The stonecutting market - France

Stonecutting is a set of techniques to form a preconceived geometric shape in a block of stone that is generally integrated into a cut stone device. It is an artisanal skill carried out by stonemasons who combine traditional methods and technical innovations In the value chain of the natural stone industry, cutting takes place after the stone has been extracted from the quarry and, sometimes, processed industrially, and before it is laid in buildings or roads. The stonecutting market is very localized geographically since the vast majority of countries have almost no recourse to it. The countries in which stonemasonry is widespread are therefore those which have both an important architectural heritage and natural stone as a raw material for construction. In France, this market is growing slightly, increasing by 1.3% per year between 2015 and 2019. Although descended from a thousand-year-old know-how, the stone-cutting market is in constant evolution. Today, it is driven by the ecological and aesthetic assets of stone, but also by the productivity gains made possible by the development of cutting robots and three-dimensional modelling tools. Finally, it is a highly fragmented sector with a multitude of small businesses. Among these, we can mention SFM Cochois, Bonnel or France-Lanord