MEDIA PRESS RELEASE: NZ’s Largest Fabricator Takes Bold Stance Against Silicosis

AGB introduces zero-silica engineered stone in safety-first

New Zealand’s largest and only national stone benchtop fabricator, AGB, is continuing its fight against silicosis with the announcement that it will be the first in the country to supply zero-silica engineered stone.

AGB, a family-run business, has been a persistent and staunch advocate for safer products, and a safer working environment for their staff and customers. AGB was the first New Zealand business to ban high-silica engineered stone – shifting from up to 95 percent silica 12 months ago, to market-leading low-silica engineered stone with less than 40 percent silica. Now AGB is again a driving force in the industry, becoming the first supplier in New Zealand to offer zero-silica engineered stone, with slabs expected to land in the country in September.

“If low-silica was the revolution, zero is the evolution. It’s actually not that big of a step to make. This is the next advancement of us being at the forefront of health and safety of workers – and our customers,” Cam Paranthoiene, co-owner of AGB Stone, says. “We have driven this stance with our suppliers because it’s important for our industry.”

AGB owners Cam and Christine Paranthoiene have for many years led the way stone fabricators should operate – including creating proprietary processes, investing millions of dollars in state-of-the-art machinery and being early adopters of wet-cutting and air monitoring as a safeguard against the potentially-fatal lung disease silicosis.

As part of phasing out high-silica slabs they stopped working with suppliers who chose not to meet the company’s standards of less than 40 percent silica. AGB has now taken a bold step of saying they will work with only those suppliers who commit to transition to zero-silica in its engineered stone range.

“There's still so much high and low-silica engineered stone in the market – and it's being heavily discounted – so we will only work with suppliers who have committed to transitioning out of both product lines to zero-silica.”

The Australian government has imposed a total ban on engineered stone following a 2021 report that claimed one in four stonemasons or joiners working with fabricated stone before 2018 had been diagnosed with silicosis. The ban took effect from July 1 this year, however fabricators have until the end of 2024 to fulfil pre-orders.

Paranthoiene believes this is an unnecessary step – that zero-silica is an excellent solution.

“There has been significant investment in researching and developing a zero-silica product overseas. It continues to improve and is now a better alternative to natural stone or the other products that are exempt from the Australian ban,” he says.

The scale of the danger of silicosis from dust emitted when stone is dry cut or polished was not fully known in the industry until 2019. The New Zealand Engineered Stone Advisory Group (NZESAG), supported by ACC and WorkSafe was established that year to ensure the safe practice guidelines for stone fabricators, with AGB instrumental in setting up those standards.

WorkSafe has previously estimated 60,000 engineered stone slabs are imported each year, and there are believed to be approximately 130 businesses that fabricate them into benchtops for kitchens, bathrooms and commercial premises. 

In April 2023, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions urged the Government to protect workers exposed to hazardous material in engineered stone, emphasising that terminal illnesses such as lung cancer, silicosis and other autoimmune diseases are preventable if proper action is taken.

“We applaud WorkSafe for ensuring safe work practises in New Zealand. Auditing and compliance in Australia is not at the same level,” Paranthoiene adds. “Fabricators we visited in Australia told us authorities are not really checking, it’s more a self-governance model. This was a significant consideration for the ban in Australia.”

Better Benchtop’s zero-silica will have a 10-year warranty and will be available initially in 12 colours. Orders are being taken now with stock expected in September.

“It really is no different to fabricate. You're not having to work any harder and it’s safe for everyone from the manufacturer to the installer, to the home owner.”

“We have driven this stance with our suppliers because it’s important for our industry. Our sons work for our business, we live and breathe this air, safety is paramount.”

AGB has six factories across the country and employs more than 130 people. However it is the smaller operators that have not invested in the same level of safety precautions that worries Paranthoiene.

“We are really disappointed that the market has been so slow moving to low-silica given there have been absolutely no issues in our business with doing that. So why are they still bringing in products with more than 40 percent silica? Because there's a demand for it. And a price point. It’s time the industry did the right thing.

“Zero-silica provides peace of mind for our staff and our customers and the reputation of the industry. Consumers need to be voting with their feet, not their wallets. Or risk it being banned.”

About AGB:

AGB is owned by Cam and Christine Paranthoiene, with six factories across New Zealand – Auckland, Waikato, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Christchurch and Central Otago. It specialises in granite, marble, ceramic, acrylic and engineered stone and employs more than 130 people across New Zealand – the country’s largest and only national stone fabricator. It will offer zero-silica through its Better Benchtops brand. Go to www.betterbenchtops.nz