Quartz

Engineered stone is a composite material made of crushed stone bound together by a polymer resin. It is used primarily for kitchen countertops. Related materials include geopolymers and cast stone. Unlike terrazzo, the material is factory made in slabs, cut and polished by fabricators, and assembled at the worksite. Engineered stone products are gaining in popularity. Virtually there is no difference in performance between quartz products and sealed granite. Engineered stone is also commonly referred to as agglomerate or ‘quartz surface’. Breton S.P.A, a privately held company of Treviso Italy, is the dominant supplier of equipment for making engineered stone. A mixture of 93% quartz and 7% polyester resin is pressed into slabs (or larger blocks) using Breton’s “vibrocompression vacuum process”.