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Natural beauty: The Kiwi company bringing innovative lightweight stone cladding to the industry

featuring The Natural Stone Co.

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Through some Kiwi ingenuity, Central Otago schist and a saw, Island Stone’s Peter Flint developed a way of cutting and formatting this quintessentially New Zealand stone so that it could be applied as a cladding rather than laid as solid stone. Fast forward more than 15 years, and the company’s portfolio of New Zealand stone claddings has grown considerably.

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This dose of innovation came shortly after Peter and Michelle Flint purchased Island Stone NZ from one of the company’s international founders in 2005. Seeking a locally sourced product to add to its range, and following 24 months of product development and testing, the brand’s lightweight schist cladding was brought to market.

One of the team’s early projects was to supply and install over 3,000m2 of Central Otago schist at the Hilton Hotel in Queenstown up to heights of 15 metres – an unforgettable project for Peter.

“And that pretty much started the journey into quite an extensive range of local New Zealand stone cladding solutions,” he says.

In the early stages there were a few eyebrows raised at the idea of a lightweight New Zealand stone cladding – how to install it, if it would work, was it still the ‘real thing’? But over time, consultation, collaboration, and a lot of hard work building a total solution, the company has seen a growing acceptance throughout the industry – from quarries and stone masons through to builders and specifiers.

This is reflected in the growth of both the variety and volume of New Zealand stone cladding that Island Stone sells. From its modest beginnings, the company’s portfolio now includes Central Otago schists from a number of quarries, North and South Island limestones and a range of other North Island stones including Auckland Basalt. New Zealand claddings now account for approximately 70% of the business.

Island Stone’s unique method of cutting and formatting New Zealand stone means it can applied as a cladding rather than laid as solid stone.

More than just the stone

“One of the things I feel really proud of is that we haven’t just focused on the product itself. We’ve developed and tested a full system that includes everything from the installation of the watertight substrate to the execution of a quality high-end cladding solution,” says Peter.

Able to be used in interior and exterior settings, for both residential and commercial projects, all of the New Zealand cladding products are paired with extensive documentation that details how the product can be specified and installed with the company’s own cladding system.

“It’s critically important for designers, architects and specifiers that they have the information readily accessible and in usable formats so that they can actually incorporate it into their design,” says Peter, explaining that this streamlines the process for consenting with councils.

“We can demonstrate through the documentation that our system complies.”

Te Kuiti Limestone Cladding is another of Island Stone's products – warm in tone, it is a popular choice for both interior and exterior projects.

A local touch

Specialising in manufacturing with local materials, Island Stone doesn’t face the challenges of distance and dealing with global shipping and supply chains – a big plus when it comes to lead times, particularly in the current climate.

“There can be delays in getting the raw material from the quarries and in processing the stone. We’re not immune to labour challenges, especially at the moment. But at least the product is here and in the country, that’s a big thing.”

It’s no surprise then, that the demand for Island Stone’s New Zealand cladding products only continues to grow.

“We’re uniquely focused on developing local stone products for a discerning end user market in New Zealand and we’ve built a lot of relationships – we’re not trying to do it on our own, we are collaborating and playing to our strengths.

“Good relationships are really important – with the quarries, stone masons and the architects and designers who specify our products. We’ve worked really hard on developing these and we intend to keep doing so.”

And it doesn’t end there for Peter and the Island Stone team.

“I think there is plenty of scope to continue building the range of domestic products on the back of our successful cladding operation.

“There are endless opportunities.”

Explore Island Stone's New Zealand cladding products on Archipro. 

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