For the safety and best logistical means of transport for your slates, Moinho Company works with shipping services as a means of simplifying your import processes and our export procedures. For the safety during transport and to avoid any damages to our slate we use carton and wooden boxes for slate packing.

In this article, you will learn how the import process of the Brazilian slate works. Check the topics:

• Slate slab finishing, production, and inspection
• Slate packing
• Slate importing from Brazil
• Why you should import with us

Slate slab finishing, production, and inspection

Our process involves the slate slab quarrying, finishing, production, and inspection. Starting with opening the layers of slate, we can ensure that each slate goes through an individual inspection process.

Some factors we evaluate are the surface and the ability to split the stone. This way, we are able to see if a particular slate is eligible to convert into a slab.

We mostly use Black or Pure Black (a more uniformized type of black) as the colors of the slabs. Each selected slate slab has a size of above 2200 x 1200 mm up to lengths of 2900 mm. Smaller sizes or a combination of different sizes is possible as well.

While splitting them up using the natural splitting lines from inside the layers of the slab, each surface is wholly and meticulously checked on imperfections.

After that, the slabs will have thicknesses of around 2,5 or 3,5 cm. Then, the slabs will enter the calibration phase, grinding the back of the slabs with a circular diamond disc, giving them an even thickness of 20 mm or 30 mm.

The grinding of the slabs in the calibration phase will put a bigger amount of force into the slabs, getting rid of any interior damages under this pressure. If it passes the calibration, a second inspection is made for side and surface imperfections.

The slabs can either be kept with their beautiful and natural surface or get their visible surface polished for a more smooth and harmonic appearance.

The last phase consists in cutting the sides of the slabs in straight lines to form slabs of approximately 2350 x 1350 mm.

Moinho can offer several surfaces: Natural, Honed or Anticato finishing for smaller slabs. Anticato finishing is as well highly resistant against scratches just as the natural surface. The honed surface is more sensible for scratches and should be treated with a resin or sealer to be more resistant.

Slate packing

After checking the factors mentioned before, we go to the slate packing process.

We are aware of how standard plastic packaging can contribute to environmental irreversible impacts and damage. Taking this into consideration, Moinho uses ecological Ellioti pine wood from renewable forests and reused plastic to produce the safest eco-friendly types of crate for your slate.

The slates are installed and protected by wooden frames at the base, the sides, and the top. Extra wood is applied around the corners of the wooden frames.

This type of packing guarantees all the slates are pressured and don’t create friction between them. Before that, if needed, we wrap the slates with reused plastic sheets for extra protection inside the wooden frames. These are applied in between the slate slabs to protect them from impacts.

As our customer, feel free to ask for our special packing and surface possibilities. We highly appreciate our customers’ suggestions, recommendations, and innovation to make improvements in our packing process. For more information, check this link!

Slate importing from Brazil

Moinho has its own export structure and container loading area in the large harbor located in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. It is the largest harbor in South America, and has all the direct lines to major ports worldwide. Transit time runs around 2 or 3 weeks. Normally the shipping companies take a few days to print and release their original Bill of Lading and other documents which we send the same day scanned per email.

Moinho has its own export department inside the harbor. Our team handles all the documentation necessary and the direct interaction with port and customs authorities. This way we can process the documents as fast as possible.

Scanning every document, our staff can act immediately to inform our customers worldwide to make sure no delays happen in receiving all necessary documents for the releasing of the containers in the port of arrival.

All secondary documents such as packing lists, loading pictures, and certificates are sent simultaneously.

Why you should import with us

As mentioned before, Moinho is a slate company that considers a sustainable quarry excavation program, an eco-friendly production plant with renewable energy sources from solar and hydro power, and sustainable forests for packing, in this way minimizing any negative environmental impact as a crucial factor in its operations.

We are aware of how human impact on nature creates a series of pollution and destruction of fauna and flora, and we believe strongly in more sustainable construction habits. Using our natural stone in buildings, which are made without chemicals and with clean and simple industry steps, will create lower impact in the construction chain and leads a path to a cradle to cradle way of our future housing methods.

Aiming to encounter new ways of ecological building, Moinho presents itself as a solution. We make sure to inspect every building material, considering its naturality, dimensions, characteristics, production process, and the stone’s lifecycle and re-usability.

Our slate is about 1 billion years old, which is one thousand million years, and is one of the oldest materials in the world, on our planet. It is low in calcium due to the absence of shells and other calcium components in its composition, making it very well resistant against acids and UV radiation. Exterior use as roofs for generations to come is a solution for lowest impact building. Inside flooring in high traffic building, will last for decades or longer and is easy to maintain and clean.

The amount of carbonated content present in our stone is as well extremely low, guaranteeing an even longer lifecycle for our material. Moinho is in charge of every quarry extraction phase. Each layer is inspected and every individual slab will pass its steps of inspection.

Working with Moinho is a great opportunity for you to expand your projects and make them beneficial for all parties involved. Contact us and learn more about how we can help you!