The Business
The crafting of blocks and capping stones needed to restore South Canterbury’s beautiful old bluestone buildings and bridges was the seed that eventually grew into the formation of Timaru Bluestone Industries Limited. A vision was conceived for a plant fabricating basalt products for the creation of truly New Zealand heritage buildings and cityscapes for future generations.
The company was born by making pavers and kerbing for the Timaru City CBD, with the company being incorporated in 1995. Since its inception great importance has been placed on immaculate quality, timely delivery and reliability that exceed customers’ expectations.
With extensive detailed knowledge and experience in the industry, the Timaru Bluestone Team has proved an invaluable source of practical advice for architects, designers and tradesmen.
The Material
From the eruptions of Mt Horrible to the west of Timaru flowed lava rivers that cooled into long bluffs and ridges of a blue/grey vesicular basalt rock, run through with veins and features the equal of which is not found anywhere else in New Zealand. Each piece of rock is unique and creates a product that is unaffected by weather, is low in maintenance, non slip and will last for generations. It is naturally beautiful, genuinely New Zealand and its versatility is unparalleled.
Architects, civil engineers and town planners are becoming increasingly aware of this wonderful and versatile stone, and the seemingly endless applications for it. As it continues to be specified by these designers for new and prestigious projects, a lasting heritage is being established in our country for generations to come.
Bluestone Applications
Timaru Bluestone is perfect for a wide variety of architectural and landscaping projects
Our Customers Say
I have used Timaru Bluestone on various public and private projects over the past 15 years. I rate Timaru Bluestone as the premier NZ paving and cladding product. Its physical attributes are very good and appearance second to none. I highly recommend Timaru Bluestone’s suite of products.
Timaru Bluestone is a local stone with unique visual characteristics, which allows us to create stunning bespoke stone features for our clients.
Our Facilities
Our Bluestone Quarry
We are fortunate to operate our own bluestone quarry about 15 minutes drive from our fabrication site in Timaru City. The quarry operation employs two full time staff to meet the supply requirements of our factory. Equipment at the quarry consists of a drilling rig, a 45 tonne excavator and two purpose built quarry saws that cut the extracted boulders into billets. These billets when delivered to our factory can go directly under one of the large slab cutting diamond saws.
Plant and Machinery
The processing of Timaru Bluestone requires the use of diamond cutting machinery. We have several computer controlled diamond saws that are central to our day to day stone fabrication, we also have an automated calibration and polishing line, a stone lathe capable of producing columns up to 800mm diameter, a huge guilotine for our natural face units and several manually operated tools and machines to assist our skilled workers in the manufacturing processes.
