USITC Staff Report: Quartz Surfaces from India and Turkey staff report USITC | Page 21

Manufacturing processes 36
Most domestically produced quartz surface products are made by using a patented
production process and machinery developed by Breton S.p.A. of Italy (“Breton”). 37 There is
mixed usage of Breton and Chinese quartz slab production technology in Turkey and India. 38
Chinese manufacturing processes have a greater reliance upon manual labor to produce quartz
slabs with “marble‐like” appearances. In contrast, Breton manufacturing uses robotic arms with
attached sprays to create the intended aesthetic effects.
Quartz surface products are composed of three input ingredients: aggregates, binding
agents, and additives. Aggregates account for 93 percent of the mass in a quartz surface. 39 The
aggregate materials are quartz and silica minerals. The quartz and silica come from siliceous
natural stone materials or man‐made materials, such as glass or ceramic materials. 40 The
binding agent used in quartz surface products is a polymer resin. Additives are other stone
materials for pigmentation or larger particles of glass or metal flecks for visual effect. Additives
make surfaces more aesthetically appealing by allowing quartz surface products to exhibit
various colors or patterns.
As shown in figure I‐2, non‐fabricated slabs of quartz surface products are manufactured
in a nine‐step process. Slabs are then transformed into fabricated quartz surface products
through the fabrication process.
36
Unless otherwise noted, information in this section is based on Quartz Surface Products from India
and Turkey, Investigation Nos. 701‐TA‐624‐625 and 731‐TA‐1450‐1451 (Prelim), USITC Publication 4919,
July 2019, pp. I‐13‐16.
37
Several U.S. quartz slab producers do not use Breton technology. Some whom have imported
quartz manufacturing machinery from China. ***.
38
***.
39
CaesarStone, "CaesarStone Quartz Surfaces: Fastest Growing Choice For Stylish, Durable, Kitchen &
Bathroom Countertops," Newsroom, March 27, 2006,
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/newsroom/press‐releases/caesarstone‐quartz‐surfaces‐fastestgrowing‐choice‐for‐stylish‐durable‐kitchen‐bathroom‐countertops/
(retrieved March 9, 2020).
40
Quartz and silica materials are plentiful, constituting 12 percent of the Earth’s crust. Mottana,
Annibale, Rodolfo Crespi, and Giuseppe Liborio, Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Rocks and Minerals, edited
by Martin Prinz, George Harlow, and Joseph Peters. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1978, pp. 244‐
246.
I‐15