No degree in social psychology is required to know that there has never been much love lost between the English and French. And nowhere has the absence of the entente cordiale been more pronounced than in the world of stonemasonry. But if UK producers are grumbling and pointing a disparaging finger at the French, it might well be that they only have themselves to blame. For was it not the shortsightedness of our own home-grown producers who let the French in in the first place, refusing to increase production during the late eighties boom and hiking up their prices instead?

"Certainly not", retorts, Chris Tottle, who represents the UK interests of the French hard limestone firm Guinet-Derriaz from his base in Bath.

"This is a popular misconception shared by man in the industry and is far from being the truth."

The first contacts between Guinet-Derriaz and British stonemasonry companies can be traced back to 1983 – although another 3 years would pass before entering into a major project. This was in respect of 8 Salisbury Square for EPR Architects and Land Securities – with limestone supplied from Guinet-Derriaz’s Farges quarry.

Timing, they say, is everything. For this was precisely the time when there was a demonstrable building boom in the city of London. Prices shot up as a result. For European companies such as Guinet-Derriaz, who

could demonstrate the same level of expertese and reliability as reputable British companies.

"This was the moment we had been waiting for", adds Guinet-Derriaz’s Commercial Manager Maurice Buisson, speaking from his offices in Montalieu, near Lyons. "We knew that there was an attractive market out there for us – and it’s been one which we have been more than happy to step into. In fact of our total company for 1998, that’s somewhere in the order of £13 million generated from our 14 quarries and 3 factories – approximately £1 million was generated from contracts based in the UK. And this is a trend that I would expect to see continuing. For us it was the long-awaited break in the clouds. The U.K. is one of the main European markets for us. And we remain confident that whilst 1998 has been slightly recessionary in terms of turnover, our figures for 1999 will be vastly improved. In my view our success is partly due to the high level of quality in our factories, to the exceptional physical and mechanical resistance of our hard limestones and to the rare beauty of our marbles."

"There were other advantages too", Chris Tottle chips in. "Limestones are permitted at 40 mm thick or 30 mm cast onto concrete. This gave us a distinct cost weight and handling advantage."

Most of the initial contracts were stone on precast concrete – but there then followed many others – notably Centrewest Hammersmith and Exchequer Court. In fact Exchequer Court was built twice after it was blown up by the IRA. Increasingly confident of its ability to operate within the UK, Guinet-Derriaz then moved into the external landscaping market with the British Library forecourt. And, after one of the most thorough and detailed selection processes, the company’s Rocheret Jaune was specified at both the Folkestone and Calais terminals of the Eurotunnel – surely the mother of all stonemasonry projects for a company anxious to develop links between Britain and France.

Needless to say the successful completion of this flagship project brought in a new generation of projects further afield, Britannic Assurance in Birmingham and the Bank of England’s premises in Manchester. Guinet-Derriaz then won their share of prestigious and technically difficult projects, including the stone and stainless steel post tensioned trusses on the facade of 111 Old Broad Street. The new Headquarters of Bank Paribas at Marylebone Gate is designed as a rain screen on steel windposts – another technical achievement of note. There were few surprises when the company won the interior of Marylebone Gate won the current Stone Federation Award for Interiors.

Dating back three generations – but now part of the Eiffage Group, Guinet-Derriaz produces limestone as well as a variety of French marbles. Its programme emphasises total control of production from the quarry right through to finished products. Anxious to plough profits back through investment, Buisson has seen oversaw the construction of a mobile building that can be moved with a crane to cover the diamond saws during the harsh winter months. Production is ‘modular’ to use their own jargon, which means that machines can be moved according requirements at any particular time. Other advances at the plant include the implementation of handling methods that employ a cupping glass system and the addition of several 60-blade Carl Meyer gangsaws with soundproof central control desk boards. As for waste and water control, the company installed a Marumo system at its main Montalieu plant. Additional equipment includes Senelonge gangsaws, a Hensel circular saw, Laiti Petronilli blockcutters, a Noat tile line, a Gregoril slab polishing line and Pellegrini cutting and flaming line and Pellegrini diamond wire saws. All of which makes Guinet-Derriaz one of France’s largest limestone and marble firms. And one of the most international – for apart from its projects in the UK, the company has participated in a number of prestigious projects around the world, including the City Plaza in Hong Kong, Kangham Tower in Seoul, Bally’s Hotel in Atlantic City, the Ritz-Carlton in Hawaii, the New York Hospital and the Beachwood Mall in Ohio.

The hard limestone quarries are found in the Rhone Valley between Lyons and Geneva. This deposit of fully recrystallised hard limestone yields high performance stones of a variety of colour. The Montalieu site covers 30 hectares storing Block and Slab cutting on two 60 blade frame saws and two block cutters on the tiling lines, with a wide variety of polishers, flame texture, boucharde and Hammer finishes available. A variety of secondary saws and edge detailers circular moulders are deployed to cover any complexity of work. And all of which is now regularted under at 1SO 9002 Quality Assurance. However, the company owns several marble quarries in the south of France – which provide unique coloured marbles such as Noir St. Laurent (black), Rouge Antique (Terra Cotta Red, Cevenol (Pink/Grey – marbles which are then worked at the Laurens factory just outside of Béziers in the sunny Languedoc-Roussillon region. These stone are particularly sought after for the luxurious decoration of villas, patios and bathrooms – hence the firms glitzy hit list of five-star hotels.

"For us the international concept is all important", Maurice Buisson affirms. "With France still struggling to emerge from the recession and with social charges that can be prohibitively expensive to many firms, we are eager to expand our presence in the UK, which to us seems to be a very good market with much promise for the future. However, we are convinced that the numerous projects born with the millennium are the cause of the present market growth. For these reasons we are very concerned to know how to maintain and renewed our level of orders in UK. The competition within the UK is becoming tougher: the number of suppliers from Europe and growing countries is increasing permanently - which often leads to a reduction in prices. Therefore, in order to maintain our activities we have decided to further increase the quality level of our production and services. That on its own is not enough though – we have to let people know that this is our plan of action for the future. That’s why we will increase our investment in both time and money for promotional activities. And we are counting on the next Stone Show 2000 at Wembley as a large support to complete our permanent basic promotion."

"You can accuse me of holding with the hare and running with the with the hounds if you will", Chris Tottle adds. "Many people do. But I would say this – that by making European stones available in the UK the entire industry has become stimulated – increasing demand and placing stone in new areas of the construction market. Stone upgrades our town centres, railway stations and airports; it is now expect in our shopping cathedrals. This would simply not have been possible with indigenous stones."

But what has been good for Guinet-Derriaz has been good for other companies too – and both Buisson and Tottle are quick to point out that one drawback has been the spawning of a fringe industry of companies moving sideways into stone as the market is seen to provide commercial opportunities. Which means that the widespread remaining of commonly obtainable European stones is working rather well for efficient marketing companies where architects are more interested in obtaining a quick delivered sample with an invented name to put in the specification – and without asking the price.

"We remain confident about our future prospects in the UK", Buisson concludes on an optimistic note. "We really mustn’t grumble about the fact that succeeds breeds competition – everyone knows that. We simply have to demonstrate that we are the best by pointing to what we have achieved in the past and indeed what we can achieve in the future. The millennium boom will come and pass. But I must admit that from time to time I do ask myself this question – that if too much money is spent this year, what will happen next year, once the last rocket has been fired, so to speak?"