The popularity of Indian sandstone is growing fast. Indian sandstone industry is growing day by day. Now, a lot of exporters are there who export their quality goods to far off countries. Let's have a look on indian sandstone industry.


Processing
Simple edge cutting machines with single and double cutters have been used near the deposits or even in the processing centres where the exporters have their own factories. During the last few years the trend had been to calibrate these tiles in thickness of 10 or 12 mm with one side natural and the other calibrated. Some traditional machines for calibration have also been developed recently, they are very cheap and are mostly used for reducing the thickness of tiles.

Finishing
Once the sandstone is obtained it has to be processed further before use. The typical processing involves four operations, which are

• Dressing
• Cutting/Sawing
• Surface Grinding and Polishing
• Edge-Cutting-Trimming.

Present applications
In India sandstone has a wide application. This is extensively used in residential houses, office buildings, commercial complexes, hotels, restaurants and special monuments. Artefacts made of stone - screens, fountains, pedestals, columns, arches, balusters, railings – are also very popular. Some architects from Riyadh are very much fascinated with Indian sandstone architecture. They want century old stone art to be revived today.

Domestic market
As, sandstone provides beautiful look, some of the architects in India started using sandstone for cladding in residential houses, commercial buildings and hotels. Sandstone honed tiles and dressed stones became popular for exterior applications. While bigger pieces have been used for special applications, the waste material of cut to size and dressed stones is sold in the form of strips, tiles, etc.

The demand for sandstone slabs and tiles as well as veneering stones has also been increasing every day. The main advantage of using these stones has been negligible maintenance. The consumption of sandstone has been increasing and different applications in different designs are being made.

Export
Items made of sandstone have extensively been exported to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and U.S.A. In the entire Middle East - Oman, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – products of sandstone are great in demand. Many Indian architects have used sandstone carved materials in residential villas in these countries to give a perfect look to the house.

Major producing areas
Excellent quality of sandstone quite suitable for building purposes are found in Andra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujrat, Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. Rajasthan is the major producer of sandstone in India. There are a group of quarries near Bari Railway Station in Bharatpur. Besides the stone is also quarried from Jodhpur, Bundi, Madhopur, Bikaner, Kota, Bilwara, and Sawai districts. Madhya Pradesh is yet another major sandstone producing area. The sandstone for building purpose is quarried from Bilaspur, Damoh, Indore, Nimar, Rewa, Raigarh, Satna, and Shahdol. Sandstone of Rewa series of Vindhyan system near Hoshangabad find extensive use as flagstone for making roofings. Some of the sandstone obtained from Vindhyan are so homogeneous and soft that they are capable of receiving a most elaborate carving and filigree. The red sandstone from Vindhya was utilized in building the Red Fort, Qutab Minar, Jama Masjid, Akbar's palace in Fathehpur Sikri, and a part of Taj Mahal.

The future
It is true to say that only skill produces best artefacts. Small tools are also used these days so as to reduce the manual labour. However, for making large number of pieces, mechanisation to some extent is also required.
Proper interaction of foreign architects with Indian companies can help a great deal in achieving this objective. The time has come when a complete project can be made in India and given to the client in its preferred shape and form. This would provide a lot of value addition and would also help in reviving the talent of artisans in a significant manner.