Tiles

Background

Portuguese marble tiles are probably the first type of marble finished product to be exported. The manufacturing was simple and there was a market demand from several countries, therefore several Portuguese manufacturing companies specialized on this type of finished product for export with standard dimensions and thicknesses. However and with strong competition from Chinese and Turkish factories, some companies had to close, while others had to change their speciality, working today on standard-size tiles for export.

There are today far less companies in Portugal producing tiles as a standard product to create stock, but instead what we see are companies producing tiles on demand. Also as a by-product, where slabs not suitable to be sold as slabs because of size or some problem, are then processed into tiles. There has been a growth in this sense, with tiles being produced as a by-product of slabs or other finished product. Or simply to use blocks that are less suitable for other finish products.

MARKETS

Despite these market trends, Portuguese marble tiles are still on high demand and production is relatively high, for supply for both local market and for export.

The main markets for the export of Portuguese marble tiles are the USA, several European countries and the Middle East. While the indisputable market leader is for many years the USA, there is a growing demand from European countries for Portuguese marble tiles.

There is also a considerable market in North Africa and some Middle East countries, particularly for low grade and affordable material.