BOTTICINO marble is one of Italy’s outstanding resources. The La Scala Theatre in Milano, Grand Central Station in New York, Harrods department store in London and the Galeries Lafayette in Paris are just a few of the world’s famous landmark buildings that incorporate Botticino Classico Marble.
The history of the use of this precious stone began with the ancient Romans in the mountains east of Brescia.
It was between these mountains and more precisely in the municipality of Botticino Mattina, where the Valverde Cooperative is located. The Cooperative comprises 36 partners specialising in the sector of production, extraction and transformation of Botticino Classico Marble.
The Valverde Cooperative operates a concession in a quarry located in the centre of the production of the prized stone. It extends over 35,000 m2 and produces in excess of 30,000 tonnes of marble annually. From the quarry to the worksite, Valverde transforms the rough stone into polished slabs using processing techniques that are a combination of the latest industrial techniques and timeless craftsmanship.
Maurizio Fraboni, purchasing manager at the cooperative in Brescia, said, “We enjoy our work, that’s why we give it everything we’ve got. We don’t just sell blocks of marble, we sell Botticino Classico, finished and transformed. We have also created a mark of origin that certifies the physical and technical characteristics of the material, typically found only in the stone extracted in the municipality of Botticino.
“The mark is a guarantee of the quality found in the local production, and of the work process that respects the unique and inimitable characteristics of this marble.”
The Cooperative works on a commission basis for architects and designers worldwide. To meet its ongoing commitments, it recently purchased a new excavator from Case, the CX470C. This machine joined the existing fleet of six tracked excavators, and three tracked loaders.
“We needed an excavator that is safe, robust and stable as we carry a lot of loads on steep slopes,” Maurizio Fraboni added. “We were also looking for an excavator with optimum visibility, since visibility means safety, especially in our mountains.”
Excellent visibility is one of the main features of the cab on the CX470C. It features narrower crossbars that leave more space for the broad windscreen and four side mirrors, in addition to a camera monitor for rear view vision, and a second standard side camera monitor linked to a large colour monitor installed in the cab.
The monitor also provides an on-board diagnostic service that allows the operator to pre-programme the power, and the carrying capacity of the auxiliary hydraulic circuit, to a maximum of ten settings.
Even the dimensions of the CX470C makes it an excellent choice, as the excavators that operate in the Botticino quarries must be able to move about easily in tight spaces, as well as being powerful and robust enough to handle heavy-duty tasks.
The CX470C is successfully used in various operations: ground work, handling blocks detached from the mountain by explosives, and keeping the work area tidy.
Maurizio Fraboni added, “Our cooperative only purchases new units if our operators give us their vote of confidence for the machines.
“They need to feel secure about the units that they are asked to operate and the CX470C excavator offers the technology, the robustness and the stability necessary to put our extraction operators totally at ease.”
