Slabs

Background

The market of Jura limestone export slabs has a certain volume and representation on the overall export of Jura limestone. Slabs are not the most demanded finished product for a variety of reasons. Slabs production in Germany is more expensive than in other countries with similar limestones. In addition, blocks are not very large (can be long, but are quite short), which may increase transport costs. All-in-all, German producers are not entirely specialized on slabs production and see this as a complement to their regular activity.

Demand is mostly triggered by specific countries that do not have their own gang-saw facilities and therefore buy the least manufactured product, which are slabs. It is also stimulated by specific projects that require slabs for more elaborated manufacturing at the local level before installation.

Limestones

All of the variations of the Jura limestone have a certain representation in terms of slabs export. However, from all the variation we can highlight the Jura Beige Light, Jura Beige Dark and Jura Grey. There is a less representative demand for Jura Beige vein-cut, which is seen as a special type of stone.

Slabs are normally exported with 2cm and 3cm thickness, with several surface finishes such as polished, honed, sandblasted + brushed or bush-hammered.

Markets

The main export markets for Jura limestone slabs are several Middle East countries, such as Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. There is also a growing demand from some Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan or South Korea.  All these are countries that do not have a well-developed slabs manufacturing structure and therefore need to buy slabs as least manufactured product.

Other markets with a certain level of demand are the USA, Brazil or Mexico.