GASPARI MENOTTI CEO DR. NORCINI TALKS ABOUT SUPER THIN WIRE SAWS:
The new trend in the natural stone industry is super thin wire saws. The idea that a wire as thin as 0.5 mm, coated with diamond powder, can cut through a marble block weighing tons is enough to leave anyone astonished. However, when you hear about the advantages of this new technology, that amazement doubles. The story behind it is quite interesting as well. After the production of solar panels, Chinese engineers aimed to minimize the loss of silicon and electrodes during the cutting process. Later, they applied this technology to magnets, metals, and semi-precious stones. Eventually, the thought arose: “Why do not cut large stones as well?” And so, Super Slim Wire Saws were born. When I spoke to the executives of the two giant companies in Xiamen that produce this technology—Chinese Huada and Italian Gaspari Menotti—I expressed my amazement: “Incredible…” Then, I sat down with Dr. Fabio Norcini, the CEO of Gaspari Menotti, and Efe Yeniev, the representative of the company in Turkey, at the Marble Trend stand, and we discussed the Super Slim Wire Saw technology.
“WE JOINED FORCES WITH HUADA”
I start by expressing how amazed I am by this technology to Dr. Norcini. He smiles, then begins to explain: “Two years ago, the claim that a stone could be cut with a 0.5 mm wire seemed unbelievable to us too. Today, almost 300 Super Slim Wire Saws are operating in China. There is currently a large demand from India. Within 6 months, we will see 50 more machines active worldwide, and the orders are already placed. Right now, 10 machines are being sent to Italy. In fact, this new technology offers an innovation that could completely change the natural stone industry. As soon as we saw this idea in China, we decided to invest in this technology and started production together with Huada. The new direction of the industry is this technology. It will spread everywhere.”
20% PRODUCTION INCREASE
Next, we move on to the advantages of super thin wire saws. Dr. Fabio Norcini emphasizes the production advantages first, continuing: “The primary advantage is a 20% increase in production. While a normal marble block can produce 79 slabs, with this technology, you can increase the number of slabs to 95. Especially for expensive stones, this production advantage allows for a much quicker return on investment. You can get the return on your investment within a few months. And that’s not the only advantage. In some countries, like my country, Italy, marble waste disposal costs a significant amount. We are seeing that the amount of waste is reduced by 20% with this technology, which means lower waste disposal costs and also helps protect the environment. Moreover, there is a significant advantage in energy costs. It almost halves the electricity and water usage. Its silent operation and the fact that it causes no disruption while working are also very important.”
“INAN MADEN STRENGTHENS US”
Now, let’s focus on Turkey. Dr. Norcini mentions, “Turkey is a very, very important market for us,” and adds: “We are proud to be one of the pioneers of this technology and the only European based company producing the super thin wire saw and we are aiming to bring this Chinese-born technology to the world. Turkey is one of the key markets for natural stone. We are very happy to have a strong, reliable, and close partner like Inan Maden. We are introducing one of Turkey’s significant companies to this technology. This is a great development for us. No one can swim against the current.”
“WE BROKE THE RESISTANCE IN TURKEY”
At this point, I finish the interview with Efe Yeniev, a board member of Inan Maden. He expresses their full confidence in Gaspari and its production quality and ends the interview by saying: “We believe our machine is one of the best. We discussed everything openly with our customers. Due to some past issues with Gaspari, there was resistance to the products we offered. It took some time to break this resistance. However, after selling our first machine, earlier this year, and seeing that it’s now operational in Turkey, everything will change. We will all witness this together.”
