La comarca almeriense del mármol: una economía centrada en un único recurso

El sector del mármol es el modus vivendi de la comarca almeriense que lleva su nombre y el subsector industrial más importante de la provincia de Almería. El artículo, tras situar geográficamente la Comarca y tratar de su infraestructura, da una visión general de las principales características del proceso productivo del mármol en sus distintas fases (extracción y elaboración) y de las peculiaridades del mercado del producto. Por último analiza la evolución que ha tenido la Comarca, sobre todo a lo largo de la década de los ochenta –en 1983 se inició un Plan de Actuación en ella–, tomando como base una serie de indicadores económicos.The marble business sector is the main business of the Almeria “marble region” and the most important industrial activity of the province of Almeria (SE Spain). The present article, first locates geographically the production area, then deals with its infrastructure, and provides an overview of the main features of the marble production process in its several stages (mining and processing) and of the peculiarities of the product market. Finally, the article analyses the evolution of the production area, particularly during the eighties (in 1983 an Action Plan was begun in this area) based on several economic indicators

Dos décadas de expansión en el sector español del mármol

El artículo analiza la evolución del sector del mármol en España durante las dos últimas décadas del pasado siglo. Dedica especial atención a Almería, principal provincia extractora. En este periodo la industria del mármol ha sufrido una profunda transformación; la incorporación de nueva tecnología, tanto al proceso extractivo como de elaboración, ha permitido fabricar un producto que compite en calidad con los mejores del mundo, lo que ha hecho posible que España, que es uno de los principales países extractores, aumente su penetración en el mercado mundial, a pesar de la cada vez mayor competencia internacional.The article discusses the evolution of the marble business sector in Spain during the last two decades of the last century. Special attention is given to Almeria (SE Spain), the main mining province. In this period the marble industry has undergone a profound transformation. The incorporation of new technology, in both the extraction process and in the later processing, has allowed the obtention of a final product that competes in quality with the best in the world. Such evolution has caused Spain, one of the major marble mining countries, to increase its penetration into the global market, in spite of the increasing international competition

El sector industrial III: La piedra ornamental

En el capítulo se analiza el subsector de la piedra ornamental (particularmente del mármol), uno de los principales dentro del sector industrial de Almería y uno de los pilares de su economía.In this chapter the industrial sector of ornamental stones (particularly marble) is discussed. This industrial sector is one of the leading business in Almería and one of the pillars of its economy

Desarrollo local: la comarca del mármol de Almería

El capítulo analiza el Plan de Actuación Global que se llevó a cabo en la Comarca del Mármol (Almería), entre 1983 y 1992, que fue determinante para transformar el sector del mármol y hacerlo competitivo a nivel mundial.The chapter discusses the Action Plan that was held in the district of Marble (Almería), between 1983 and 1992, in order to transform the marble industry and make it globally competitive

El mármol de Macael. Evolución de los medios de transporte

Aunque los productos de cantera tienden a emplearse cerca del lugar de extracción, en ocasiones, por su calidad, esta norma se rompe. Es el caso de muchas rocas ornamentales y, en particular, del mármol de Macael, demandado desde hace siglos para embellecer abundantes y significativas edificaciones. Los medios para el transporte el mármol han ido evolucionando con el tiempo. Hasta finales del XIX los carros de bueyes se empleaban tanto para llevar el producto desde las canteras a los talleres de corte, como para su traslado hasta el destino final o hasta la costa para embarcarlo. A partir de 1894 el ferrocarril comenzó a adquirir protagonismo para sacar el mármol de la comarca, y desde 1950 los camiones fueron sustituyendo a los carros para llevar el producto bruto hasta las fábricas de elaboración. Desde entonces el transporte por carretera fue ganando terreno en detrimento del ferrocarril, sustitución que fue definitiva en 1984 con el cierre de la línea férrea Guadix-Almendricos. Actualmente, el transporte por carretera es el medio habitual para llevar el producto a los destinos finales nacionales y europeos, y para su traslado a los puertos en los que se embarca hacia otros destinos exteriores. Quarry material is normally used near its extraction place. However, we often find that it is not the case, especially with decorative rocks. This happens to the marble from Macael (Almería, Southern Spain), which has had for centuries a great demand to beatify many significant buildings. The means of marble transport have evolved over the time. Till the end of the 19th Century, ox carts were used to carry the quarry material from the explotations to the cutting establishments, as well as to transport the processed products to its final destination or to the coast fot its shipping. From 1894 on, the train became an important means of transport to take the marble out of the region and since 1950 lorries have replaced the carts to take the quarry to the processing firms. Since then the road transport has become more important than the train. It was finally completedly replaced in 1984, when the train line Guadix-Almendricos was closed. Nowadays, road transport is the most common means of transport to take the product to its final destination in Spain and Europe, or to the ports where it will be shipped

Local development policy in the Marble Area in Almería

En Almería se encuentra ubicada la principal zona marmórea de España tanto por sus reservas como por su calidad. En torno a la producción, elaboración y comercialización de este producto se ha generado un importante sistema productivo local. En este artículo se analizan los planes de desarrollo local implantados en la Comarca desde mediados de la década de los ochenta del pasado siglo, y se muestran las repercusiones que han tenido en la mejora de la productividad y de la competitividad del sector en los ámbitos de la extracción, la transformación, la comercialización y la tecnología.The main marble area in Spain, regarding its reserves and quality, is located in Almería. Around the production, elaboration and trading of this produce, a relevant local production system has arisen. This paper analyzes the local development plans implemented in the region since mid 80’s. It also shows the impacts on a higher productivity and sector competitiveness in the extraction, transformation, trading and technical fields

The marble quarries of Macael. From “free and communal” to council property

La suerte de los habitantes de Macael ha estado unida al mármol desde tiempo inmemorial. El alcance del recurso desborda las fronteras locales: durante los últimos años del pasado siglo en el entorno de Macael se extraía más del 40% del mármol nacional, siendo España uno de los líderes mundiales del mercado de esta piedra ornamental. Este artículo analiza los cambios que se han producido en el sistema de acceso a las canteras desde 1573, año en el que se realizó el apeo de la villa de Macael, hasta la actualidad. Tras no pocas vicisitudes, en las que el pueblo de Macael ha tenido que defender la propiedad sobre las canteras, tanto frente a intereses particulares como de la administración pública, los bienes que eran comunales, y por ello de libre acceso para los lugareños, pasaron a ser propiedad del Ayuntamiento, que en la actualidad es también titular de la concesión de explotación del mármol, y la arrienda a los empresarios que desean extraer el mineral. The fate of the inhabitants of Macael has been closely linked to the production of marble from time immemorial. The scope of these resources transcended local borders during the latter part of last century; thus, in the last few years, the marble extracted from the surroundings of Macael accounted for over 40% of the national production, with Spain being one of the leading world producers of this ornamental rock. This paper analyzes the changes that have taken place in the quarry access system since 1573, when the town of Macael was surveyed, up to the present time. After many historical changes in which the people of Macael have had to fight for ownership of the quarries, both against private interests and public administration, the assets which were communal, and therefore freely accessible to the locals, became the property of the Local Council, which at present also holds the exploitation concession of the marble resources and the power to grant leases to entrepreneurs wishing to extract this mineral

La internacionalización del cluster del mármol de Almería y la multinacional Cosentino

En la década de los ochenta del pasado siglo se configuró en la comarca de Macael (Almería) un cluster industrial en torno a la extracción y elaboración del mármol. En el seno de este cluster se han seguido dos estrategias diferentes para abordar el proceso de internacionalización. Por una parte, las pymes han optado por la integración vertical a través de la cooperación intracluster. Y por otra, la multinacional Cosentino ha seguido una estrategia basada en la creación de productos exclusivos, la inversión en marketing y el control del canal de distribución.In the 1980s, an industrial cluster around the marble extraction and processing arose in the region of Macael in Almería (Southeast of Spain). Within this cluster, two main strategies for internazionalition have been followed. On the one hand, small and medium enterprises have integrated themselves vertically through an intracluster cooperation. On the other hand, the international enterprise Cosentino has specialized its strategy on the creation of exclusive products, marketing investment and the control of the distribution channel

Recursos endógenos mineros y desarrollo territorial. El caso de la comarca del Mármol (Almería, España)

La comarca del Mármol, en Almería, posee el mayor yacimiento de España de esta roca ornamental. Gracias a los planes de desarrollo de las últimas décadas del pasado siglo, es de los pocos territorios interiores de Andalucía con una destacada actividad industrial y que ha conseguido fijar la población. El clima empresarial generado ha impulsado la investigación, apostando por la calidad y abriéndose al exterior, y ha introducido en el mercado nuevos productos no basados en el mármol, que son de gran ayuda para la sostenibilidad de la actividad económica. El distrito industrial que conforman estas empresas ha evolucionado, ajustándose a las circunstancias y mostrando una elevada resiliencia. Economic globalisation and the resulting proximity between countries and regions, have not only failed to obliterate local areas, but have indeed highlighted their relevance. In parallel with the evolution of the globalising process, and in numerous cases, the territorial dimension has increased in value, as a necessary pillar for progress and for the benefit of the population, driven by development programmes, in which endogenous resources and sustainability are paramount. One of the bases of this process lies in the rescue by Becattini of the Marshallian industrial district, which explains the success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is specialised production systems. In the north of the Almería province, in the Filabres mountain range, exist the greatest marble quarries in the whole of the Spanish territory, both in terms of volume and of quality the set of towns and villages located in the area where this natural resource is extracted and processed is known as the Marble Region. The best known variety is Macael white marble, which has been quarried since the first centuries of our era and has been used to beautify a vast number of constructions, among them the Alhambra in Granada and the Monastery of El Escorial. From an analysis of the history and evolution of the marble industry in the area, the following landmarks need to be highlighted. Until the end of the first third of the 19th century, marble was a communally owned asset, which led to the proliferation of a number of very small quarries. The transition to private ownership and therefore to local council management, was unable to stop the surge of smallholds, from which other problems derived, such as the use of poor technical means and the chaos caused by waste/rubble dumps, characteristics that have plagued this sector for almost a century and a half. During the first decades of the second half of the 20th century, extraction was carried out in many quarries with very small fronts, by reticent entrepreneurs who were reluctant to invest, since their rights to open shaft mining had a time limit, established in the permit granted by the local council, which was the owner of the terrain and of the mining concessions. This is one of the reasons which explain why nearly all quarry workers/entrepreneurs were local, with hardly any presence of capital from outside. The marble processing panorama was very similar; small factories and workshops predominated with a reduced capacity for production and dated machinery, unable to supply demands for quality and quantity, and thus with scarce commercial potential. As the decade of the 80s started, the marble industry, weighed down by its own internal problems, worsened due to decreasing demand and to the precarious economic situation in general, had sunk in a deep crisis. In those years, public administration in agreement with agents and local institutions, and counting on their total involvement, set in motion several local development plans that proved to be crucial in modernising the marble industry in Macael. In 1983, an Action Plan was initiated and in 1996 a Strategic Plan. The industrial restructure undertaken changed the entrepreneurial scene completely. In the extraction area, the Plan Director de la Sierra de Macael (Macael Mountain Range Director Plan) introduced “business units” —areas of similar characteristics consisting of several quarries— which by unifying various tasks, allowed for a more rational mechanisation, improved continuity in marble supply, better organised enterprises and increased safety. A vastly improved use of resources, together with lower extraction costs, increased the lifespan of the marble deposits (Carretero, 1995: 345-346). With regard to product transformation, the restructure laid down the foundations for resizing the companies and updating the technology; many microenterprises that produced building materials and were hardly able to compete with any success were re-orientated towards craftsmanship. Besides tackling the problems of the companies and their infrastructure, the plans also considered people, promoting training and so an optimistic atmosphere was created, with expectations that spurred the initiatives of many entrepreneurs and encouraged common initiatives. Thanks to these strategies, local development, which until then had been a crowd of quarries, was transformed into an industrial district with great drive and resilience. When the 20th century gave way to the 21st, other definitely competitive advantages were added to the comparative advantage of possessing a unique natural resource, (research and innovation, qualified and specialised staff, very high quality finished products, marketing channels). The district had ceased to be an extraction centre to become a product processing and transformation centre, both from local and external quarries, which reduced their dependence on local raw materials and acquiring higher value and better offers. In this process, international expansion has played a vital role, based on research and innovation carried out by one of the companies, Cosentino, during the decade of the 80s and that would become a world leading firm for artificial agglomerates, hardly using any local raw materials. Around the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, the composition of the district is very different from what it was 20 years ago. A great dominant enterprise, Cosentino, has made it presence felt, producing an income level from the factory located in the area that represents 90, 8% of the whole district, around 12 small enterprises, of which only 4 employ more than 20 workers and have a relevant external projection, and a pack consisting of scores of microenterprises, which in many cases carry out work for the ones previously mentioned. Although Cosentino carries a lot of weight in the district, around del 95% of its billing is due to artificial agglomerates (Silestone, Dekton…), which places it in a particular situation, since the activity of the other companies revolves around marble extraction, processing and transformation. Besides the employment it generates, Cosentino’s decision to maintain its headquarters and a considerable part of its activities within the district has had a highly positive impact, like the support and collaboration it offers other companies in different areas or its involvement in educational or sociocultural projects, etc. Furthermore, because of its size, it is the main funding entity of professional institutions and associations of which it is a member and has attracted important public investment that has improved services and infrastructure. On the other hand, the firm commitment of the leading companies to offer a first class product, together with their on-site location, and their efforts to increase their presence in outside markets, has developed activities in collaboration with smaller companies, a situation which is yielding very positive results. Recognition of Macael marble, as protected geographical indication (PGI) which is currently being processed and is expected to come through in the near future, will guarantee its high quality, facilitate product differentiation and protect it from dishonest competition. Regardless of the difficulties that this activity has encountered through time, due to the long standing link of the district inhabitants with the marble industry that has spread through centuries, it has a strong socio-territorial component, with an important presence of supporting activities, a highly specialised labour market with firm social and cultural connections. All these occurrences, which remind us of the Marshallian district, where “the mysteries of the trade become no mysteries, but are as it were in the air and children learn many of them unconsciously” Alfred (Marshall, 1890: 198 The Principles of Economics), a theory that can be matched with no difficulty to the properties that Becattini attributes to industrial areas, “socioterritorial entity characterised by the active presence of both a community of people and a population of firms in one naturally and historically bounded area…the community and the firms tend as it were to merge” (Becattini, 1992: 62-63). As it has occurred in other cases, the evolution of the district has led to the surge of a great enterprise in its midst, in this case, a multinational leading company in its products, which at the same time drives the whole set up and hardly uses any local raw material in its preparation process. On the other hand, history reflects the high capability and resilience demonstrated by the district’s population. There are several issues that cannot be disregarded when considering the future of the area and of the socioeconomic development of the Marble Region. These appear to depend on Cosentino’s prestige and relevance. What would happen if it failed? What long-term measures could be taken to minimise the impact of a possible decrease in activity? Due, for example to the relocation of part of its activities? It is important to bear in mind that Cosentino is at present a first generation family business

Origen y evolución del distrito industrial de la piedra ornamental en Almería

Marble extraction has been carried out constantly in Almería since the first centuries of our era till nowadays. In the 1980s a radical change regarding its extraction, processing and marketing took place. It was then when the marble industrial district emerged and was characterised with a great dynamism. This chapter analyzes the generation process of the industrial district as well as its evolutionary dynamics. Previous features of a mining agglomeration are described. It is shown how the setting up of the industrial district took place and the latest version of its configuration is depicted with the presence of a local multinational (Cosentino). This case study confirms how mining activities can evolve into the dynamics of an industrial district; it also shows the components which give the industrial district a great resilience.La extracción del mármol en Almería es una actividad que se viene desarrollando de forma continua desde los primeros siglos de nuestra era hasta la actualidad. En la década de los ochenta del pasado siglo se produjo un cambio radical cuando, en torno a la extracción, la elaboración y la comercialización de esta piedra natural, se conformó un distrito industrial que proporcionó a la actividad un gran dinamismo. En este artículo se analiza el proceso de generación de este distrito industrial y su dinámica evolutiva. Se presentan los antecedentes de lo que era una aglomeración minera, se muestra cómo fue el proceso de conformación del distrito industrial y se expone su configuración más reciente, caracterizada por la presencia de una multinacional local (Cosentino). El estudio de este caso constata cómo a partir de actividades mineras se pueden configurar dinámicas propias de un distrito industrial y muestra los componentes que le dotan de una gran resiliencia