According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, the stone industry, like other businesses, is closely related to supply and demand. With a relative slump in the construction market, stone has long been plagued by a shortage of demand, and its production has taken a conservative and declining path; Thus, the production units of this industry in the two main parts of the mine and the processing plant have faced problems with cost and working capital and labor shortages.

Supply and demand in the domestic market, given the construction process and the multiplicity of personal and government development projects, lead us to the best strategy to stay competitive, reduce costs, maximize productivity and strive to maintain the existing conditions.

Samat newspaper talked to Siamak Akhtari, the international consultant in the field of stone, about the importance of paying attention to the stone market, what infrastructures should be activated, how capable we are in this field and what measures we should take for economic development in the stone sector.

What is the meaning of infrastructure in Iran's stone industry and what are our conditions in this regard?

To succeed in a production business, we need a set of factors, which include raw materials or raw materials, efficient, knowledgeable, specialized and experienced workforce, production tools including machinery and equipment, and finally marketing and export facilities. Infrastructure is the basic foundation of creation, movement and production; In other words, we are considering the basic tools for achieving a production goal here. According to the statistics presented in the inter-class dialogue circles, we come across these expressions: why have we not succeeded in achieving the export goals and the growth of the stone field ?! Finally, a series of thoughts and criticisms lead to the fact that we do not have the proper infrastructure to achieve export goals and the growth of the stone field; Therefore, the analysis and critique of the infrastructure debate in the field of stone industry is an important issue.

How capable is Iran in the field of stone and how much do we benefit from the expert force?

Iran is one of the top five countries in the world in terms of quantity and quality in terms of resources and raw stone; Therefore, there is no need to further explain and expand this category. In the matter of efficient, knowledgeable, expert and experienced manpower, we have no doubt about the flourishing Iranian talents; Not as a slogan, but today in Iran and around the world, this issue has shown itself in the form of a statistical community, and we are witnessing the widespread attraction of Iranian professional and committed forces in world-renowned organizations and projects. Of course, in Iran, the core of the efforts of efficient forces is more tangible in the face of oppressive sanctions in the world of domination.

What is the main challenge of the stone field?

The main challenge in this area focuses on two axes, namely production tools and providing marketing and export sales facilities. In the discussion of production tools, the efforts of Iranian mining machine makers are commendable. In the meantime, we need to reflect a little on the views that cast doubt on domestic production potential and undermine technical and industrial self-confidence. Iran's stone industry does not include mining, processing, sawing, calibrating, slab and tile production machines are more complex than the steel industry. At present, with the care and efforts of the domestic capable in the most complex technical sensitive points, we have not only overcome the problems, but in some cases we have also enjoyed a special international position. The export of steel products to developed and developed countries with special technical standards confirms this claim; Therefore, by planning and relying on domestic power, we can realistically prove that Iranian stones, after the process of domestic production, have been able to attract the opinion of strict customers in the field of export in a desirable way.

It is said that we do not have a proper infrastructure, what is your opinion?

This has no logical criteria. To better understand, it is enough to study the evolution of industry in Turkey and China. Turkey, with national planning and support, is now fully self-sufficient in the production of processing machinery. With 98% of stone processing exports, China is a clear example of self-confidence. Obviously, unwritten dictation is not wrong. We must also take steps for self-sufficiency with the help of local artisans as well as culture-building in the stone industry family with the help of large mining organizations and companies. I emphasize that we are not facing a major problem and a big obstacle in this regard. But the lack of infrastructure is due to the weakness of export orientations. This is the most sensitive and key part of the story of the country's stone industry. Considering the approach of the majority of production units to domestic markets, it can be said that attention to exports has been neglected. If we examine, we will see that in successful export cases, we see attention to the list that has been compiled in the medium and long term and a specific organization has succeeded with a specific strategy and program. Measures such as forming export consortia, forming specialized export companies Going to the target market by looking for a local business partner, starting a company and having a support warehouse in the target markets and benefiting from market research and consumer culture information and current market rules are all on this list. The success of companies requires strategy, reflection and planning.

How much do we spend on marketing?

Achieving goals requires considering a cost basket. The issue is the need to invest and accept the risks in a short period of time. Methods such as searching for a business partner and signing a foreign partnership agreement are shortcuts to this rule. In this way, marketing can be easily reviewed and implemented in a short and medium term. Having strong competitors in the market and creating easy access for the customer is a business advantage in the building stone export markets, which means that we have to spend on marketing and export sales. We have mental problems before we get into infrastructure problems. We need to think more about our beliefs, our confidence, and our reliance on our inner strength. In this process, we need to strengthen the self-confidence of the Iranian stone industry. From the cultural aspect and the exchange of ideas to the field of decision-makers, the country must pay attention to this important issue. I believe that taking difficult paths and achieving export goals in the stone industry is not unexpected.