Lantoom Quarry in Cornwall sources stone from four local quarries and processes it on site for use in construction. Production of stone from Cornwall's quarries fluctuates from year to year depending on demand but has declined since the recession. There is no local organization coordinating the stone supply chain. Most customers are local builders and individuals, though some stone is also sold nationally. While some research has been done on Cornwall's building stones, more could be done to promote their use and stimulate demand, such as encouraging the use of local stone in public and private construction.

1. WP2 : Identification des filières et des réseaux de professionnels
TECHNICAL SHEET MICRO- LOCAL SUPPLY CHAIN NATURAL
MATERIAL
INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD CROCKER,
MANAGING DIRECTOR, LANTOOM
QUARRY, DOBWALLS, CORNWALL
1. SUPPLY STRUCTURING
Can we find the material on the
territory?
Stone is quarried by Lantoom from four quarries in Cornwall;
 Lantoom and Westwood are sources of a building stone which is a form of slate,
used primarily for external facing of buildings
 Caradon – granite
 Gold Diggings – stone recovered from old quarry tips.
Lantoom are investigating the use of their waste product (slag) to create compressed
earth blocks as an alternative to insulating concrete blocks, of which there has been a
recent shortage. There is a potential market for a locally sourced, waste-based
alternative and the quarry are working with an expert at Plymouth University to develop
this.
The stone is quarried locally and processed on site at Lantoom. The granite and slate
materials are cut according to customer’s needs and processed to produce facing stone,
paving stone, walling, granite setts and aggregates. Around 75% of the stone sold by
Lantoom is Cornish.
Objective of the technical sheet:
 Analyse whether there is a micro
local supply chain or not,
 Identify potential constraints that
could hamper the development of
the use of targeted natural material
CONCERNED MATERIAL :
 EARTH
 STRAW
 HEMP
 CELLULOSE WADDING
 WOOD
 STONE
GEOGRAPHICAL SPACE
 BRITANY
 CORNWALL
 DEVON

2. WP2 : Identification des filières et des réseaux de professionnels
Lantoom also import stone from other countries, especially China and Brazil. They add
value to these materials by processing them in Cornwall and by providing advice and a
high level of service to customers, which they consider to be an important aspect of
adding value to the product.
Can we estimate the production capacity?
There are about 23 active quarries in Cornwall, refer to the Cornish Building Stone and
Slate Guide for details. Production of stone from the whole of Cornwall :
2007- 40,000 tons
2008 – 37,000
2009 – 30,000
2010 – 28,000
2011 – 10,500
2012 – 15,000
This high degree of volatility is a result of the recession in the construction industry. RC
expects to see a continued upturn in the 2013 and 2014 figures.
RC does not wish to give details for Lantoom’s production as this is commercially
sensitive.
Is there a natural material supply-chain organization?
No. RC does not see a particular need for a local association to aid networking or
organizing within the sector. There is occasional trade between the quarries, RC
sometimes buys from Delank quarry.
RC is just joining the national Stone Federation. This will give access to awards
(Lantoom is nominated for one) and advice.
Who purchase the materials?
Volume house builders, building contractors and the general public (finishes for self-build
projects, home improvements and garden projects).
By number, around 90% of customers are within Cornwall. Lantoom also sell nationally to
volume house builders, and by value, these non-local sales constitute around 50% of
Lantoom’s trade.

3. WP2 : Identification des filières et des réseaux de professionnels
Is there a collective organisation to pool the purchase of materials (ex: cooperatives,
etc.)?
RC is aware of independent builder’s merchants grouping together to bulk purchase
materials – e.g. RGB Building Supplies. They have not purchased stone from Lantoom in
this way however, it would be more for high volume materials. Independent builders do
not bulk purchase in this way.
Are there incentives to favour the development of production capacity of
companies?
Funding for apprentices.
Manufacturing advisory services.
Support from UKTI on working towards being an exporter.
Courses funded by EU Convergence funds. Unlocking potential.
Lantoom made a bid for capital funding from EU Convergence (Business Investment for
Growth) to buy machinery for processing, but were refused because it was processing
equipment and not extraction, which they thought was unreasonable. Quarrying is not a
priority industry for the Local Enterprise Partnership and RC does not expect to gain any
funding from EU investment.
RC believes publically-funded courses to develop skills are very important.
Are there research actions locally on the specific supply chain?
Cornwall Stone Guide produced by Cornwall Council. English Heritage produced the
Cornwall Building Stone Atlas.
Are linked made between researchers and companies?
2. LINKS BETWEEN THE VALUE CHAIN
What are the trades/engineering/companies and actors linked to the concerned
material?
Primarily the construction industry.
Is there an economic monitoring on the supply chain?
The Office of National Statistics monitor mineral extraction.

4. WP2 : Identification des filières et des réseaux de professionnels
Is there a label or a project of label on the concerned natural materials?
There is a ‘Made in Cornwall’ label, which RC is considering joining. RC thinks it is
important to get more information out to the public to inform their decisions about
products. Not all companies are very clear about provenance of materials and the public
don’t tend to know or ask about their origin – so if the information is put clearly in front of
them, this may influence their decision making.
3. STIMULATING DEMAND
Is there a control policy on the origin and quality of used natural material?
CE mark.
British Standard BS EN 771-6:2011 – “Determines the characteristics and performance
requirements of masonry units manufactured from natural stone the width of which is
equal to or greater than 80mm, for which the main intended uses are common, facing or
exposed masonry units in load bearing or non-load bearing building and civil engineering
applications.”
Is there an institutional and public communication to favour the use of natural
material in building on the territory?
No.
RC has many views on how demand could be stimulated, and the reasons why local
stone is not used more widely. He would like to see the use of local stone recognized as
adding value to a new house, and recognition of the durability and easy maintenance of
facing stone as an external finish. The additional build costs should be set against the
long term value of the property. He believes that designers and developers only cost their
developments based on size and location – there is no premium for quality of materials or
energy efficiency. By contrast in the Cotswolds, the use of local stone is encouraged and
attracts a premium.
In new buildings, the increasing requirements for insulation in walls are reducing the plot
space remaining for stone walls or stone facing. Cheaper insulation takes up a greater
proportion of the available wall depth (as opposed to thinner, more expensive insulation),
and is likely to limit any space left to add stone.
Targets from the Council for the use of local building materials within developments
would help. This would help the sustainability of supply and enable investment in
production capacity. At present, the industry has to absorb huge volatility in demand.
Lantoom has invested speculatively in production capacity in spite of this volatility.

5. WP2 : Identification des filières et des réseaux de professionnels
The recent recession has led to even greater consolidation of the house building industry
into the largest national companies. This is leading to even greater standardization and
loss of local distinctiveness.
The simplest way to encourage greater use of local stone would be for the council to
allocate more land for self-build development. This would keep much more of the
economic activity from house building in the county. Self-builders would be more likely to
choose higher specifications and local building materials.
Are there reference houses/buildings on the territory?
There is not a building dedicated to this use. The St Mellion golf and hotel complex is a
good example which is accessible to the public. Otherwise, RC will use photos of houses,
e.g. Hillstone, on the Lantoom website.
Are there incentive measures such as specific tax exemption?
Prior to April ’14, waste materials (e.g. quarry waste) were exempt from the aggregates
levy – (Aggregates levy is a tax on the commercial exploitation in the UK of rock, sand
and gravel), this exemption was lifted meaning the price of these waste materials
doubled and the volumes being used has crashed.