For Marcos Cajina, Granada Tile‘s founder and president, the vibrant colors and rich textures of his native Nicaragua’s natural world provide a constant source of inspiration. His love of the landscape around him also means that he takes his company’s impact on the environment very seriously.
To begin with, we ensure that our cement tile production process uses as little energy as possible. Instead of using an energy-consuming kiln, all of our concrete tiles are sun-dried and -cured. We also make sure we use hydraulic energy sparingly. Recycling plays a big role in our philosophy—both as a way to conserve precious natural resources and as a way of doing our part to avoid clogging landfills. For starters, that means that we have devised a manufacturing process that creates very little waste. Every drop of water we use in our production process gets re-used. We salvage and recycle our metal molds. Loose cement gets swept up and reused too, and any concrete tiles that don’t pass our rigorous quality standards get broken up and used elsewhere. Sand leftover from production gets incorporated to construction projects on site. Even the boxes we pack our finished tiles in are recyclable.
We also avoid releasing toxins into the world around us. To cut down on our footprint, we use materials (sand, limestone and soapstone) from local sources, thereby limiting the amount of cardon dioxide released into the air from transport. We achieve slip resistance without the use of acid chemicals and use pigments from naturally occurring iron oxides. And our products never contain lead. Finally, because we hold our cement tiles to such high quality standards, they last for decades. Should they ever be removed, our concrete tiles can be broken up and reused for paving. So when you’re considering a tile installation of your own, consider Granada Tile’s cement tiles. Not only are they beautiful and versatile, they’re also made with the best interests of our natural world in mind.
