are used in flooring & facing in the construction industry.

(unido.org.pk/)



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CHAPTER 3

WORLD MARBLE INDUSTRY

According to the site “tunisianindustry.net”, approximately 57% of the

world's marble exports are contributed primarily by five countries;

namely, Italy (20%), China (16%), India (10%), Spain (6%), and

Portugal (5%). While it comes to major importer countries of marble, the top marble

importer countries series wise are: Germany, Japan & Taiwan for the

import of nearly 4 million tons together. Whereas other countries such

as USA, the Benelux countries, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland & Saudi

Arabia import over one million tons.

(tunisianindustry)

Figure 3.1 WORLD DEMAND STATISTIC (S) Index numbers/2000=100

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Source: basicmines.com (as on 20/08/09)

Median

Average

Figure 3.1 shows the demand of marble worldwide (in a span of five

years) from the year 2003 till 2007. It represents a constant growth in

the demand of marble which is supposed to be the total finished marble

exported by some major exporting countries, i.e. Turkey, Italy, Spain &

China.



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The world’s demand for marble on the measure of average annual

increase, it is 13.7% while keeping the year 2000 as the base year

(2000=100). (basicsmines)

3.1 EXPORT & IMPORT TRENDS

The primary receivers of Indian marble exports are USA, Italy, Taiwan,

Japan, Germany & China. (cdos-india.com)

Since 1990s, the world’s marble industry has been showing a rapid

growth & is estimated to grow at 8% per annum rate in the future. This

is supposed to be a large industry where its global producers target the

international market.

Figure 3.2

Figure 3.2 above depicts the value of exports (in Rs millions) from the

year 2000-2007. Indian marble exports amounted to aprrox Rs. 3000

million in the year 2007, showing a surge in demand for finished and

non finished products.



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Nearly 820 million sq. m. accounted for the total consumption of

marble worldwide, which is estimated to reach up to 4.4 billion sq. m. by

2025. Now, the world’s leading marble producing countries target the

international market due to which the domestic demand gets outpaced.

During the year 2003, a total of 54% of marble production was

consumed in the international market, whereas the remainder was

consumed domestically. The situation by 2025 may increase the

consumption of marble in the international market by 60%, leaving the

domestic market with 40% which can be seen in the figure 3.3.

0

1020

304050

60

2025

0

1 0

2 03 0

4 0

5 06 0

20 03

3-D Co lum n 1

3-D Co lum n 2

3-D Co lum n 3

Import of marble globally in the year 2003 was around USD 2.5bn. That

included polished marble (1247 mn), unpolished slabs (535 mn), uncut

marble (417 mn) & blocks (cut marble) (354 mn) as shown in the

figure3.4.



25

Figure 3.4 WORLD MARBLE IMPORTS-US $ 2.5 BN Source: USAID Trade Map 2003 (as on 20/08/09)

14%

49%

16%

21%

BLOCKS (CUT MARBLE)-354POLISHED MARBLEPRODUCTS-1247UNCUT MARBLE(STONE)-417UNPOLISHED SLABS-535

(mpsidc.org)

3.2 GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

3.2.1 ITALY

Along with the availability of stone materials, Italian stones possess a

greater diversity, with respect to color and sizes that adds to their

attractive global demand. A traditional world leader in its sector Italy has

advantages like highly skilled workers, modern technologies that are

constantly established communication between stone suppliers &

machine manufacturers keeping them ahead in the competitive arena.

(stonepanorama.com)

Italian marble blocks are majorly exported to the European markets

such as Spain, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia & Turkey. Furthermore

markets such as Russia, Poland, Croatia, Morocco, Algeria, Switzerland &

the Arab Emirates, in 2007, fueled the demand for the Italian marble

other than prominent countries like the US and Germany. (immcarrara)

Exports

As per IMM Carara, Italy reports Egypt, Libya, India, Tunisia and China as the top five countries with respect to the export of rough blocks and



26

slabs of marble. Figure 3.5 depicts the quantity in thousand tons for export to the respective countries.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Source: IMM Carrara (as on 20/08/09)

Figure 3.5 ITALY-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED (thousand tons)

EGYPT

LIBYA

INDIA

TUNISIA

CHINA

Similarly, the worked and finished marble products are primarily exported to Spain, Germany, UAE, Saudi Arabia and USA. Figure 3.6 shows the top five countries with quantity in thousand tons.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure-3.6 ITALY-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FOR THE EXPORTS OF WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE

SPAIN

GERMANY

UAE

SAUDI ARABIA

USA

3.2.2 TURKEY The Turkish stone industry, as of today, comprises of 2000 quarries &

1500 factories. 60% of the deposits and factories are spread over a

radius of 400 Km near Izmir. (stonepanorama.com) Turkey’s vast marble reserves are easily & well compatible with the

marble found worldwide with their more than 100 varieties such as very

light gray to black & brilliant white shades. Besides, Turkey has other

world famous range of marble such as Afyon White, Afyon Tigerskin,

Bilecik Pink, Marmara White, Burdur Brown, Denizli Travertine, Elazig



27

Cherry, Karacabey Black, Golpazarı Beige, Milas Kavaklidere, Aeagan

Bordeaux, and Aksehir Black. (stoneinturkey.com) In the recent years, Turkey has enjoyed 25% of exports due to its

availability of diverse color patterns as highlighted above. Additionally,

the Turkish marble industry is quite promising for its national &

international investors in terms of future profit.

Exports Turkish stone industry showed a rapid growth within a time span of ten

years. The amount of the total value of natural stone exports accounted

to US$ 1.3 billion in 2008, of which nearly 63% was cut & polished

processed marble. Amongst the processed & block marble, processed marble accounts for

approximately US$ 887 million export value that were primarily exported

to the countries like U.S.A., the United Kingdom, Canada, Saudi Arabia &

the United Arab Emirates in 2008. Whereas, block marble with US$ 438

million, in export value, were majorly exported to China, India, Italy,

Syria & Greece.

(IGEME-Export Promotion Centre of Turkey, 2009) (igeme.org.tr) As per the reports from the Undersecretarial for Foreign Trade & IGEME,

the total amount of marble exported by Turkey since the year 2004 till

the year 2008 in tons is depicted below in figure 3.7:-



28

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000

3500000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Sources: Undersecretarial for Foreign TradeIGEME: Export Promotion Centre T-2009 (as on 20/08/09)

Figure 3.7 TURKEY'S MARBLE EXPORT (QUANTITY: TON)

BLOCK MARBLE

PROCESSED MARBLE

(ctacc.org) (igeme.org) (stoneinturkey.com) 3.2.3 CHINA

There are approximately 123 mines 26 provinces for the marble

production in China. Hebei Quyang, Jiangsu Yixin and Ganyu, Hubei

Huangshi, Sichuan Baoxin, Shanxi Liuba and Guangdong Yingde marble

mine are some of the main marble mining provinces amongst which

Guangdong and Hebei hold leadership positioning. Until the year 2006,

the total marble production in China was 900 million sq. meters.

(stonetechfair.com) (scjjky.com)

EXPORT

A total of approximately 31000 tons of worked and finished marble

stones were exported from China in 2008. The period from the year

2004 through 2008 has experienced a growth of approximately 2% to

South Korea, being the largest importer in the finished marble stones

segment. Figure 3.8 shows the top five countries in terms of worked &

finished marble exported to by China as per the data provided by IMM:-



29

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.8 CHINA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

TAIWAN

JAPAN

HONG KONG

USA

SOUTH KOREA

The scenario for the rough blocks and marble slabs is quite different from the finished products. As figure 3.9 indicates, Taiwan remained a dominant importer of unprocessed marbles with 41000 tons in 2008. Other regions that contributed to this segment were Holland, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Source:IMM Carrara (as on 20/08/09)

Figure 3.9 CHINA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

HOLLAND

JAPAN

SOUTH KOREA

HONG KONG

TAIWAN

3.2.4 SPAIN

There are more than 1000 small & medium companies & 700 quarries in

Spain trading with the dimensional stones such as marble, granite &

slate.

Various reports including the above one were presented at Piedra 2008

giving various details of Spanish marble industry such as the size &

activities of that sector on an international level. (stoneworld.com)



30

EXPORTS UAE, Italy, USA, Hong Kong & China were the top five countries where the most amount of rough blocks & slabs of marble were exported between the time period of 2004 to 2008.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.10 SPAIN-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

UAE

ITALY

HONG KONG

USA

CHINA

When it comes to worked & finished products of marble exported by

Spain, UAE & Italy again have their place in the top five countries where

worked & finished products of marble were exported during last four

year, that is, from the year 2004 till the year 2008. Figure below shows

the amount of marble in tons being exported by Spain (representing only

top five countries it was exported to):-

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.11 SPAIN-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

UAE

ITALY

PORTUGALFRANCE

MEXICO



31

3.2.5 GREECE

Greece too holds a good status in the world for its marble. During the

year 2004 it was ranked 4th in the world marble exports & 6th in the

world marble production. Throughout the world it is considered as top

level architectural material & thus used that way. (marblemarket.net)

EXPORT

As per the data provided by IMM, following is the amount in ton for the exports of worked & finished products of marble by Greece. Singapore, Spain, Brazil, Cyprus & USA were marked as the top countries for that:-

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.12 GREECE-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

SINGAPORE

SPAIN

BRAZIL

CYPRUS

USA

Greece exported most of its rough blocks & slabs of marble to J Rep,

Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Albania & China during last five years, that is,

2004 to 2008:-



32

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.13 GREECE-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

FOR J REP

HONGKONGBULGARIA

ALBANIA

3.2.6 INDIA India owns a wide band o f marble. Various Indian states have a wide reserve of marble. Rank wise, it has been Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana & Andhra Pradesh. Rajasthan reserves 90% of the total marble deposits in India.

Now, some other states like Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Sikkim, and Uttar Pradesh & Bengal are also coming up with newer varieties of marble. (India report marble industry) EXPORT India holds its rank amongst the top marble exporting countries. As per the data the website of “immcarrara”, countries shown in the figure 3.14 & 3.15 are the countries to which India exported the most amount of marble during those last five years, i.e. in the time span of year 2004 till year 2008.



33

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.14 INIDA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

SAUDI ARABIA

UAE

ITALY

SPAIN

USA

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.15 INDIA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE EXPORTED

ITALY

NEPAL

EGYPT

CHINA

IMPORT

Italy, China, Egypt, Oman, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Turkey & Iran were the countries from where India imported the most amount of marble during the year 2004 till the year 2008. Figure 3.16 & figure 3.17 show those countries with the total amount of marble imported.



34

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.16 INDIA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FROM WHERE WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE IMPORTED

ITALY

CHINA

EGYPT

OMAN

SRI LANKA

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.17 INDIA-TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FROM WHERE ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE IMPORTED

EGYPT

IRAN

VIETNAM

TURKEY

ITALY

Total amount of marble exported by the top exporter countries

Figure 3.18 & figure 3.19 show the total amount of marble exported worldwide by the top marble exporting countries during the year 2004 till the year 2008. Those countries are already discussed in this chapter.



35

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.18 WORLD'S TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FOR THE EXPORT OF ROUGH BLOCKS & SLABS OF MARBLE

ITALY

CHINA

SPAIN

GREECE

INDIA

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

Thousand Tons

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008


Figure 3.19 WORLD'S TOP FIVE COUNTRIES FOR THE TOTAL EXPORT OF WORKED & FINISHED PRODUCTS OF MARBLE

ITALY

CHINA

SPAIN

GREECE

INDIA



36

CHAPTER 4: INDIAN MARBLE INDUSTRY

4.1: INDIAN STONE INDUSTRY - AN INSIGHT

India has rich deposits of dimensional stones such as granite, marble,

sandstone, limestone, slate, quartzite etc. found all over the country.

States such as Rajasthan & Gujarat are primarily known for raw stone

reserves & their production. India is the third largest exporter of marble

and marble products worldwide. Apart from that, it is also known as one

of the largest consumers of stones & stone products since it has a good

distribution network within the country & a growing demand from the

Indian middle class for their domestic use. (cdos-india.com)

4.2 A TRADITIONAL CULTURE

India has a deep rooted history of stones & their uses since the ancient

time, as old as 3200 B.C. Old sculptures, monuments, temples etc those

which remain & those which managed to remain indicate that the

Ancient Indian Civilization hold an architectural heritage. when comes to

architectural work of marble in ancient India, Delwara temple with a

very complex artistic work on marble & The Taj Mahal at Agra built in

the 17th Century tell it all. Khajuraho Temple, Elephanta Caves, Konark

Temple, Ancient Buddhist monuments like the Sanchi Stupa of 3rd

century BC etc are some of the ancient monuments which together

represent the richness of Indian heritage. These monuments & the

architectural work on them indicate the existence of well developed

mining & processing industry.

The modern India too carries that trend though with its modern buildings

such as the Presidential House, Parliament House & Supreme Court

which are made from high quality sandstone of Rajasthan. Lotus temple

of New Delhi tells about the journey of Indian architectural work, that is,

from the ancient time till this modern era when it is compared with the



37

Taj Mahal of Agra. (cdos-india.com)

4.3: MARBLE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

India is rich in marble deposits. Rank wise, states like Rajasthan,

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh are the top Indian states

with huge deposits of marble.

Rajasthan is the leader state in terms of marble reserve which is around

90% of total marble deposits in India. Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir,

Maharashtra, Sikkim, & Uttar Pradesh & Bengal are some of the states

which produce newer ranges of marble. (lu.camcom.it/)

Figure 4.1 shows the marble deposits in various Indian states as per the assessment of marble reserves carried out by Indian Bureau of Mines in 2000.

(cdos-india.com/)

4.4: MARBLE RESERVE IN INDIA The main locations for marble deposits in India are the Dharwar System

in Aravali ranges & Raialo in Rajasthan, Champaner Series of Gujarat,

Sakoli Series of Madhya Pradesh, Chilpi Series of Maharashtra, Vindyan,

Cuddapah System in the Papaghani Series of Andhra Pradesh, Bijawar

Series in Madhya Pradesh, Kaladgi Series in Karnataka & Delhi Group of

rocks located in Alwar Series & Ajabgarh Series of Rajasthan. Other

places with indifference are Jurassic & Cretaceous system.



38

Jaipur, Bharatpur, Kishangarh, Ajmer, Mewar, Udaipur & Sirohi areas

of Rajasthan; Danta & Palanpur areas of Gujarat; Narnaul area of

Haryana, Morena district of Madhya Pradesh & Guntur & Kurnool districts

of Andhra Pradesh have the marble reserves of Ajabgarh series.

Whereas, Bijapur & Gulburga districts of Karnataka have the deposits of

Bhima series.

Other varieties of marble, such as those found in Vindhyan system have

the ranges of colors such as creamy, grey, bluish & buff & are polish

friendly. Other polish friendly materials are fossiliferous limestone of

Jurassic System occurring in Jaisalmer & Bikaner districts of Rajasthan,

Coralline limestone belonging to Bagh Beds of Upper Cretaceous located

at Kherwan, Chirakhan & Bowarle in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

(pib.nic.in/)

4.5 CLASSIFICATION OF INDIAN MARBLE (AS COMPARED TO

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD)

Though, worldwide, there is a vast variety of marble, yet India has its

own kinds of marble reserves & their names. Some of them are Agaria,

Bhainslana Black, Fancy Brown, Himalaya Grey, Makrana Kumari, Olive,

Phalodi Pink, Jhiri Onyx, Katni White. They are found at various states

countrywide. Some of them might possess similar quality & type found

elsewhere in the world but might bear a local name. [See f. ex

(annexure-2)]

4.6 PRODUCTS & PROCESS TECHNOLOGY OF RENOWNED INDIAN

STONE INDUSTRY:

After Italy and China, India is considered the major exporter of marble

products (raw and finished). During the year 2005-06, it exported stones

worth the amount of nearly 45.6 billion rupees amongst which granite



39

tiles were the top most exported item. Figure 4.2 categorizes the

exported volume of stones in 2005-06.

(cji.in/)

PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

The Indian stone industry manufactures huge ranges of stone products

such as of blocks, flooring slabs, structural slabs, calibrated - ready to fix

tiles, monuments, tomb stones, sculptures, artifacts, cobbles, cubes,

kerbs, pebbles & landscape garden stones etc. (cdos-india.com/)

Since the introduction of modern machineries for working stone such as

cutting, sawing, grinding & polishing & with the introduction of new

quarry fields, there has been an increase in marble production.

(lu.camcom.it/)

STONE HANDICRAFTS

Indian stone handicraft industry carries forward the ancient tradition of

stone sculpture with slight modifications in their design. Indian artisans

do these all using simplest tools with proficiency, persistence &

perseverance.

MARBLE PROCESSING

Currently, Indian made machineries as those which are made by wholly

owned Indian companies & those with subsidiaries of foreign

multinationals are used by the Indian quarry industry which include



40

marble gang saws & tiling plants, circular saws for granite, polishing

machines, & other quarrying equipments like pneumatic jack hammers,

diesel operated compressors, hydraulic jacks, splitting equipment,

winches, excavators, air pillows, etc. (cji.in/)

4.7 STATE WISE CLASSIFICATION OF MARBLE

4.7.1: RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan comprises of rich ranges of marble such as Green, Makrana

Albeta White, Makrana Kumari White, Makrana Dungri White, Jhiri Onyx,

Phalodi Pink, Ambaji White, Indo-Italian, Babarmal Pink, Bhainslana

Black, Forest Green, Forest Brown, Agaria White, & Morwar White found

across Nagaur, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Banswara, Dungarpur, Jaipur,

Sirohi, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Bundi, Alwar, Chittorgarh, Churu & Pali. (cdos-

india.com/)

MARBLE BASED INDUSTRIES

Makrana is considered as the hub of marble based industries in

Rajasthan. Due to the saturation of the marble industry in Makrana,

emerging entrepreneurs have established base in Udaipur, making it the

second largest hub for marble industry in the state. Furthermore, due to

advanced infrastructural capabilities, Udaipur is well connected by rail,

road and air. (macmarbleindia.com/)

4.7.2: GUJARAT

Consequent to Rajasthan, Gujarat is the second state in the country rich

in marble deposits. Ambaji (Banaskantha district), Chunchupura

(Vadodara district) are the main centers for marble mines which have

rich deposits of white, serpentinous green colored & various shades &

hues of marble followed by Banaskantha, Bharuch, Vadodara, Kachchh &

Panchmahal districts. As per the survey by Gujarat State Mineral Policy,

total marble reserves of approx. 259 million tones have been estimated



41

to be found in the Banaskantha and Vadodra district. (cdos-india.com/)

(Gujarat State Mineral Policy)(cdos-india.com/)

Banaskantha district possess approx. 99.3% marble deposits of the

entire Gujarat state in which the place known as Danta Taluk accounts

for high quality of marble production.

(vibrantgujarat.com/)

4.7.3 MADHYA PRADESH (MP)

As per the assessment in the year 2000 carried out by Indian Bureau of

Mines for the marble deposits in the various Indian states, Madhya

Pradesh had a vast deposits of marble spread over 65 sq. km. areas & is

now still being exploited. (cdos-india.com/)

MP is now a fast growing marble producing state. With astonishing

ranges of marble reserves spread over various districts such as Katni,

Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Harda, Sidhi & Jhabua, MP now has numerous

mines which are fully active & mechanized.MP provides the opportunities

to open new marble mines & marble processing units. (mpsidc.org/)

To boost up the marble industry in MP, the state government has come out with a project of “Stone Park” near Sleemnabad in Katni district



42

which would be built over an area of 120 acres & would be able to support around 40 units. Figure 4.4: LOCATION ANALYSIS MAP

(mpsidc.org/)

4.7.4: HARAYANA Haryana provides varieties in marble like banded & white marble. Antri-

Beharipur has its excellence in banded marble, while Rasulpur, Golwa,

Gangutana & Musnota have ample availability of white marble. Besides,

other localities like Mahendragarh, Zainpur, Chappra-Bibipur, Nangal

durgu, Islampur & Dhanota- Dhancholi, too have plenty of marble

reserves. (cdos-india.com/)

4.7.5 ANDHRA PRADESH

Various districts of Andhra Pradesh such as Khammam, Cuddappah,

Kurnool, Ananthpur, Guntur & Nellore are the main depositaries of

marble in the state. The Paland marble has set up a name for its marble

in the market, that is, Amravathi marbles. (cdos-india.com/)

4.7.6 ARUNACHAL PRADESH

In the state of Arunachal Pradesh, Marble bands in the Mishmi

Formation, Chilleipam Formation & Tidding limestone, Abor Volcanics,

Lohit Valley, Dalai Valley. Serpentinite bands extend from Tidding to

Hunli & in Mayi Hill region of Dibang Valley District. (cdos-india.com/)

4.7.7 UTTAR PRADESH

Uttar Pradesh is more into inlay, carving, sculptures & artistic work of marble than as a state of marble quarry. The city of Taj, Agra is well known for this. Nonetheless, Pithoragarh & Mirzapur are the two districts with minor deposits of marble in the region. (cdos-india.com/)



43

4.7.8 ASSAM

March, Palel, Sangsak, Maokot, Ukhrul & Ching Jaroi at the Indo -

Myanmar border are the main districts of Assam with the availability of

marble. (cdos-india.com/)

4.7.9 CHHATTISGARH

Marble deposits are available in Bastar & Dantewara districts. (cdos-

india.com/)

4.7.10 JAMMU & KASHMIR

In Jammu & Kashmir large deposits of marble can be located in

Drugmalla, Zirahama, Oura & Trehgam in Kupwara district & Thathri

area of Doda district of Kashmir. (cdos-india.com/)

4.7.11 NAGALAND

Marble deposit lie in Phek district in the areas of Pang, Wui, Moya &

Moke. (cdos-india.com/)



44

CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS The business of marble in a country like India & in other developing or

underdeveloped countries bears almost the same industry structure as

highlighted in the previous chapter. This was observed when experts of

marble industries were interviewed & on visiting a Pakistani site called

“unido.org.pk” meant for marble industry. Following chapter is based on

those observations.

5.1 BUSINESS STATUS

As it was observed by the experts’ interview the business of marble is

usually carried out by sole traders, yet in some cases enterprises do turn

in to partnership firms.

The quarry owners can be classified into four categories as follows;

1). only produce blocks & sells.

2). block to traders for job work & then sell.

3). if his own unit of gang saw, then sell to direct customers.

4). or do above & sell to others too.

5.1.2 ACCOUNT MAINTAINING

Accounting structures in this business are highly non-standardized and

Indian entrepreneurs usually hire munshees (Indian accountants) or

those with a bachelor’s degree or at least matriculate qualification.

5.1.3 HUMAN RESOURCE

Typically, human resources in the Indian quarry business have

entrepreneurs & labors. Managers & assistant managers & those other

employees with different designations, as found in big & organized

business, do not exist. The entire official works such as factory

operations, administration, marketing & client handling and accounting

are handled by entrepreneurs themselves. Only some well to do



45

entrepreneurs with their flourishing business employ those white collar

employees.

Still, large units have helpers; crane operators etc. Usually two labors

are appointed on each single cutter machine which may go up to four or

five for vertical/horizontal cutter & gang saw. The labor force is highly

non skilled with no formal training & thus gets on-job training. Labors

working hours, in this industry are usually 8 hours per day at most of

the marble mines along with some additional overtime pay scale.

At the small & middle size marble mines, the required labors are about

30 to 40 & the wages nationally are Rs. 150/- per day.

5.1.4: PRODUCTS & PRODUCTION

In the Indian setting, the use of technologically advanced machinery is

low and majority of the tasks are performed manually. Furthermore, the

production is highly linked with demand and the industry faces uncertain

demand, often resulting in the mismanagement of resources and capital

utilization.

5.1.5 SLAB COST DISTRIBUTION

A marble block weighs from 10 to 15 tons & the product sale highly

depends on the quality of marble. If material is dull in color the material

block goes higher up to Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2000/- per ton, depending on

nature of marble quality. Further pricing, with respect to their quality are

as follows:

IF THE BLOCKS ARE COMMERCIAL:-

10 blocks about 120 tones @ Rs. 1500/-per ton = 180000/-

IF THE BLOCKS ARE MEDIUM:-

10 blocks about 120 ton @ Rs. 3000/- per ton = 360000/-

IF THE BLOCKS ARE GOOD & PURE WHITE:-

10 blocks about 120 tones @ Rs. 10000/- per ton = 1200000/-



46

The production cost remains constant for all the aforementioned

qualities. So, marble can gain good profit if the nature is in favor of

quarry owner by giving good material & that thing depends on luck.

The production cost of marble usually goes per ton is Rs. 500 to Rs. 600.

The above prices are meant for quarry owners when selling their

products to a process house or traders. The prices are little higher when

selling the same to the direct customers, though, direct customers rarely

go to mine owners & prefer to purchase from process house.

It is no way good for any marble mine owner that marble’s production

go lower. If it goes lower it is loss for that month & apart from that

many a difficulties come such as overhead expenses by breakdown.

In commercial grade material, entrepreneurs have to face a highly

competitive market but if the material is good they possess a higher

bargaining power with customers.

5.1.6: TRANSPORTATION

Usually, the Transport of material is done by trucks in which the blocks

are to be loaded by the cranes. Transport of marble blocks by truck

always depend on road side, though in marble loading the transporters

always take 20% more than other market rates. The transporters take

their charges per ton as per road condition.

The marble blocks are to be sawed on gang-saw. The costs incurred as

Rs. 600/- per ton.

The sales tax is to be taken from the client as per the government’s rule.

The loading of slabs are loaded loose for local sale & for that the labor

charges Rs. 50 per ton. So, in one truck the weight goes up to 12 tones

& the weight goes as per the quantity.



47

5.1.7 FINAL PRODUCTS

The market rate of marble is common for commercial quality. In market

rate for this material the rate goes Rs. 5/- upper or lower as per the

quality. Further variations in price can range from Rs. 10 to Rs. 20 for a

sq. foot of marble.

Currently, the commercial material in market are about Rs. 20/- to 25/-

per sq. ft. for the ‘Thappi’ (slabs) but if the cut size is to be sold, the

rate goes down.

Now a day there are no rates due to cracks of slabs. The slabs which are

cracks, entrepreneur has to get them made in sizes. The sizes are

always made perfectly as under:-

1) 9”*9”

2) 9”*12”

3) 12”*12”

4) 12”*18”

5) 18”*18”

6) 18”*24”

7) 24”*12

8) 24”*24”

Mostly, these sizes are always demanded by the customers & their rates

also go as per sizes but at lower rate than Thappi. Thappi means the

slab which is sawed from block & it is fresh without crack as per sizes of

block. The rest sells in the shape of slabs & handicrafts. Major final

products are tile (12 inch * 12 inch * 0.5 inch), counter tops, stairs,

window & handicrafts like glasses, miniatures, paper weight etc.



48

5.1.8 MAIN MARKET OF MARBLE

It is almost an easy ride for marble sector in India as far as the quality

of marble is concerned; therefore there are no stringent quality checks

for the national market. The main sources of green & white marbles are

Rajasthan & Gujarat, whereas the domestic market where we have the

demand for marbles are south, Kerala, Punjab, Goa & in Maharashtra, it

is Mumbai & Puna.

Apart from this, if we look at foreign market, there is again a huge

demand in some developed countries such as USA, UK, UAE etc. as there

is hardly any availability of this material & even if there is availability of

this material then the labor cost is so high that the cost price may go

higher to those domestic player than ours (India) & thus we have the

advantages of selling it abroad. In the process, even the per capita

income of people in the foreign countries plays a crucial role.

5.1.9 WASTE MANAGEMENT

As it was observed from a Pakistani site “unido.org.pk” marble

processing gives two kinds of byproducts, stone scrap & slurry. On

interviewing experts it was found that India too follows the same waste

management system as it is followed by the Pakistani stone industry.

Stone scrap results from the processing of completely unprocessed

marble or of semi processed marble. In case of completely unprocessed

marble, the scrap is 30% of the marble being processed, whereas, in

case of the processing of semi processed marble, it is lesser by 2-5%.

The other byproduct of marble, slurry, which is actually the water

containing marble powder where the amount of marble powder is 30% &

that of water, is 70%. There is a constant use of this water till it is too

thick to be soluble for marble powder.



49

As per the estimation, 1 ton of marble stone processed in gang-saw

produces 1 ton of slurry (70% water), though there is less wastage

through single cutter. This wastage is stored initially in a tank or other

storable place available & then disposed off, may be at some jungle or

sewage area, or somewhere nearby which can cause an environmental

problem. (unido.org.pk/)

5.1.10 DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS OF MARBLE

The marble is a basis of direct selling without any middleman, so it

just directly goes to factory from mine & then sold to customer as

per his requirement.

5.1.11: INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructural challenges are some of the most prominent difficulties

incurred by this industry. Entrepreneurs have to jumble between

multiple problems such as bad roads, improper or no power supply etc.

on which, bad weathers make it totally unmanageable for the

entrepreneurs to carry on the business. Though, the upcoming

infrastructure projects which are active by now give a ray of hope.

5.1.12 ROYALTY

The royalty for marble block is usually fixed at the time of setting the

rate of block with royalty or royalty tax.

The royalty is paid by the runner in two ways:-

There is a dead rent kept by the state govt. per hector. If royalty is

lesser than that amount, the entrepreneur has to pay dead rent per

year.

The royalty of marble block goes as per the state govt.’s rule.

If the production goes less & royalty is lesser than the dead rent then

the entrepreneur has to pay direct dead rent as mentioned above & if



50

production goes high & the amount goes higher than dead rent, then

he has to pay royalty. Whichever is high is to be paid. 5.1.13 COMPETITORS

Marble stands as a competitor against marble in the first place

itself.

The competition might come as a result of cost price differentiation

or traveling & distribution charges differentiation or due to its

availability or due to the differentiation in quality & type or may be

even demand & requirement of customers.

Other substitutes of marbles are granites, limestone, kota stone,

sandstone, slates, natural stone & other artificial stones such as

artificial tiles, artificial marble, artificial granite etc.

Apart from that, the said most costly marble is blue marble which

can cost Rs. 2500 per square feet. The demand for artificial stones

may go high from the customers’ side due to the varieties available

in that as those stones can be molded according to the

manufacturer’s choice. But then again, there are about 100 various

colors available for granite which then can make customers move

for granite if they are looking for color choices.

Furthermore, in comparison to marble, ceramic tiles are relatively

less expensive. And if we compare marble tiles with the marble

slabs, the marble tiles are much cheaper & it is because marble tiles

are made out of cracked & rejected slabs or when there is very high

demand for it.

The price for per square feet is Rs. 9 to Rs. 16 for tiles.

The price for per square feet is Rs. 35 to Rs. 150 for slabs.

And for white material slabs it is Rs. 48 to Rs. 250.



51

For the marble industry there are too few major players in India

who would be the players on the international level but as far as it

is concerned with artificial stone, tiles sector is such a sector which

plays on the international level.

5.1.14 MINING TECHNIQUES FOR MARBLE

There are two types of mining techniques for marble, one is the

underground & the other one is over the head of mountain, also known

as “over head mining”. A good example of underground mining can be

set by Makrana mines in Rajasthan where we have underground mining.

They work about 200 ft. to 300 ft. deep.

Mining depends on nature as well as on luck of the owner because in

production the block must be fresh, that is, without crack. In marble the

crack are too often & that also depends on the nature of marble’s

quality.

The investment of most of the entrepreneurs of marble mine usually

goes only for labors + diesel & break downs & after this they need per

months equipment & that depends on their production.

Developing countries like India & Pakistan still follow the traditional

method of quarry, that is, blasting, which results in to high wastage of

marble & small stone size reducing its price in the market. Lack of

implementation of mining policy & cooperation among the cluster

members work as further disadvantage for the quarry industry.

5.1.15 MARBLE JOB WORK (VALUE CHAIN):

Figure below shows the value chain for marble, that is, the pre extract

process till the finished product.



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Table 5.1 Flow Diagram (Production Process) for Mines and the processing Sr. no.

PROCESS

1. Investigation of quarrying viability and assortment of bench, exploding is done and

over load removed to expose the idle material

2. Hole Drilling Using the Slim Drill / Line Drill Machines

3. Hole Finder Machine is used to check for the proper matching of holes – Using Italian

Hole Finder Machine/ laser techniques

4. Diamond Bead Wire Saw Machine/Belt saw is set up. Diamond Beaded Wire is passed

(looped) through the holes and mounted on the machine for imparting vertical /

horizontal cuts to the rock

5. When Cuts are complete, the block of rock is parted from the mother rock using the

Air Pillow, Hydro Bags and Minor quantities of explosives ( cordex rod) to from a

feasible gap in between

6. This block is made to fall (Bench Toppling) in a prepared bed of loosened soil and slit

to avoid the development of any cracks within it- One or more excavator machines

are used depending on the requirement

7. Experts – “Mistry” is called to examine the block for cracks and quartz. The “Mistry”

marks the blocks for line of cutting to maximize yield. (A sonic method could also be

used for the same)

8. Holes are drilled along the marked lines to perforate the large rock into smaller

blocks suitable for loading onto trucks

9. The perforated rock is then broken down systematically into marked fragments using

feather and wedge method/ unsized blocks( luffers) are also the output of the

process

10. These blocks/buffers are loaded onto trucks and dispatched to their respective

destinations( processing units) after checking of validity and weight

11. Unloading of the material at the marked places and receiving inspection by

experienced supervisors

12. The block is sent for dressing for all six sides id required. And then set on the trolleys

13 The set block is set at the marble gang saw and cut as per the width set generally

74-83 slabs

14. The slabs are given chemical treatment if required and sent to the display area

15. The displayed goods are packed on trucks after customer selection and product exits

(stonedge.in/)



53

CHAPTER 6: GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN MINING Every business in any country needs the intervention of the government

system of its country in terms of rules & regulations, guidelines, support

etc, favoring the legal businesses in the country, making them run

smoothly under any circumstance; thus strengthening the country’s

economy, despite of any political system.

While talking about the mining sector, rules & regulations do exist for

mining meant not only for marble quarry but also for the mining of other

natural resources. We will discuss some main offices out of those offices

mentioned below.

Following information below are based on the annual report on mining

for the year 2007-08 by National Informatics Centre (NIC) available on

its site.

6.1 GOVERNMENT RESEARCH CENTRES & INSTITUTES FOR

MINING POLICIES, REGULATIONS & DEVELOPMENT:

Currently, there are many big & small government offices & sub offices

exist in the country, majority of which work as research institutes

located at different parts of the country. They are:

• Geological Survey of India (GSI) having headquarters at Kolkata.

• Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) having headquarters at Nagpur.

• Department Of Dimensional Stone Technology.

• National Institute of Rock Mechanics, (NIRM) Kolar; and

• National Institute of Miners Health (NIMH), Nagpur.

6.1.1: INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES (IBM)

MANAGERIAL SYSTEM

IBM is divided in to six functional divisions, namely:



54

i. Mines Control & Conservation of Minerals Division.

ii. Ore Dressing Division.

iii. Technical Consultancy, Mining Research & Publication Division.

iv. Mineral Economics Division

v. Mining & Mineral Statistics Division.

vi. Planning & Co-ordination Division having two sub-divisions:

The headquarter of IBM is located in Nagpur, besides which it has its

total 12 regional offices located in various Indian cities namely Ajmer,

Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Dehradun, Hyderabad, Jabalpur,

Kolkata, Margao, Nagpur, Ranchi & Udaipur & 2 subregional offices at

Guwahati & Nellore.

IBM provides various services related to quarry affairs such as technical

consultancy like geological review, environmental issues, areas’ survey,

mining equipment selection. It publishes reports & generals on mining &

various issues related to it, i.e. trade, R&D activities, events & affairs. It

also provides minerals & mining related trainings.

It also works as an advisory body for central & state governments

regarding all the business aspects of quarry which would be beneficial

from the country’s economic points of view such as EXIM policies, by-

products, leases, minerals’ demand supply condition in the market,

various consumption of minerals, various data related to mining for

governmental records.

It is also quite in to environmental protection movement with its

program named as Mines Environment & Mineral Conservation (MEMC)

Weeks, which it arranges at various in important mining centers.



55

All these active & relevant services provided by IBM at prescribed

charges generate it revenue. If we consider the revenue for the year

2007-08 it was Rs 156.35 lakhs.

6.1.2 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ROCK MECHANICS (NIRM)

The National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) is a premium centre for

research which researches on basic & applied rocks mechanics runs

through the sponsorship from industries as well as government fund. A

premier centre for research in applied & basic rock mechanics has been

carried out quality research work through both government-funded &

industry sponsored S&T & consultancy projects. It provides services like

samples’ laboratory testing, design for controlled blasting, mineral

exploitation, underground mining, safety features, site analysis,

engineering, technical & technological issues & regarding other

geological issues. The Institute holds the ISO-9001:2000 Accreditation

renewed for its R&D & consultancy services.

VARIOUS TECHNICAL FACILITIES AT NIRM

• 150 ton MTS stiff compression testing machine.

• 300 ton compression testing machine.

• High temperature & pressure triaxial cell.

• Shear testing machine.

• Equipment for determining joint properties.

• Polarizing microscope for thin section study.

• Rock properties determined :

• Uniaxial compressive strength.

• Tensile strength.

• Elastic constants.

• Shear properties (cohesion & friction angle)

• Joint shear properties / Fracture toughness



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• Density

• Porosity & permeability

• P-wave velocity

6.1.3 DEPARTMENT OF DIMENSIONAL STONE TECHNOLOGY

The Department of Dimensional Stone Technology (DDST) is its

own kind of department providing services which cannot only decline the

disadvantages & dangers of blasting at mines but also save

entrepreneurs precious time & money in an environmental friendly way

through its equipments which on hand tell them as which surface of

earth should be dig for raw material. Other necessary services like

proper waste disposal, reduction in block damage, tools selection,

providing seminars & courses for personnel, preparing feasibility report

etc. (mines.nic.in/)



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CHAPTER 7: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

7.1 R E S E A R C H OBJECTIVES:-

• To study this unorganized sector where profit is more than 300%.

• Growth in marble products & its market size.

• Its domestic, as well as international market.

• Market focus of local producers.

• Value chain of marble.

• Missed opportunity.

• The future opportunity.

• Kinds of marble most demanded.

7.2 SAMPLE:

Sample size 60

Sample frame Abu-Road city

Sample unit Industrial Area, Abu Road

Sampling Method Simple random sampling

Constraints Time, number of respondents

Sampling error Non-response- 20

Response- 40

Survey Questionnaire

7.3: OBSERVATIONS & FINDINGS

An initial sample size of 60 respondents was selected in order to achieve

a sufficient sample size. A response rate of 66% was attained (i.e. 40

respondents successfully answered to the queries). Moreover, to get a

full understanding of the existing marble industry (finished and

unfinished products), respondents were personally interviewed. The

aggregated observations will be outlined in the section 7.4. The

questionnaire addressed specific questions on the firm’s revenue



58

margins, the order cycle, the customer base and the firm’s suppliers.

OBSERVATIONS:

Responses of processors to the questionnaire

Below is the outcome of responses given by 26 processors to the various questions asked in the questionnaire prepared for processors:-

Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

Responses of the first question answered by processors suggested that

There is continuity in their business.

They have a daily requirement of material & they process at least 60 tonnes of material daily.

They have their contracts with quarry owners & traders, where quarry owners are the suppliers to them & traders are the buyers to them.

They buy the rough marble blocks from the quarry owners. They process them in to marble slabs & deliver them to traders as per the orders booked with them.

Q: 2.Who all are your customers?

Responses to the second question suggested that traders are the main customers for processors. They have their contract with them & thus as per the contract, traders do the bulk buying from them. Builders & final customers also buy the material from them but then they do not consider them as much as they consider traders.

Q: 3.What is your order cycle?

Responses to the third question suggested that

Processors’ order cycle role between getting the supply of materials from quarry & delivering the finished goods made from it to the contract traders as per their demand.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your suppliers take place?

Responses to the fourth question suggested that bidding is not required in the deal between processors & quarry owners since the perfect competition exists in the market & processors & quarry owners are aware of existing market rates.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your suppliers in terms of business?

Responses to the fifth question suggested that



59

No contribution between processors & quarry owners take place. May be on personal level but that is just a tongue in a chick.

Q: 6.How much cost does it incur in the job work of marble?

Responses to the sixth question suggested that Job work on marble comes to around Rs. 650 to 780 Rs. on per ton of marble. Each ton gives 130 sq feet of material. So, that comes to Rs. 5 to Rs 6 on per sq. foot. That is the job work charges for marble.

Q: 7.What is your turnover?

Responses to the seventh question suggested that processors have a yearly turnover of 3 to 10 crore Rs.

Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin?

Responses to the eighth question suggested that

The revenue margin of processors is around 10% to 12%.

Q: 9.Questions or comments if any?

1. Even local traders sometimes deal directly with quarry. 2. If the material of marble is cracked we make it in to cut size. (Responses to the ninth question were very limited. Hardly few processors shared their knowledge for the last question)



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Responses of quarry owners cum processors to the questionnaire

Below is the outcome of responses given by 4 quarry owners cum processors to the various questions asked in the questionnaire prepared for them:-


Responses to the first question suggested that They are their own suppliers for the raw material & their own processors though their customers are traders. They keep separate accounts for their quarry business & for their process house business.


Responses to the second question suggested that traders are the main &

focused customers for quarry cum process house owners. Other

customers include builders & people who need marble for temple

carving.


Responses to the third question suggested that Quarry cum process house owners get their orders from traders who are under their contract & who book the order in advance. They do the delivery of finished material to the traders as per the order given by them.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your traders take place?

Responses to the fourth question suggested that quarry cum process

house owners have no bid between them as they both are aware of

existing market rates & there is a perfect competition in the market

which brings a similarity in rates.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your traders in terms of business?

Responses to the fifth question suggested that quarry cum process

house owners have no contribution towards each other but a little which



61

is just meant to be tongue in a chick, that is, a single trader may buy

the whole stock of material from his supplier.

Q: 6.How much is your ex factory cost?

Responses to the sixth question suggested that the ex factory cost including transportation charges are around Rs. 1950 to 2600 on per ton of marble. Each ton gives 130 sq. feet material. So, the ex factory cost to quarry cum process house owners for per sq. foot of marble will be around Rs. 15 to 20 or may be higher that depends on the quality.


Responses to the seventh question suggested that their turnover is around 5 to 7 crore Rs. P.A.


Responses to the eighth question suggested that quarry cum process

house owners have the revenue margin of around 15% to 20 %.

Q: 9.Questions or comments if any.



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Responses of quarry owners

Below is the outcome of responses given by 10 quarry owners to the various questions asked in the questionnaire prepared for them:-


Responses to the first question suggested that

Quarry owners simply dig out rough marble blocks from earth & sell them to processors with whom they have contracts.

They may do more than one blasting in a year as per the requirement of material.

They have continuity in business. They load at least two to three trucks from the quarry.


Responses to the second question suggested that the prime most customers to the quarry owners are processors who are their customers under a contract. In sort, they are their fixed customers. Besides, traders & people for temple carving are also their customers but that is too rare. Q: 3.What is your order cycle?

Responses to the third question suggested that

Quarry owners have contract with processor (s). As per the contract, they deliver them the rough marble blocks. Sometimes the processor book some part of or the whole mine. The material from that booked portion or the whole mine (if booked the whole mine) then is delivered to processor. The material from them is sometimes directly purchased by traders or by the people who need rough marble block for temple carving. But those types of customers are too rare for them.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your processors take place?

Responses to the fourth question suggested that no bid takes place in the deal between quarry owners & processors. There lies a perfect



63

competition in the market which let them have a fair & fixed deal between them.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your processors in terms of business?

Responses to the question five suggested that there is no contribution of quarry owners & processors towards each other.

Q: 6.What is your ex-factory cost?

Responses to the sixth question suggested that The ex factory cost for the quarry owner is from Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 for per sq. foot marble. Thus, various quarry owners bear between these charges.


Responses to the seventh question suggested that the turnover of quarry owner can be from Rs. 6 million to 20 million P.A.


Responses to the eighth question suggested that the revenue margin of quarry owners is around 10% to 12%.


FINDINGS: FINAL OUTCOMES OF THE QUESTIONNAIRES:-

The final & the main outcome that we get from all the three questionnaires above are:

Turnover P.A. of processors is from 3 to 10 crore Rs.

Turnover P.A. of quarry owners cum processors is from 5 to 7 crore Rs.

Turnover P.A. of quarry owners is from Rs. 6 million to 20 million.

Margin that processors get is around 10% to 12%.

Margin that quarry owners cum processors get is around 15% to 20 %.

Margin that quarry owners get is around 10% to 12%.



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CHAPTER 8: SWOT ANALYSIS OF MARBLE INDUSTRY STRENGTH WEAKNESS 1. Different processing machineries are produced by local manufacturers in this sector. 2. Banking facilities accessibility. 3. Required laws for companies exist. 4. Unproblematic & simple companies’ registration process. 5. Easy availability of cheap labor workforce. 6. Workforce’s hereditary knowledge of marble industry. 7. Availability of raw material for processing. 8. Availability of wide range of marbles. 9. Competition within the industry ushering it ahead. 10. Meticulous entrepreneurs

keep running the industry despite lack of proper infrastructure.

11. Sundry investors’ traditions

bring knowledge & technology with them.

12. Vast quantity & best

1. Lack of new trends in the industry due to lack of research & development.

2. Poor product quality due to lack of financial investment in the machineries.

3. Slow productivity due to obsolete machineries.

4. Primeval mining methods cause high wastage, i.e. blasting

5. Slow production due to lack of proper availability of electricity.

6. Extremely low literacy rate comes as a hindrance to workforce in learning new skills.

7. Uncertainty among labors due to daily wage system.

8. Bureaucracy & corruption cause hindrance in the business operation.

9. Insufficient knowledge of marketing & business planning.

10. Qualities of Finished marble’s product not matching the international demand.

11. Availability of loans but on high interest rates.

12. Communication gap amongst



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quality of Indian marble. 13. Primitive nature of

domestic demand (only some standard size).

the cluster members. 13. Improper support from government institutions

OPPORTUNITY THREAT 1. Increasing global demand for marble & its availability in the country.

2. Availability of demanded marble of good quality & variety of colors.

3. Growth in the country level market demand due to the increasing demand by the domestic construction industry.

4. Fast improvement in physical & technological infrastructures.

5. Governmental working structures are being transformed to become easy & less complex.

6. Availability of the supporting institutions in the country.

7. Increasing investment opportunity in marble industry due to being a precedence sector of government.

8. Support to marble sector for development through donation.

9. Market segmentation can be done for rural & urban

1. High competition in the international market. 2. Increase influx of construction stone material from Pakistan, China & Afghanistan. 3. Short term benefits mentality leading to selling unprocessed marble & no planning for capitalization of resource. 4. Better salary packages by urban clusters attracting skilled workforce of under-developed clusters. 5. Poor support from Government department & mining disputes due to regulatory reforms. 6. Power supply capacity limitation & increasing power supply cost. 7. Unresolved disputes & politics. 8. Good & superior substitutes of marble, i.e. granite, tiles etc. 9. Today’s people’s urge on luxurious lifestyle which often make them choose Italian marble over the Indian one. 10. Marble is available in a generic form & no brand name or image is found for marble.



66

population where urban population can be targeted for stylish products & services & rural for less complex products & services.

10. Geographically reachable strategic locations, i.e. Middle east & other Asian markets.



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CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS

CONCLUSION

My final conclusion is that marble industrial sector can grow in the

Indian market if the entrepreneurs investigate the ever pacing

environment & adopt various strategies that can boost up their

business. Even at its current stage where globalization,

privatization & liberalization took place, more than fifteen years

ago, the marble industry had been growing slow in comparison to

the artificial stone industry.

Inconsistent supply of marble products is one of the major

problems in export. All the way through the value chain the way

Indian marble is processed, limits the exports & creates

inadequacies. A very few entrepreneurs in the past tried to export

tiles to the international market, but they were unable to fulfill

their commitments. The major reason was that they were unable

to guarantee constant supply of particular products. This problem

damaged the reputation of both entrepreneurs & of the exporting

country in the international market. Since this is an unorganized sector & most of the entrepreneurs in

this business are carrying it on as their family business, they are

not professionally aligned to the business & often face financial

setback in order to carry on the business. These often results in

engaging in an extensive debt accumulation so as to facilitate the

operations. Furthermore, infrastructures such as roads, power plants,

systems & procedures that are considered as the prime

facilitators of this industry are relatively weak. Roads near most

of the quarry areas are in vulnerable condition due to which

smooth & safe supply of raw material from the mines to the



68

processing units cannot be guaranteed. This goes more

vulnerable during bad weather conditions due to which the

owners have to shut down units for that time period resulting in

delayed lead times and unfulfilled commitments to the clients.

Electricity and power is irregular in most factories & quarries,

thereby the businesses have to invest additional capital such as

expensive generators & automatic stabilizers. The units have to

jumble through the situations of low voltage & overload. This

problem of electricity becomes severe in summer due to overload

which affects the units in winter too. In order to save the

machineries from any damage, the owners have to shut down the

machineries earlier than there capacity hour as there damage get

the owners a huge cost. This makes the operation cost very

expensive & limits investment in the cluster. This makes it

difficult for these firms to experience economies of scale. Indian marble industry still lacks the technical knowledge.

Besides, lack of standard & modern equipments & the

machineries, energy resources, etc are the other constraints that

come as hindrance to immaculately meet the standards of foreign

markets in terms of quality that comes out of value adding

activities such as polishing & machineries. The other important

challenge in demand conditions that exists is lack of

understanding of the requirements of the international buyers.

There is no security for investors to invest in new technology to

dig out marble in an environmental friendly way. One of its

reasons is the lack of execution of rules & regulations. On one hand, the obsolete mining practices result in to a threat to

the sustainability & inadequacy to the processing units as

irregular blocks reduce yield & make transportation, cutting &

wastage disposal a costly affair. Most of the raw materials get



69

damaged during mining resulting in extensive squandering of

marble reserves that in turn shrink the profit margins. On the

other hand, the processing industry uses ineffective & obsolete

technology for finishing of the products, thus limiting the

prospects for exports. This is ascribed to the limited power of the

machine-manufacturing sector & forms a backward linkage to the

sector.

Furthermore, governmental regulations add to the elevation in the

cost structure of most of the firms in the industry segment as the

cost of production is higher on the incorporation of the royalty

fees imposed by the ministry of mines & industries.

Recommendations

In order to circumvent issues with respect to irregular supply,

warehouses can be set-up with a vast space where raw material

can be stored to meet any demand from the international market

on time. Constant supply can be made certain from these

warehouses in case of any dispute between owners of the mines &

leaseholders.

Additionally, the potential of the marble business needs to be

effectively communicated to the financial institutions so as to

facilitate firms with credit upon the establishment of new

technologies and other functional aspects of the business. Locally,

technology is available to produce international quality products,

but the entrepreneurs have to be willing to become role models

for the rest of the industry to follow. Further incentives are needed to be put in place to enhance the

infrastructural capabilities to the marble quarries. A proposed

remedy could be to encourage state governments to invest in



70

infrastructure and in turn tax the users. This ensures steady

revenue generation for the investments that are undertaken. In order to access up to date market knowledge, national as well

as international, firms need to invest in market research

strategies. This would empower them to generate future demand

and supply forecast.

Moreover, the government or private institutions need to be

granted incentives to provide protection to the investors & ensure

security of investment. Similarly, leaseholders have no knowledge

of mines. The government or other agency should conduct studies

to look at the compositions of the mines before leases are

distributed. Technological enhancement is the key to improve productivity in

this unorganized segment. New technology should be introduced

for square block mining. Controlled blasting should be introduced

in the mines to reduce wastage & extract blocks of desired sizes.

On job training of technical staff should be organized to improve

their skills & effectively utilize the available technology. The government should revamp its policies & pay more attention

to the things, which may benefits, the entrepreneurs. Even if the

government has been introducing or levying things like high

amount of royalties or dead rents, it has to make sure that it all

goes for the welfare of mines owners in terms of providing proper

infrastructure to them.

Both, the entrepreneurs & the government will have to come

forward to provide a proper heal to this sector. A country full of

this natural resource where it also has its good demand in the

global market can do wonders if carried on properly.



71

Modernization & professionalism is sure required to take this

sector to its new, next phase.

In terms of legislation, the minerals law of India supports

development of mineral activities, though there is a big gap to

be filled by new policies & new strategies/tactics that could

practically enforce development of businesses, foreign &

domestic direct investments in the cluster, e.g. the ministry

could initiate penetration pricing policy for couple of years in

order to attract investment in the cluster.

A private organization & information resource center should be

available to circulate all the relevant information about the

industry. It will have the authority to standardize the products &

their prices. The institution will also maintain quality of the

products. It will also ensure proper implementation of

government rules & regulations. This organization will also act as

a mediator to solve disputes among mine owners & leaseholders

& ensure consistent supply of raw material from mines to the

processing units.

Experts’ visits of key market players in the marble sector will

help them keep them update with new trends in the international

market. It will also help in networking & building linkages for

future. Recently, the local manufacturers have started focusing on

machinery, which can only process the products to semi-finished

form and, therefore, requires investment in imported machinery

to meet requirements of the international market. The import of

modern machinery can create an obvious opportunity for growth

in the domestic marble machinery market.

Drawing on the location analysis of marble deposits, vast



72

availability of countrywide stone resources, and the regulatory

environment, it can be conferred that firms need to work in

conjunction with the state governments in order to upgrade their

capabilities, infrastructure and smoothening of governmental

policies.



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10: BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ø Books:

§ Taori, K. (2003). MARKETING THE UNORGANIZED SECTOR-ISSUES, PERSPECTIVES AND STRATEGIES. In K. Taori, MARKETING THE UNORGANIZED SECTOR-ISSUES, PERSPECTIVES AND STRATEGIES (p. 266). New Delhi: CONCEPT PUBLISHING COMPANY.

§ My father’s personal diary on marble industry.

Ø Reports:

§ Stone Panorama.

Ø Articles:

§ Business & Economy

§ Business Standard

§ DNA Newspaper

§ The Economic Times

Ø Websites:

1. absolute astronomy. (n.d.). http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Marble. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Marble

2. basicsmines. (n.d.). http://www.basicsmines.com/dimensionstone/index.html. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.basicsmines.com/: http://www.basicsmines.com/dimensionstone/index.html

3. Dr.R.S.Goyal-Director, G. S., J.V. Natani-Sr. Geologist, G. S., & Dr. K.D.Chowdhary-Geologist, G. S. (2002). cdos-india.com. Retrieved august 20, 2009, from http://cdos-india.com/: http://cdos-india.com/papers/23%20-%20Marble%20Resources%20-%20GSI.doc.

4. cdos-india.com. (n.d.). [http://www.cdos-india.com/exports.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from [http://www.cdos-india.com/: [http://www.cdos-india.com/exports.htm

5. cdos-india.com. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/index.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/index.htm



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6. cdos-india.com. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/tradition.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com: http://www.cdos-india.com/tradition.htm

7. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/andhra.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/andhra.htm

8. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/gujrat.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/gujrat.htm

9. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/harayana.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/harayana.htm

10. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/nervecentre.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/nervecentre.htm

11. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/otherstates.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/otherstates.htm

12. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/papers/09%20-%20Indian%20industry%20-an%20Insight%20-%20Alok%20Kumar.doc. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/papers/09%20-%20Indian%20industry%20-an%20Insight%20-%20Alok%20Kumar.doc

13. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/rajasthan.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/rajasthan.htm

14. cdos-india.com/. (n.d.). http://www.cdos-india.com/up.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cdos-india.com/: http://www.cdos-india.com/up.htm

15. cji.in/. (n.d.). http://www.cji.in/pdf/2007/april/indian%20stone%20industry.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.cji.in/: http://www.cji.in/pdf/2007/april/indian%20stone%20industry.pdf

16. ctacc.org. (n.d.). http://www.ctacc.org/new/images/Industrialfiles/natural_stones.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.ctacc.org: http://www.ctacc.org/new/images/Industrialfiles/natural_stones.pdf

17. Gujarat State Mineral Policy. (n.d.). www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/4_28.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/: www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/4_28.pdf

18. http://www.tunisianindustry.nat.tn/. (n.d.). http://www.tunisianindustry.nat.tn/en/download/CEPI/IMCCV02.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.tunisianindustry.nat.tn/en/: http://www.tunisianindustry.nat.tn/en/download/CEPI/IMCCV02.pdf



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19. igeme.org. (n.d.). http://www.igeme.org.tr/Assets/sip/san/Natural_Stones2008.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.igeme.org.tr: http://www.igeme.org.tr/Assets/sip/san/Natural_Stones2008.pdf

20. immcarrara. (n.d.). http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:drrRA-h03JoJ:www.stat.immcarrara.com/eng-site/stone/stone-sector-ita.asp. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from www.stat.immcarrara.com/: http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:drrRA-h03JoJ:www.stat.immcarrara.com/eng-site/stone/stone-sector-ita.asp

21. INFORMALSECTORININDIA. (n.d.). http://labour.nic.in/ss/INFORMALSECTORININDIA-ApproachesforSocialSecurity.pdf, PDF. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://labour.nic.in/ss/INFORMALSECTORININDIA-ApproachesforSocialSecurity.pdf: http://labour.nic.in/ss/INFORMALSECTORININDIA-ApproachesforSocialSecurity.pdf

22. lu.camcom.it/. (n.d.). http://www.lu.camcom.it/upload/file/1.6/atti_seminari_internazionalizzazione/india_report_marble_Industry.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.lu.camcom.it/: http://www.lu.camcom.it/upload/file/1.6/atti_seminari_internazionalizzazione/india_report_marble_Industry.pdf

23. macmarbleindia.com/. (n.d.). http://www.macmarbleindia.com/technology1.htm. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.macmarbleindia.com/: http://www.macmarbleindia.com/technology1.htm

24. marblemarket.net. (n.d.). http://www.marblemarket.net/gallery/. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.marblemarket.net: http://www.marblemarket.net/gallery/

25. mines.nic.in/. (n.d.). http://mines.nic.in/anrep07-08/annual08.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://mines.nic.in/: http://mines.nic.in/anrep07-08/annual08.pdf

26. mpsidc.org/. (n.d.). http://mpsidc.org/mp07/state-profile/project-reports/new-projects/Marble_Processing.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://mpsidc.org/: http://mpsidc.org/mp07/state-profile/project-reports/new-projects/Marble_Processing.pdf

27. pib.nic.in/. (n.d.). http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=14758. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.pib.nic.in/: http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=14758

28. scjjky.com. (n.d.). http://www.scjjky.com/en/xwzx_show.asp?id=102. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.scjjky.com: http://www.scjjky.com/en/xwzx_show.asp?id=102

29. stonedge.in/. (n.d.). http://stonedge.in/pdf/08/oct-nov/Quality%20Management%2001.pdf . Retrieved August 1, 2009, from



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http://stonedge.in/: http://stonedge.in/pdf/08/oct-nov/Quality%20Management%2001.pdf

30. stoneinturkey.com. (n.d.). http://www.stoneinturkey.com/index.php?action=page_display&PageID=14. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.stoneinturkey.com/: http://www.stoneinturkey.com/index.php?action=page_display&PageID=14

31. stoneinturkey.com. (n.d.). http://www.stoneinturkey.com/index.php?action=page_display&PageID=15. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.stoneinturkey.com/: http://www.stoneinturkey.com/index.php?action=page_display&PageID=15

32. stonepanorama.com. (n.d.). [http://www.stonepanorama.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=118:marble-2009-in-a-bid-to-become-number-one-in-the-sector&catid=3&Itemid=4]. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.stonepanorama.com/: [http://www.stonepanorama.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=118:marble-2009-in-a-bid-to-become-number-one-in-the-sector&catid=3&Itemid=4]

33. stonepanorama.com. (n.d.). http://www.stonepanorama.com/index.php?view=article&id=75%3Aitalian-marble-and-granite-trade-on-the-path-of-recovery&option=com_content&Itemid=4. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.stonepanorama.com/: http://www.stonepanorama.com/index.php?view=article&id=75%3Aitalian-marble-and-granite-trade-on-the-path-of-recovery&option=com_content&Itemid=4

34. stonetechfair.com. (n.d.). http://www.stonetechfair.com/e-stonetech/news2.asp?news_id=51. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.stonetechfair.com: http://www.stonetechfair.com/e-stonetech/news2.asp?news_id=51

35. stoneworld.com. (n.d.). http://www.stoneworld.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000412117. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.stoneworld.com/: http://www.stoneworld.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000412117

36. unido.org.pk/. (n.d.). [http://www.unido.org.pk/cdp-pdf/Cluster_Diagnostic_Study___Marble_15th_May__2006%5B1%5D.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from [http://www.unido.org.pk/: [http://www.unido.org.pk/cdp-pdf/Cluster_Diagnostic_Study___Marble_15th_May__2006%5B1%5D.pdf



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37. vibrantgujarat.com/. (n.d.). http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/district_profile/detail/banas-kantha.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/: http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/district_profile/detail/banas-kantha.pdf



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11: GLOSSARY GLOSSARY OF STONE INDUSTRY TERMS Abrasive hardness (Ha): a measure of the wearing qualities of stone for floors, stair treads, & other areas subjected to abrasion by foot traffic.

Alabaster: A fine-grained & translucent variety of gypsum, generally white in color. May be cut & carved easily with a knife or saw. Term is often incorrectly applied to fine-grained marble.

Base: The bottom course of a stone wall, or the vertical first member above grade of a finished floor.

Bearing check: A slot cut into the back of dimension stone to allow entry of a supporting angle or clip.

Bed: The top or bottom of a joint, natural bed; surface of stone parallel to its stratification. 2. In granites & marbles, a layer or sheet of the rock mass that is horizontal, commonly curved & lenticular, as developed by fractures. Sometimes also applied to the surface of parting between rock sheets. 3. In stratified rocks, the unit layer formed by sedimentation; of variable thickness, & commonly tilted or distorted by subsequent deformation. It generally develops a rock cleavage, parting, or jointing along the planes of stratification.

Block: See quarry block.

Block cutter: A machine used in the quarrying process for in-line drilling of small diameter holes.

Calcareous: Refers to substances containing or composed of calcium carbonate.

Calcite: A crystalline variety of limestone containing not more than 5% magnesium carbonate.

Dimension stone: A natural building stone that has been cut & finished to specifications.

Dolomite: A crystalline variety of limestone containing in excess of 40 percent magnesium carbonate as the dolomite molecule.



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Dressing: The shaping & squaring of blocks for storage & shipment. Sometimes called “scabbing.”

Gang saw: A mechanical device, also known as a “frame saw,” used to cut stone blocks to slabs of predetermined thickness.

Grain: 1.The main direction of the mineral composition & arrangement in stone; it is also the easiest direction of cleavage. 2. A very small particle of rock, such as a sand grain.

Granite: A very hard, crystalline, igneous rock, gray to pink in color, composed of feldspar, quartz, & lesser amounts of dark ferromagnesium materials. Gneiss & black “granites” are similar to true granites in structure & texture, but are composed of different minerals.

Greenstone: A metamorphic rock, typically with poorly defined granularity, ranging in color from medium-green or yellowish-green to black.

Joint: A space between installed stone units or between a dimension stone & the adjoining material.

Limestone: A sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcite or dolomite. The varieties of limestone used as dimension stone are usually well consolidated & exhibit a minimum of graining or bedding direction.

Marble: A metamorphic crystalline rock composed predominantly of crystalline grains of calcite, dolomite, or serpentine, & capable of taking a polish.

Marble (commercial definition): A cry-stalline rock, capable of taking a polish, & Composed of one or more of the minerals calcite, dolomite, & serpentine.

Metamorphic rock: Rock altered in appearance, density, crystalline structure, & in some cases, mineral composition, by high temperature or intense pressure, or both. Includes slate derived from shale, quartz-based stone from quartzitic sand, & true marble from limestone.

Mosaic: A veneering that is generally irregular, with no definite pattern. Nearly all stone used in a mosaic pattern is irregular in shape.



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Natural stone: A product of nature. A stone such as granite, marble, limestone, slate, travertine, or sandstone that is formed by nature, & is not artificial or manmade.

Onyx: A translucent, generally layered, cryptocrystalline calcite with colors in pastel shades, particularly yellow, tan, & green.

Pillowed: A tile finish that features softly rounded edges, thus giving the tile a pillowed look.

Polished finish: A glossy surface finish that brings out the full color & character of the stone.

Producer: Company or person that quarries & supplies dimension stone to the commercial market.

Quarry: The location of an operation where a deposit of stone is extracted from the earth through an open pit or undergrounds mine.

Quartz: A silicon dioxide mineral that occurs in colorless & transparent or colored hexagonal crystals or in crystalline masses. One of the hardest minerals that compose stones such as sandstone, granite, & quartzite.

Quartz-based stone: A stone that may be either sedimentary in formation (as in sandstone, or metamorphic, as in quartzite).

Quartzite: A metamorphic quartz-based stone formed in exceedingly hard layers. In some deposits, intrusion of minerals during the formation process creates unusual coloration.

Sandstone: See quartz-based stone.

Sculpture: The work of a sculptor cutting a three-dimensional form from a block of stone.

Sedimentary: Rocks formed of sediments laid down in successive strata or layers. The materials of which they are formed are derived from preexisting rocks or the skeletal remains of sea creatures.



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Serpentine: A hydrous magnesium silicate material; generally dark green in color with markings of white, light green, or black. Considered commercially as a marble because it can be polished.

Setting: The trade of installing dimension stone.

Slab: A lengthwise-cut piece sawn or split from a quarry block prior to fabrication.

Slate: A very fine-grained metamorphic rock derived from sedimentary shale rock. Characterized by an excellent parallel cleavage, & entirely independent of original bedding, slate may be split easily into relatively thin slabs.

Split: Division of a rock by cleavage.

Texture: Surface quality of stone independent of color. Travertine: A variety of limestone that is a precipitate from hot springs. Some varieties of travertine take a polish & are known commercially as marble.

Unit: A piece of fabricated cubic or thin dimension stone.

Vein: A layer, seam, or narrow irregular body of mineral material different from the surrounding formation.

Waxing: The practice of filling minor surface imperfections such as voids or sand holes with melted shellac, cabinetmaker’s wax, or certain polyester compounds. In the dimension stone industry, it does not refer to the application of paste wax to make surfaces shinier.

Weathering: Natural alteration by either chemical or mechanical processes due to the action of constituents of the atmosphere, soil, surface waters, & other ground waters, or by temperature changes.

Wire sawing: A method of cutting stone by passing a twisted, multistrand wire over the stone. The wire may either be immersed in slurry of abrasive material or be fitted with spaced industrial diamond blocks.



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12: ANNEXURE ANNXURE-1 COMMON TYPES OF MARBLE FOUND WORLDWIDE (absoluteastronomy.com)

Marble Color Location Country

Beijing White White China

Black Marble Basque Basque Country

Spain

Black Marble Debnik Poland

Black Marble Kilkenny Ireland

Boticena & Onyx(Green)

Pakistan

Brac Island of Brac Croatia

Brown marble Checiny Poland

Carrara marble white or blue-gray Carrara Italy

Connemara marble Green Connemara Ireland

Danby marble Danby Vermont

Durango Marble Coyote Quarry Mexico

Fauske Norway

Green Marble India

Katni Marble

Llano Pink Central Texas

Luni marble Luni Italy

Macael Spain

Macedonian Bianco Sivec

White Prilep Republic of Macedonia

Makrana Grayish white India

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/China

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Basque_Country_%28autonomous_community%29

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Spain

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Debnik

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Poland

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kilkenny

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ireland

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pakistan

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Brac

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Croatia

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Checiny

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Poland

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Carrara

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Italy

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Connemara

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ireland

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Danby%2c_Vermont

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Vermont

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Mexico

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Fauske

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Norway

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/India

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Central_Texas

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Central_Texas

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Luni%2c_Italy


http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Macael

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Spain

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Makrana

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/India



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Malagori White Pakistan

Nabresina Trieste Italy

Parian marble Fine-grained semi translucent pure-white

Island of Paros Paros

Greece

Penteli Marble Flawless white with a uniform, faint yellow tint

Penteli Greece

Proconnesus Marble

Island of Marmara Marmara

Turkey

Red Marble Ruschita Romania

Rouge de Rance Red Rance

Sivry-Rance

Belgium

Royal White White China

Ruskeala Marble white, gray, black Ruskeala Finland /Russia

Sivec Macedonian Bianco Sivec

White Prilep Republic of Macedonia

Tennessee marble Pale pink to cedar-red Knox, Blount & Hawkins Counties, Tennessee

United States

Thassos Snow white, White, Grayish white, White with pink veining

Island of Thassos Greece

Vencac White White Arandjelovac Serbia

Vietnam White Grayish White Vietnam

Yule. Uniform pure white Marble, Colorado Colorado

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pakistan

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Trieste


http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Parian_marble

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Paros

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Greece

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Penteli


http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Marmara

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Turkey

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ruschita

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Romania

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Rouge_de_Rance

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Sivry-Rance

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Belgium

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/China

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ruskeala

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Finland

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Russia

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Sivec



http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Prilep


http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Serbia

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Vietnam

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Yule_Marble

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Colorado



84

ANNEXURE 2 TYPES OF MARBLE (source: cdos-india.com)

TYPE Agaria

Ambaji Adanga

Ambaji Apollo Green

Ambaji Brown

LOCATION Rajnagar,

Rajasthan Ambaji, Banaskanth, Gujarat

Ambaji, Banaskanth, Gujarat


TYPE Ambaji Hindustan Green

Ambaji Panther

Ambaji White Ambaji White Second

LOCATION Ambaji,

Banaskanth, Gujarat




TYPE Andhi Indo

Andhi Modern Art

Baroda Dolomite

Baroda Green

LOCATION Jaipur,

Rajasthan Jaipur, Rajasthan

Dadigam Vanar, Vadodara, Gujarat

Bhulvan, Vadodara, Gujarat

TYPE Bhainslana Black

Fancy Brown Fancy Green (Bidasar)

Himalaya Grey



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LOCATION Kotputli, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Churu, Rajasthan

Churu, Rajasthan

Swai Madhopur, Rajasthan

TYPE Jhiri Onyx Katni White Koteshwar Adanga

Koteshwar Albeta

LOCATION Jaipur, Alwar, Rajasthan

Katni, Madhya Pradesh



TYPE Koteshwar Brown

Koteshwar Panther

Makrana Albeta

Makrana Doongari

LOCATION Ambaji, Banaskanth, Gujarat


Makrana, Nagaur, Rajasthan

Makrana, Nagaur, Rajasthan

TYPE Makrana Kumari

Morwar Olive Phalodi Pink



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LOCATION Makrana, Nagaur, Rajasthan

Rajnagar, Rajasthan

Kesariya Ji, Udaipur, Rajasthan

Phalodi, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

TYPE Rampura Black

Sea Green

LOCATION Sikar, Rajasthan Kesariya Ji, Udaipur, Rajasthan



87

ANNEXURE 3 PROMINENT CLUSTERS FOR PROCESSING & QUARRYING

OF MARBLE IN RAJASTHAN (cdos-india.com/rajasthan)

PROMINENT CLUSTERS FOR PROCESSING & QUARRYING OF MARBLE IN RAJASTHAN

Makrana • Makrana White was used in Taj Mahal.

• Makrana is now a developed marble centre with hundreds of marble quarries, modern slab & tile processing & stone craft units.

• Important varieties are Super White, Albeta, Adanga, Kumari, Doongri, Pink etc.

• Major centre for Marble handicrafts

Kishangarh • Situated approx. 100 km. from Jaipur, it is the major market outlet for stones quarried in Makrana & Rajsamand.

• About 300 modern gang saws

• About 2000 traders

• Edge cutting Machines - approx. 500

• Spread over an area of 15 sq.km.

Rajsamand • Deposits of a variety of white & grayish white marble like (Morwar, Agaria, Dholikhan, Arna, Jhanjhar, Dharmeta etc.).

• Quarries using diamond wire saws, chainsaws & handling equipment

• About 250 modern gang saw & 20 tiling plants

• Cluster spread over a stretch of 40 sq. kms from Nathdwara to Kelwa & Amet.

Udaipur • Deposits - over 100 million tons

• Rajasthan green - an export bonanza quarried from Rikhabdeo-Kesariaji, 60 KMs from Udaipur City. 650-700 mines in operation in & around Udaipur



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• Green Marble, Pink Marble, Onyx Marble, Black Marble, White Marble

• Indian Pink comes from Babarmal - 26 KMs from Udaipur City Babarmal Pink - a fine grain hard marble with black & white bands

• Fast developing modern quarries using diamond wire saws

• About 150 modern gang saw & 20 marble tiling plants

Banswara • A variety of white to off-white soft dolomitic marble (fine to medium grained).

• Rajasthan green - an export bonanza quarried from Rikhabdeo-Kesariaji, 60 KMs from Udaipur City. 650-700 mines in operation in & around Udaipur

Jaipur • With deposits of over 50 million tons, Jaipur has a variety of white & grayish white marble with important varieties being Pista, Onyx, Indo Italian, & Black. The quarries are currently non-operational due to environmental restrictions.

• Jaipur several modern gang-saw & tiling plants & is a throbbing trade outlet for exports & marble handicrafts.

Abu Road • Abu Road in the Sirohi District is a major cluster for processing of marble & is surrounded by extensive marble quarries around Selwara. It is also a processing centre for marble from Gujarat.

Churu • Bidasar in Churu districts is famous for its Forest Brown & Forest Green marble varieties.



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ANNEXURE 4 CATEGORIZATION OF RAJASTHAN MARBLE AS PER BIS 1969 (cdos-india.com)

CATEGORIZATION OF RAJASTHAN MARBLE AS PER BIS 1969

SR No.

Marble category District Areas

1 Plain white marble Nagaur Chausera, Ulodi, Pahadkua & Bhont mines in Makrana

Rajsamand Agaria, Puthol & Rajsamand

Sirohi Selwara, Serwa & Perwa

Jaipur Sandkotra

Alwar Jhiri

Banswara Talwara, Tripura Sundari

2 Panther marble Udaipur Daroli, Jaspura

Bundi Umar, Pagara

Jaipur Bhainslana

3 White veined marble Banswara Tripura Sundari

4 Plain black marble Sirohi Abu road

Jaipur Bhainslana

Udaipur Kela Kuan

5 Black Zebra marble Jaipur Bhainslana

Udaipur Rikhabdeo, Salumbar, Odawas, Masaron - ki- Obri, Gogunda, Jharol

6 Green marble Dungarpur Malsurta,Dachki Rohanwara, Dewal, Sabli Khanmin, Khemaru, Bicchiwara, Lolakpur & Dad

7 Pink Adanga marble Nagaur Rewatdungri – Makrana

Dungarpur Paloda

Ajmer Kayampura, Sawar

Udaipur Babarmal, Devimata

8 Pink plain marble Udaipur Babarmal, Devimata

Nagaur Makrana, Gunawati area

Pali Bar



90

CATEGORIZATION OF RAJASTHAN MARBLE AS PER BIS 1969

SR.No.

Marble category

District Areas

9 Striped marble

Nagaur Borawar Kumhari, Makrana, Kumhari, Matabhar, Kumhari & Chuck Dungri, Bilu-Mored Mines – Makrana

Dungarpur Paloda

Ajmer Sawar

Sirohi Selwara

10 Brown marble

Pali Bar, Bherunaka

Chittaurgarh Mandaldeh



91

Annexure 5 Questionnaire for processors First Name: ________ ________Last Name: ______ _________

Organization Name: __________________________________________

Phone Number: __________________________________________

Cell Number: __________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

Q: 1.What is your business cycle? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 2.Who all are your customers?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 3.What is your order cycle?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 4.How the bid between you & your suppliers take place?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 5.What is your contribution to your suppliers in terms of business?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 6.How much cost does it incur in the job work of marble?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 7.What is your turnover?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Q: 9.Questions or comments if any?

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________



92

Annexure 6 Questionnaire for quarry owners First Name: ________ ________Last Name: ______ ________

Organization Name: _________________________________________

Cell Number: __________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 2.Who all are your customers? __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 3.What is your order cycle?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 4.How the bid between you & your processors take place?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 5.What is your contribution to your processors in terms of business?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 6.What is your ex-factory cost?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 7.What is your turnover?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 9.Questions or comments if any?

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________



93

Annexure 7 Questionnaire for quarry owners cum processors First Name: _____________ Last Name: _____________

Organization Name: ______________________ _________________

Phone Number: ________________________________________

Cell Number: ________________________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 2.Who all are your customers? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 3.What is your order cycle? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 4.How the bid between you & your traders take place? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 5.What is your contribution to your traders in terms of business? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 6.How much cost does it incur in the job work of marble? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 7.What is your turnover? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 9.Questions or comments if any. ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________



94

Annexure 8 Interview responses of processors QUESTIONNAIRE#1

First Name: Manoj__________ Last Name: Lakhavat _______

Organization Name: Keshav Marbles ___________________________

Phone Number: 02974220161_____________________________

Cell Number: 9414398420______________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We have our contracts with mine owners for the raw materials supply & with traders who do the bulk buying from us. We buy the raw material from those mine owners & sell the finished goods to our traders.


Traders.


We take orders in advance from traders. Sometimes they demand for the material from specific quarries. We buy the rough marble blocks from those quarries & sell them that marble after processing it.


No bid.


No contribution.


Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 per sq. foot of marble.


9 crore Rs. P.A.


11% to 12%.




95

QUESTIONNAIRE#2

First Name: P.S.____________ Last Name: Bhait_________

Organization Name: Shrenath Stone Craft (P) Ltd _________________

Phone Number: 02974226225______________________________

Cell Number: 9414152248_______________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

There is continuity in our business. We buy rough marble blocks from quarries as per the contract with quarry owners & after processing them we sell it to traders who are under our contract.


For any processor, traders are their main customers.


We always have orders from various traders with whom we have contract & who purchase the finished materials as per their requirements. We supply the material accordingly.


No bid.


No contribution.


There is a fixed market cost for the job work on marble. It is around Rs. 650 per ton. Each ton of marble gives total 130 sq. feet material. So, that comes to around Rs. 5 per sq. foot.


6 crore Rs. P.A.


10% to 12%.




96

QUESTIONNAIRE#3

First Name: Raman__________ Last Name: Bansal__________

Organization Name: Elegant Marble & Granite Ind. Ltd_______________

Phone Number: 02974226587______________________________

Cell Number: 9828126588________________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

Quarry owners are our suppliers. We have our contract with them. We then sell it to our final customers, that is, traders.


Traders & builders.


For any processor, traders are his main customers. Quarry owners are also his customers but not for buying material but for the job work on marble but they are their suppliers.


No bid is required as the deal takes place as per the existing market price.


No contribution to each other.


It is usually around 650 Rs. per ton. That is the market rate all where.


5 crore Rs. P.A.


10% to 12%.




97

QUESTIONNAIRE#4

First Name: Rakesh _______ Last Name: Bhati ___________

Organization Name: Gujarat Marbles ____________________________

Phone Number: 02974226308______________________________

Cell Number: 9414208974________________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We are in to the business of selling marble slabs in bulk quantity after processing the rough marble blocks. We get the supply of rough marble blocks from various quarries. We process around 60 tones marble daily.


Traders.


We have our order for the material with quarry owners. We purchase rough marble blocks from them & sell the processed one to our traders.


No bid required. We both have the awareness of market price.


No contribution takes place.


Rs. 5 per sq. foot.


8 crore Rs. P.A.


11% to 12%.




98

QUESTIONNAIRE#5

First Name: Manmohan_______ Last Name: Dayma _________

Organization Name: Krishna Marbles ____________________________

Phone Number: 02974226684______________________________

Cell Number: N/A______________________________________ _________________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle? We have contracts with various quarries for the purpose of variety in products. We purchase rough marble blocks that we sell in the bulk quantity to the customers.


Traders.


Traders demand for a particular quality of marble. Since we have the material from various quarries with which we have contract keeping the traders’ demand in mind, we are able to deliver the finished products to trader as per their desired quality.


No bid.


No contribution.


Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 per sq. foot.


9 crore Rs. P.A.


11%.




99

QUESTIONNAIRE#6

First Name: Anil____________ Last Name: Yadav _________

Organization Name: Sky Marble P Ltd ___________________________

Phone Number: 02974226125______________________________


We purchase the marble blocks from quarries & after processing them we sell them to traders. The deal takes place as per our contract with quarry owners & traders. The business runs throughout the year on working days.


Traders are our prime most customers.


Our major & bulk purchasers are traders. Though even builders buy in bulk quantity but they are not as frequent as traders are. We usually have traders on the contract basis.


No bid is required. We deal as per the existing market rate.


No contribution at all to each other.


Around Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 per sq. foot. That is the normal charges levied everywhere for the job work on commercial grade material.


5 to 6 crore Rs. P.A.


Our margin is 10% to 11%.




100

QUESTIONNAIRE#7

First Name: Ashok __________ Last Name: Arya__________

Organization Name: Arya Marble & Granite P Ltd __________________

Phone Number: 02974226640 _____________________________


We buy a fixed amount of material from the quarry owner with whom we have contract & provide the finished goods to our traders.


Usually traders are our main customers but then domestic users & builders are also our customers.


We have some fixed traders who purchase the product as per their order.


The market rates are so known to both of us, so, no bid requires.


No contribution. It is just a simple deal.


There’s a fixed market rate prevailing all where, that is Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 per sq. foot.




10%.




101

QUESTIONNAIRE#8

First Name: Bachhraj _________ Last Name: Bhai__________

Organization Name: Tilok Marble Industries ______________________

Phone Number: N/A_____________________________________

Cell Number: N/A______________________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We have our contracts with mine owners. We purchase raw material from them, besides, we also do the processing job on marble for other marble producers. We have a daily requirement of 60 tones material.


Traders.


We have our contracts with traders & quarries where we buy materials from various quarries as per the quality demanded by traders. So, we have our deal with quarry owners as buyer & with traders as seller.


No bid.


No contribution.


Per 130 sq. feet it’s 650 Rs.


6 crore Rs. P.A.


10% to 11%.




102

QUESTIONNAIRE#9

First Name: Inder ___________ Last Name: Jain __________

Organization Name: Alpesh Marble (P). Ltd______________________

Phone Number: 02974226374 ____________________________

Cell Number: 9322889740______________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle? We buy the raw material from the quarry as per our contract & keep the fixed grain sized material for selling to traders who has advance booking with us.

Q: 2.Who all are your customers? Traders, builders & people who require it for flooring.

Q: 3.What is your order cycle? We do bulk purchasing of marble blocks from various quarries. We need to have huge stock available with us as we process around 60 to 70 tonnes of marbles daily. We deliver the finished goods to our traders who have their contract with us.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your suppliers take place? We do not require any bid. Market rate is applied in our deal.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your suppliers in terms of business? No contribution takes place in our deal.

Q: 6.How much cost does it incur in the job work of marble? 5 Rs. to 6 Rs. per sq. foot.

Q: 7.What is your turnover? 4 crore Rs. P.A.

Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin? 10%.




103

QUESTIONNAIRE#10

First Name: R.A. ____________ Last Name: Patel___________

Organization Name: Vimal Super Stone Pvt Ltd ____________________

Phone Number: 0274253443_______________________________


We have our own parameters for the quality of marble. We search for a quarry that has the material of that quality. We deal a contract with that quarry owner. We sell it to our bulk purchasers.


We usually have bulk purchasers among which traders & builders are our top prior customers.


We have our contracts with traders & quarries. We buy the materials from various quarries as per the quality demanded by traders. So, we have our deal with quarry owners as buyer & with traders as seller.


No bid requires.


We do not do any contribution to each other.


The normal market charges are 5 to 6 Rs. per sq. foot.


7 crore Rs.


10% to 11%.




104

QUESTIONNAIRE#11

First Name: Devendra ________Last Name: Agarwal ______

Organization Name: Abhishek Granite Pvt. Ltd.__________________

Phone Number: 02974226504____________________________

Cell Number: 9829465858_____________________________ _______________________________________________________

Q: 1.What is your business cycle? We have our contracts with mine owners. We purchase raw material from them & sell them to traders who book the order in advance. We daily have 4 to 5 trucks of finished goods of 15 tons each.


Traders, domestic users & builders are our customers.


We have fixed traders. They order us for some specific quality & size of marble & we deliver accordingly. Quarry names & quality are written on their ordered material. Process houses usually keep materials from various mines for variety in quality.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your suppliers take place? No bid.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your suppliers in terms of business? No contribution at all.


For only job work it is 650 Rs. per ton (each ton gives 130 sq. feet) & thus process charge are 5 to 6 Rs. for per sq. foot, & if the material is thick, it may go higher.


Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin? 10%




105

QUESTIONNAIRE#12

First Name: Kantilal__________ Last Name: Jain _________

Organization Name: Kalpak Marble (India) Pvt Ltd _________________

Phone Number: 02974226149______________________________

Cell Number: 9422035760_______________________________ __________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We buy the raw material from quarries & sell the processed material to traders. For that, we have contract with quarry owners & traders.


Traders, domestic users & builders.


We have the order booked for the processed marble from traders. We daily work on at least 60 tonnes of material. This is how we daily make 4 to 5 trolleys of marble.


No bid takes place.


No contribution.


Rs. 5 on a commercial grade material. It may be little higher depending on the thickness of material.


8 crore Rs. P.A.


11% to 12%.




106

QUESTIONNAIRE#13

First Name: Ajay _______ Last Name: Jain__________

Organization Name: Ajay Marble & Granite _____________________

Phone Number: 02974226624____________________________


We are the bulk buyer of marble blocks from quarries. We have our contract with traders who buy processed marble in bulk quantity.




Traders keep contract with us & we sell them the material as per their order. Builders & final customers also buy the marble tiles from us.


No bid.


Nothing.


That is around Rs. 650 to Rs. 780 for per 130 sq. feet. That depends on the thickness of material. Existing market rate is Rs. 650 per 130 sq. feet.




11%.




107

QUESTIONNAIRE#14

First Name: Harish___________ Last Name: R.Jangid________

Organization Name: Blueveneret Granites (P) Ltd __________________

Phone Number: 02974226500______________________________


We have our contract with a mine owner. We go to the quarry site; we book a particular area & the material that comes out from that area is ours & we buy the material that they dig out from that area. We then process that material & sell to our booked traders.


Traders have contract with us. Sometimes it is also the builders who buy from us but they hardly get in to any contract thing. On a small level, people for their personal use also buy marble.


For the supply of raw material we have our contract with quarry owners.


We do not need to bid.


It is supposed to be a very straight forward business so we do not have any sort of contribution to each other.


There is always a fixed marble rate for the job work on commercial material, that is, around Rs. 5 to Rs.6 per sq. foot.


4 crore Rs. P.A.





108

QUESTIONNAIRE#15

First Name: Sanjay___________Last Name: Chopra________

Organization Name: Satyam Marbles____________________________

Phone Number: 02974226652_____________________________


We have a quarry or some part of quarry booked & the supplier supply us the rough marble blocks from that part. We have the order for processed & finished marble slabs of various fixed grain size from traders. We sell them the material accordingly.


Traders who are in our contract. Builders & final customers.


Traders book contracts with us. We sell them the finished products as per their order. We deal with at least 60 tonnes of marble daily.


No bid.


No contribution.


Rs 5 is charged everywhere for per sq foot. Though the amount is calculated on the block of a ton which gives an output of around 130 sq. feet.


10 crore Rs. P.A.


12%.




109

QUESTIONNAIRE#16

First Name: Alok____________ Last Name: Goyal_________

Organization Name: Global Granimarmo Ltd_____________________

Phone Number: 02974226412_____________________________


Purchasing the raw material from quarries & selling the finished products to traders. Besides, we also do the processing job & we charge for that as per the existing rate in the market.




We keep various fixed grain size of marble. Usually we get the order from traders & too often from builders too. They buy the material as per their order. Typically, they buy the marble slabs of fixed grain size but sometime they do demand for customised marble slabs but that’s too rare.


No bid.


We do not have any contribution.


We charge around Rs. 650 per 130 sq. feet.




10% to 12%.




110

QUESTIONNAIRE#17

First Name: Ashok_______ Last Name: Malviya _______

Organization Name: Bhartiya Marbles __________________________

Phone Number: 02974222822_____________________________

Cell Number: 9414152350_________________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

Our business has the importance of these two persons, first, quarry owners & second, traders. We buy rough marble blocks from the quarry owners & sell it to traders.




We keep good quality materials of different varieties from various quarries & as per the demand of traders we sell the processed material to them. The entire deal falls under our contracts with quarry owners & traders.


No bid.


No contribution.


5 Rs. per sq. foot.


7 crore Rs. P.A.


11%. Q: 9.Questions or comments if any?



111

QUESTIONNAIRE#18

First Name: Mahavir__________Last Name: Singh_________

Organization Name: Shiv Shakti Marbles _______________________

Phone Number: N/A____________________________________

Cell Number: 9460261607_____________________________ ___________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

Quarry owners are suppliers & traders are our buyers through contract. That is how the business cycle runs for our business.


Traders.


There is always an advance booking by traders. We have at least 4 trolleys of total 60 tonnes.


No bid requires.


No act of contribution.


For only job work it is 650 Rs. per ton which gives 130 sq. feet.


10 crore Rs. P.A.


12%.




112

QUESTIONNAIRE#19

First Name: Harshad ________ Last Name: Chavda ________

Organization Name: Divine Stone _____________________________

Phone Number: 02971222424_____________________________


We are the bulk purchaser of rough marble blocks from quarry under a contract deal. We are also in to job work of marble. We keep processed marble for our bulk purchasers.


Mainly traders are our customers as they buy the material as per the contract. Builders also buy but they don’t come under contract, besides, there order is small in size.


We keep processed marble in the form of slabs & marble tiles for our purchasers, especially for the bulk purchasers, i.e. traders & builders. We sell to them as per their order.


No bid.


N/A. it’s a simple business.


Rs. 5 per sq. foot.


5 or 6 crore Rs. P.A.


10% to 11%.




113

QUESTIONNAIRE#20

First Name: Omprakash _____ Last Name: Tak__________

Organization Name: Ajanta Marble Granite _____________________

Phone Number: 02974226103____________________________

Cell Number: N/A_____________________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We process the marble blocks that we get from our suppliers, that is, from quarry owners and sell them to bulk purchasers.


Traders, & that again through contract.


Traders keep contract with us & we sell them the material as per their order.


Bidding is not required since the fixed market price exists.


No contribution takes place between us.

Q: 6.Ho much cost does it incur in the job work of marble?

It’s 5 Rs per sq. foot.







114

QUESTIONNAIRE#21

First Name: Rajesh _______ Last Name: Yadav ________

Organization Name: Dharti Dhan Marble _______________________

Phone Number: 02974226181____________________________

Cell Number: 9414373925_____________________________ ____________________________________


Buying rough marbles from quarries & selling bulk materials to traders as per their order.


Our main customers are traders. Apart from that builders & other small order purchasers too are our customers.


Traders book the order in advance & as per our contract with quarry owners we buy the rough marble blocks from them & sell that to traders after processing them.


No bid is required.


No contribution at all.


Rs. 5 per sq. foot.


8 crore Rs. P.A.





115

QUESTIONNAIRE#22

First Name: Ram____________ Last Name: Patel _________

Organization Name: Krupali Stone (P) Ltd ______________________

Phone Number: 02974226311____________________________


Buying rough marble blocks from quarry & after doing the job & finishing work on that selling it to the customers. This is typically supposed to be the business cycle of any processor.


For any processor in the business of marble, their biggest buyers are traders. Then comes builders & final customers.


We have processed & finished marble slabs. Those are the slabs out of which many of them are grained as per the traders’ order. They often demand for particular grain size materials out of some fixed grain sizes.


We do not need to bid. Suppliers get paid as per the market rate.


We do not have anything like contribution. Any contribution can be bad for our business though may be good for suppliers.

Q: 6.How much cost does it incur in the job work of marble? 5 Rs. is the fixed market price for the job work on per sq. foot. It may go up to 6 Rs. or higher depending on the thickness of material.

Q: 7.What is your turnover? 8 to 9 crore Rs. P.A.

Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin? 11%. Q: 9.Questions or comments if any?



116

QUESTIONNAIRE#23

First Name: Anil__________ Last Name: Bhora ________

Organization Name: Heena Marbles ___________________________

Phone Number: 02974226725____________________________

Cell Number: 9414153525_____________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We get rough marble blocks from various quarries bought on the basis of their quality. We process them in to fixed grain sized slabs & sell them to traders.


Traders are our main customers.


We load at least four trolleys daily. 3000 feet material goes in a truck that is 15 ton material in one truck.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your suppliers take place? No bid takes place between us. We deal as per fixed market rate.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your suppliers in terms of business? No contribution is required.


5 Rs. per sq. foot. Q: 7.What is your turnover?



11% to 12%.




117

QUESTIONNAIRE#24

First Name: Omprakash______Last Name: Jain___________

Organization Name: Shree Santinath Marble ____________________

Phone Number: 02974226624____________________________

Cell Number: 9414154756_____________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle? There is continuity in our business. We have to get the supply of rough marble blocks from our quarry owners to meet the demand of processed marble ordered by our traders. We process tones of marble daily.

Q: 2.Who all are your customers? Various traders with a demand of specific quality in finished marble. They book the order in advance & thus it is a contract between us. Builders & end users also purchase the finished product from us.

Q: 3.What is your order cycle? As a processor, we have various traders whose demands vary for the quality of marble. Thus, we keep materials of different quarries meeting their demand. The orders by the traders are given in advance, i.e. before we would have bought the marble block.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your suppliers take place? There is no bid.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your suppliers in terms of business? We do not do any contribution.

Q: 6.How much cost does it incur in the job work of marble? It is at least Rs. 650 per 130 sq. feet of marble.

Q: 7.What is your turnover? 9 to 10 crore Rs. P.A.


Q: 9.Questions or comments if any? Even local traders sometimes deal directly with quarry. If the material of marble is cracked we make it in to cut size.



118

QUESTIONNAIRE#25

First Name: Dilip___________ Last Name: Agarwal_______

Organization Name: Shree Mahendra Marble ____________________

Phone Number: 02974226299_____________________________


In the business cycle of marble, there are not more than three lifting, that is, from the quarry to process house, from process house to traders, builders & direct customers. If it goes to traders it has one more & the last lifting, that is, from trader to the end users.


Traders.


We get our order from traders & builders. We sell materials to them. Sometimes the order comes from various states too.


No bid.


We are ready to help our supplier from our side if they need any help but till date we didn’t have anything like contribution.


Around 650 Rs. for per ton of marble block.




12%.




119

QUESTIONNAIRE#26

First Name: Pamil____________ Last Name: Patel_________

Organization Name: Mahashakti (P) Ltd ________________________

Phone Number: 02974226281____________________________

Cell Number: 9414152259_____________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle? We have the daily requirement of tones of material. We sell the bulk quantity of processed marble slabs. We have continuity in our business.

Q: 2.Who all are your customers? Traders are our main customers. Besides, builders & those who require material for the domestic purpose, though in small quantity are also our customers.

Q: 3.What is your order cycle? We keep various fixed grain size of marble. Usually we get the order from traders & too often from builders too. They buy the material as per their order. Typically, they buy the marble slabs of fixed grain size but sometime they do demand for customized marble slabs but that’s too rare. We deal with traders under a contract.

Q: 4.How the bid between you & your suppliers take place? No bid at all.

Q: 5.What is your contribution to your suppliers in terms of business? No contribution at all. It is a crystal clear business. That’s it.

Q: 6.How much cost does it incur in the job work of marble? Around 5 to 6 Rs. on per sq. foot.


Q: 8.What is your revenue/margin? 10% to 12%.




120

Annexure 8: Interview responses of quarry owners cum processors QUESTIONNAIRE#1

First Name: Jaswant_______ Last Name: Trivedi________

Organization Name: D.K. Trivedi Marbles (P) Ltd _________________

Phone Number: 02974226459_____________________________


We have our own quarry & our own process house but we keep separate account for both the business. We sell the finished goods to traders with who we have contract.


Traders & rarely our material go for temple carving if the quality is good.


We do not require an order. We have our own quality of marble.


No bid is required as we know the existing market rates.


Sometimes a single trader buys the whole stock of material from us.


Total ex factory cost is 15 to 20 Rs. on Per sq. foot material (including transport charge) & for medium quality it is 27 Rs. Higher the quality, higher the ex factory cost (process cost remains the same for all material type).


5 crore to 7 crore Rs. P.A.


15% to 17%.

Q: 9.Questions or comments if any.



121

QUESTIONNAIRE#2

First Name: Sidharth_______ Last Name: Saraogi________

Organization Name: Shiv Kirupa Marbles & Minerals ______________

Phone Number: 02974226538_____________________________


We have our own quarry. We get rough marble blocks from our quarry & after processing & finishing it we sell them to traders.


Traders & builders.


We have our contract with traders who do the bulk purchasing.


No bid. We deal as per the prevailing market rates.


No contribution.


Around 15 to 27 Rs. on per sq. foot of marble depending on the quality of material.


Around 6 crore to 8 crore P.A.


16% to 18%.




122

QUESTIONNAIRE#3

First Name: Dinesh_______ Last Name: Garg__________

Organization Name: Shree Ambica Marbles Ind. __________________

Phone Number: 02974226428_____________________________

Cell Number: 9414153514______________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We are our own supplier since we have our own quarry. We process & do the finishing work on the rough blocks of marble. We then sell them to our traders.


Traders & builders. Rarely customers for temple carving.


We have our contracts with traders who do the bulk purchasing. We provide them the finished materials as per their order.


The deal takes place as per the market rates existing under this perfect competition scenario. So, no bid happens between us.


No contribution takes place between us.


It is 15 to 20 Rs. on per sq. foot of marble. It may go up as per the quality. Q: 7.What is your turnover?

7 crore to 9 crore Rs. P.A.


17% to 19%.




123

QUESTIONNAIRE#4 First Name: Sumit_______ Last Name: Jain______

Organization Name: Shreyansh Marbles Tiles Pvt. Ltd _________

Phone Number: 02974226004_________________________

Cell Number: 9414842008__________________________ ____________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle? We are in to the quarry & processing business of marble since we have our own quarry & marble processing industry. We get the rough blocks of marble from the quarry & we process them in our factory. We actually produce marble slabs out of it as per some fixed grain size. We then sell it to our booked traders.


Traders are our prime customers. Besides, builders & final customers also buy from us. Final customers sometimes also include those who need material for temple carving.


Traders are our bulk purchasers. We have our contract with them. We provide them the available material as per their order.


No bid takes place between us.


We do not have any contribution to each other.


Rs. 1950 to 2600 including transport charges on per ton of marble. It may go higher that depends on the quality of material.


Around 8 crore to 10 crore Rs. P.A.


18% to 20%.




124

Annexure 8: Interview responses of quarry owners QUESTIONNAIRE#1

First Name: Banwari _______ Last Name: Lal___________

Organization Name: Shree Dharam Marbles ______________________


We sell the rough marble blocks to the processors who are under our contract. Sometimes traders also buy the rough marble blocks from us.


Process house & trader. If the material is too good it may go for temple carving too.


Process house people come & order the material from some portion of the quarry area or buy the blocks. Often traders buy but it is too rare that traders buy from us.


No bid.




Total ex factory cost is 15 to 20 Rs. on per sq. foot material (including transport charge) & for medium quality it is 27 Rs.


Around 6 to 7 million Rs. P.A.


10%.




125

QUESTIONNAIRE#2

First Name: Jyoti_______ Last Name: Singh ______

Organization Name: Sumer Marbles & Minerals _________________

Cell Number: 9414206479____________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We are in to quarry business where we find the material in the underground of our mine. We dig out the blocks. We sell them to processors with whom we have our contract.


Processors (always) & often traders.


We deliver rough marble blocks to processors as per their order. Those orders are given in advance, i.e. before the availability of raw material.


No bid.


No contribution.


It is around 15 to 20 Rs. on per sq. foot including transport charges.


7 to 8 million Rs. P.A.


10%.




126

QUESTIONNAIRE#3

First Name: Shreeram _____ Last Name: Indra _______

Organization Name: Charbhuja Marbles _________________

Cell Number: 9414352851________________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We dig the quarry & get rough marble blocks which we deliver to processors. We need to do blasting as many times as it is required. We may even blast for 10 times in a year.


Processors. We have our contract with them.


We have our contracts with processors. They buy the rough marble blocks from us. We deliver the goods as per their order.


No bid.


No contribution.


It is 16 Rs. per sq. feet.


Rs. 9 to 10 million P.A.


11%.




127

QUESTIONNAIRE#4

First Name: Dalpat (Pappuji)_____Last Name: Singh ________

Organization Name: Anupama Marbles __________________________


We deal with rough marble stones. Usually one or two blasting is enough for getting the marble blocks for year but sometimes we have to do more blasting.


Processors.


Processors book an order in advance & when we have the availability of material after the quarry process, we deliver them the material.


No bid.




18 to 19 Rs. per sq. foot.


10 million to 11 million Rs. P.A.


11%.




128

QUESTIONNAIRE#5

First Name: Rupkumar _______ Last Name: Singhavi ______

Organization Name: Rupkumar Singhavi _________________________

Cell Number: 9413518410_______________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We do at least two blasting in a year, then the rough blocks of marble taken out from earth which are delivered to our customers, that is, processors. Though there is a long process of quarry which is more than just blasting & digging out blocks.


Processors.


Processors book an order in advance & when we have the availability of material after digging out the blocks from earth, we deliver them the material.


No bid takes place between us. It is not a business of bargaining.


We do not have any sort of contribution between us except this smooth business.


19 to 20 Rs. on per sq. foot material.







129

QUESTIONNAIRE#6

First Name: Rameshji _______ Last Name: Kumar________

Organization Name: Shreeram Marbles & Minerals _________________


We only sell the rough blocks of marble to the processors. We load at least three trucks of blocks daily.


Process house. They are our fixed customers as per the contract dealt with them.


Majority of orders for the material come from processors. The rest of the materials are sold to traders who sometimes directly purchase the material from us.


No bid.


We hardly ever required each other’s contribution in our business.






12%.




130

QUESTIONNAIRE#7

First Name: P.K. & Niraj_______ Last Name: Parekh ________

Organization Name: Sherwa Minerals Pvt. Ltd _____________________


We deal under the contract with processors. We deliver them the rough marble blocks. We daily load 3 to 4 trucks.


Process house & often traders too.


Processors have certain area of quarry booked with us. We deliver them the material that we get from that part of quarry.


No bid. We have our mutual understanding, known market rates. There is perfect competition scenario in this business. All these things make bidding irrelevant.


We do not have any contribution to each other.






10% to 11%.




131

QUESTIONNAIRE#8 First Name: Chandulal _______ Last Name: Patel ________

Organization Name: Digvijay Marbles __________________________

Cell Number: 9725078507______________________________ Q: 1.What is your business cycle?

We are the seller of rough blocks of marble to various processors. They have contract with us. We have at least two to three trucks.


Processors.


Process house people come & order the material for quarry part or buy a block. Often traders buy but it is too rare that traders buy.


No bid.


No contribution.






10% to 11%.




132

QUESTIONNAIRE#9

First Name: Gopal _______ Last Name: Modi __________

Organization Name: Vipul Marbles & Co.__________________________


We only sell the rough blocks of marble to the processors. We load at least three trucks daily.


Processors.


We get the order in advance from various processors before starting the quarry operation. We deliver them the marble blocks as per their booked orders.


No bid. In a perfect competition market situation like this, bidding is pretty irrelevant.


No contribution.






10% to 12%.




133

QUESTIONNAIRE#10

First Name: Babubhai (Abdul Rahim)_Last Name: Sultan _____

Organization Name: Akrigsha Marbles ___________________________


We get tons of rocks after blasting which we divide in to blocks & sell to various processors.


Processors are supposed to be our main customers. We do have other customers like traders but that is too rare.


Processors order for huge amount of materials from us. Besides, traders, builders & people for temple carving also directly buy the material from us but that is too rare.


No bid.


No contribution.






10% to 12%.




134

RESPONSE SHEETS RESPONSE SHEET-1

1. Name: - Abdul Latif Sultan

2. Centre: - IIPM, Ahmedabad

3. ID No: - ID: SS/04-06/AHD/MKTG/16(A)

4. The topic of Study: - Marketing strategies & distribution channels for marble industry

5. Details of Meeting: - Guide explained how to start thesis & to start with secondary data collection.

6. Date when the Guide was consulted: - 01/06/09

7. The outcome of the meeting/discussion: - Secondary data collection through books, internet & articles started.

8. The Progress of the thesis: - Formal details about mining business found through secondary sources.

Signature of thesis guide



135

RESPONSE SHEET-2





5. Details of Meeting: - Gathered some secondary data related to marble industry & showed to the guide & got suggestions from the guide to find out marble production & its market share details.


7. The outcome of the meeting/discussion: - Started collection of data according to the suggestions received.

8. The Progress of the thesis: - Data collected related to international market for marble through secondary data.




136

RESPONSE SHEET-3





5. Details of Meeting: - To search about business cycle for marble. Apart from that, also to find about recent updates and issues.


7. The outcome of the meeting/discussion: - Suggestions about marble traders received and how to find out details on the basis of that.

8. The Progress of the thesis: - Recent issues were found out as explained by guide. Also found out latest updates in marble industry and also data related to business cycle for marble.




137

RESPONSE SHEET-4





5. Details of Meeting: - The guide asked me to start with primary research and to prepare questionnaires about that.

6. Date when the Guide was consulted: -01/09/09

7. The outcome of the meeting/discussion: - Asked the guide about the questionnaire details to include.

8. The Progress of the thesis: - Prepared questionnaire as per the guidelines.




138

RESPONSE SHEET-5





5. Details of Meeting: - Showed the questionnaires if there are any changes required and if not then to get approval for the same to proceed with the primary details.

6. Date when the Guide was consulted: -01/10/09

7. The outcome of the meeting/discussion: - Got approval from the guide to proceed with the primary research.

8. The Progress of the thesis: - Started primary research and after completion of analysis decided to show it to the guide.




139

RESPONSE SHEET-6





5. Details of Meeting: -Meeting after final analysis was done & if any changes were required.


7. The outcome of the meeting/discussion: - Changes are done as per the guide’s suggestions.

8. The Progress of the thesis: - Final thesis is to be submitted.


27283698 Marketing Strategies and Distribution Channels for Marble Industry

Documents

q

pdf2007aprilindian20stone20industry

pkcdppdfclusterdiagnosticstudymarble15thmay20065b15d

papers092020indian20industry20

pabitra ranjan

phone number

phone number

middle east