Stone and Marble Industry in Palestine

Transcription

1 Stone and Marble Industry in Palestine Eng. Maher Hushaysh The Executive Director The Union of Stone and Marble Industry Euro-Mediterranean Industrial Cooperation: Developments and Opportunities in Raw Materials Management Brussels: October 2012

2 Palestine Stone Industry overview The main industrial sector Represents % 4.5 of the GDP 1500 establishments 300 Quarries 600 Cutting Factories 600 workshops employees $ 600 M USD of investments Annual sales of $ 450 M USD

3 Quarries / Raw material Supplies Huge reserves ( estimation of $ 30 BN USD ) Annual production of cubic meters 2000 employees Good quality raw material Different colors ( white, red,yellow, grey,cream, )

4 Quarries : situation analysis limited knowledge of the quarry sites lack of planning in the quarry exploitation lack of planning in the location of the waste dumps high production of waste due to the limited thickness of the productive layers ( north West Bank )

5 Quarries : situation analysis cont. poor infrastructure ( electricity and roads) lack of concern for the environmental and safety hazards lack of coordination between related institutions ( GOV. & NGO. )

6 Quarries : situation analysis cont. licensing process 1. Submitting application to Natural Resources Dept. (NRD) 2. The NRD contacts related GOV. agencies 3. GOV. agencies start processing the application,and visit the site ( separately ) 4. GOV. agencies reply to the NRD (usually it takes long time ) 5. If all answers from the GOV. agencies is Ok,the NRD issues the permits, otherwise note.

7 Quarries : needed initiatives conducting geological survey modernize the licensing process improvement of infrastructure planning for the location of waste dumps exploitation at a sustainable manner ( the responsibility of all )

8 Limited thickness of the exploitable layers

9 Chaotic location of quarrying sites

10 Closeness of the quarries to the residential area

11 Calcium carbonate powder and sludge coming from the processing factories

12 Processing factories more than 600 factories workers high productivity per employee comparing with other industrial sectors strong self-imposed industry Annual production of finished stone and marble is 19 million square meters

13 Processing factories :situation analysis old and inadequate technology lack of machinery for the finishing phase power and water supplies not reliable lack of efficient waste water treatment facilities high waste (sludge and scraps)

14 Processing factories :situation analysis cont. poor product mix (mainly traditional products, like building stones) lack of conformity to international product standards lack of awareness about the concepts of quality and environment very poor packaging limited management and marketing expertise

15 Processing Factories : required initiatives upgrading machineries and production lines, especially for the finishing phase providing firms with waste water recycling units ( filter presses ) capacity building of firms Environmental management system Marketing Quality

16 Sedimentation polls for the water recycle

17 Manual finishing of building stones

18 Scraps of various size coming from the processing phases

19 Closeness of the processing plants to the residential area

20 Markets Distribution The total value of annual sales is $450 million. 65% of the stone sales goes to Israel, 20% to International markets and 15% to the local markets. A large percent of the stone sold to Israel is re-exported to international markets.

21 Export Achievements List of countries importing the Palestinian stone and marble ( more than 60 countries in 2011 ): International (USA), Canada, Belgium, United Kingdom,Italy, Germany, France, Turkey, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Russia and many others Regional United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, and Israel

22 The Union of Stone and Marble Industry The Union of Stone and Marble (USM) was founded in 1996 The Union is a non-profit organization located in the holy city of Bethlehem (HQ), and two 3 regional offices in Hebron, Nablus, and Jenin USM is a membership based organization Represents about 500 firms within the Palestinian stone industry

23 Objectives To represent the interest of its members in this sector To sustain the standard level of production to maintain a competitive edge To adopt and promote high quality standard product To expand sales in new International markets To develop the sector by adapting the latest technology To reinforce the role of the USM, as a resource center for information on Palestinian stone industry

24 Stone and Marble Cluster Geological studies Business Supporting Agencies (GOV. & NGO.) Accredited lab. Natural res. Dept. quarries Processing plants Local suppliers for Machinery Spare parts transportation transportation Educational & Training Agencies Maintenance Services Packing Companies

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