Piedra, the Spanish word for stone is the name a company is banking on. Piedra Systems, Inc. has been in the business of manufacturing stone replicas, more popularly known in the trade as stone veneers or wall cladding stones, for 11 years now and the company is showing no signs of slowing down.

Keeping up with the trend

Architecture and construction nowadays are gearing towards the use of eco-friendly materials and processes with green engineering and green building being among the buzzwords of the industry.

In keeping up with this trend, producing stone veneers is already a foot in the door for Piedra. “Manufactured or engineered stone is a copy, a stone replica. We make close copies of original stone, which means we don’t quarry or destroy natural resources,” explains Alan Guzman, Vice President for Marketing and Sales.

As for its manufacturing process, the company does not use fiberglass for their molds; instead, Piedra uses high-end polyurethane rubber. “We don’t use fiber glass because [it] is a carcinogenous material, known to be a cause of cancer. Although the [material for our mold] costs a lot, it is a good investment,” added Mr. Guzman

Furthering Piedra’s move to adhere to “green” standards, the company is trying to join the Philippine Green Building Council after which, they hope to join another green group for Asia.

Export experience

Countries in the Middle East as well as Japan have seen Piedra’s products where the company has exported. Their negotiations with the Japanese market yielded in an order of 60 containers in a span of four years.

“[Our experience with our Japanese client] is a combination of a lot of things— quality of products, good production facility, ability to comply with their demands— but luck has a lot to do with it also,” shares Piedra’s Vice President.

Hoping to have a share of Japan’s booming renovation market, which is prompted by the economic recession, Piedra Systems, Inc. has signed-up to participate in the 31st Japan Home Building Show (JHBS) this coming November 11-13 in Tokyo.

Japan Home and Building Show

The Japanese home renovation market has been estimated to expand up to 33.9% by 2020. Instead of building new single houses, old houses are restored to better conditions in half the time and cost and local homebuilders are preparing to meet the market’s demand.

The Philippine participation in JHBS is led by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. “Through the Philippine participation in JHBS we hope to optimize the market awareness on the country’s capacity to export materials to serve the Japanese market,” this according to Ms. Malou D. Mediran, CITEM’s Officer-in-Charge.

Aside from participating in the 3-day trade show, which attracts around 95,000 visitors from all over the world, Piedra Systems, Inc., along with other local manufacturers: GT Stoneworks, EZ Rocks Co., Inc., Teresa Marble Corp., Nature’s Legacy, and Coast Pacific Mfg. Corp, will take part in a business mission in the Greater Tokyo Area where they will have pre-arranged meetings with big distributors and wholesalers of construction materials.

The last participation of the Philippines in JHBS in 2006 yielded total negotiated sales of over USD 3 million where the best selling products were wooden panels, rattan column, cladding, and furniture.

CITEM is still open to accommodate industrial goods manufacturers who wish to showcase their wares in JHBS. Participation is highly subsidized by the government. For more information, please log on to www.citem.gov.ph/jhbs2009 or contact CITEM’s Industrial Goods and Services Division at (+632) 8311268 or 8311201 locals 257 and 227 or email industrial@citem.com.ph.

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