Ceramic plus natural stone why not?

HG Commerciale is the biggest Swiss building merchant organization with 40 locations throughout the country. Of these 40 locations, 17 meanwhile also have displays of building ceramics under the brand name Sponagel. The two managers for natural stone and ceramics, Marc Sommer and Franco Palladino, comment on the combination under one roof.
STEIN: Mr Sommer, the ceramic department of your company offers materials that look almost exactly like your stones.
Marc Sommer: Such ceramic products actually exist. They are the result of a complex and very capital-intensive technology. It says a lot for natural stone that the ceramic industry has invested a lot of money in marketing for many years and also advertises with natural stone copies, but without causing the ratio of ceramic to natural stone floorings to change. It is, however, disturbing that many well-known trade names of natural stones are simply transferred to the ceramic products.

STEIN: Is your company not competing with itself in offering both ceramic and natural stone?
Marc Sommer: No, natural stone is an addition to ceramic for us. Our typical tiling customer lays between 60 and 80 per cent ceramic and between 20 and 40 per cent natural stone. Our natural stone department accordingly offers tiling contractors wall and floor slabs of natural stone to supplement ceramic tiles.

STEIN: What distinguishes the ceramic customer from the natural stone customer?
Franco Palladino: Arguments such as durability and ease of cleaning count for the private customer. These customers are put off by floor coverings that need extra impregnation after laying or are sensitive to acids. The price is not important, as attractive polished ceramic costs the same or even more than natural stone of similar appearance. In the property sector, in which we are also very active, the general contractors price specifications usually leave little scope for natural stone coverings. Here the architects ideas can be realized very well with special building ceramics.

STEIN: The bathroom has grown strongly in importance as living and experience area. What is happening in this segment?
Marc Sommer: The trend is away from cool, styled and polished granite to the limestones with their warmer appearance. Light beige tones as well as earth-coloured to brown are particularly popular. The customers come to us with very firm ideas on colours and materials, but also in terms of the matching fittings. The natural stone salesman must therefore widen his horizon and also look at the related branches of industry to sense the needs of developers and architects. We therefore always show natural stone applications for bathrooms in combination with fittings from well-known manufacturers. This upgrades the product natural stone on the one hand and conveys consulting competence on the other.

STEIN: Ceramic and natural stone togetherCinstead of against each other. Is this the future?
Marc Sommer: This is certainly true for us. Franco Palladino and I accompany some projects together from the samples stage through to installation. A typical example was the erection of a block of 42 exclusive flats in Zurich last year. Ally stone company supplied the natural stone for the living area and terraces and the ceramics for the bathroom units and all the staircases. The architect, developer and tiler had to deal with only one supplier and each had a competent partner for both materials. Franco Palladino: We decided on this step and our experiences until now have been favourable. However, this only works for the ceramic dealer if he has a natural stone specialist in the company.

STEIN: Does this not call for rethinking, a departure from »material patriotism?
Marc Sommer: Tilers have less fear of natural stone than the natural stone companies have of ceramics. The tilers contribute a lot towards the increasingly widespread use of natural stone for interior finishing. These companies handle natural stone just as naturally as ceramic tiles or mosaic glass.Franco Palladino: The natural stone companies could also regard ceramic as an opportunity and an extension of their own range. Decisive is what the customer wants. A natural stone company could often do extra business with a ceramic floor. If the business relationship exists with the planner or developer, one should not simply turn a deaf ear.