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An area in stone equal to 15 football pitches


TINO Stone Group, the Spanish multinational specializing in the production and distribution of textures in natural stone, will install 100,000 m2 of stone as part of the expansion of Málaga airport which AENA (Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea) has commissioned the temporary partnership made up of Ferrovial and Construcciones Sando to carry out. In contrast to the general trend in the construction sector, TINO Stone expects to exceed its 2007 turnover of 47 million euros by 21% this year, thanks to major projects such as that in the capital of the Costa del Sol and the impetus of its foreign business, which is especially active in countries like China and Dubai.
Some 100,000 square metres of TINO natural stone floors will be installed in the expanded Málaga airport. This action by AENA is one of the most noteworthy in the Málaga Plan, which will make it possible to double the current capacity of the city’s airport to 9,000 passengers an hour by 2010.

For this major public works project, the largest currently underway in Andalusia, TINO was commissioned by Ferrovial and Construcciones Sando to supply a total of 100,000 m2 of natural stone in record time: eight months. The large square floor tiles measure 100x100 cm. and are 4 cm. thick. To get a better idea of the size of the project, these 100.000 m2 represent 11,000 tonnes of stone, which could cover fifteen 70x100 m. football pitches.

Despite the drop in activity in the construction sector, this is not the only major project in which TINO is currently involved in our country. The company is also completing installation of its natural stone in the two tallest buildings in Spain, part of the Cuatro Torres Business Area in Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana. To be specific, the floors of the common areas in Torre de Cristal – by the architect César Pelli – and the so-called Torre Repsol – by Norman Foster and purchased by Caja Madrid as its future headquarters – will have different textures of TINO stone.

TINO Stone Group anticipates a lot of activity for its foreign business, which has been growing exponentially for some years. This year the Spanish firm will install its natural stone in various major projects in Dubai, including the summer palace of the emir, and three hotels in China. These major projects will make TINO’s revenues from its activities abroad a major stimulus for the Spanish multinational, despite the dollar-euro exchange rate.

For the natural stone company, founded more than 25 years ago, major projects have always been one of its main sources of business both in Spain and abroad, whether in public buildings or large hotels and residential complexes. TINO, which also sells its stone to individuals, has installed its natural stone in hotels and public buildings throughout the world. In Spain, its materials can be found in the Málaga Conference Centre, the headquarters of Mutua Madrileña, Almudena Cathedral and Borne Avenue in Majorca, among other locations.

Málaga Airport ranks fourth in terms of volume of traffic among Spanish airports (third on the Iberian Peninsula) and 22nd in the European Union. In 2007 it received 13,590,537 passengers (10,001,021 on international flights) and 129,693 take-offs and landings. The airport, located eight kilometres from Málaga and linked to the entire Costa del Sol region, has daily flights to twenty Spanish airports, more than sixty European capitals and some African destinations.

The expansion work being carried out will double the operating capacity by 2010. By that time, a new passenger terminal (2009), second landing runway (2010) and underground railway station for commuter trains will be in operation, with a planned investment of 1,100 million euros. These will be followed by underground and high-speed rail lines.