History of the Galician granite industry

The granite industry in Galicia reflects the historical tradition of using granite in this region. The history of processing stone is as old as the history of the first people here: since megalithic times constructions in Galicia have used granite.

In the 70s the processing of granite began to be industrialised. In order to defend the interests of businesses in the processing industry, the Asociación Galega de Graniteiros was founded by Mr. Octavio Ramilo Portela.

Since then the extraction, processing, transformation and installation business has evolved into what it is today, one of the strongest, most consolidated industries of its kind in the world.

Today in Galicia, blocks of stone are sawn, cut or polished in modern plants which are the most technologically advanced in the world.

In these plants the stone quarried in the mountains is turned into end products such as tiles, façades or worktops.

These products are brought to consumers thanks to the work of builders, installers, marble setters and others, the professionals who bring the stone to the site of the construction project and install it.

Our transformation industry has replaced the work of the artisan who used to work the stone using simple tools with powerful machines that enabled our industry to make a great leap forward in the 20th century towards modern, mechanised processes.

In 2010 the Granite Cluster was set up to bring together the granite value chain. It is made up of companies in the following associations:

  • Asociación de Canteiras de Galicia (ACG)
  • Asociación Galega de Graniteiros (AGG)
  • Asociación de Maquinaria para la Piedra (GALIMAC)
  • Asociación de Marmolistas