AN award-winning firm is creating jobs in a bid to dominate the British stone market. In a reversal of recent trends, Stonell, of Paddock Wood is dropping dependence on imports in favour of home-produced stone.

The firm was founded 10 years ago and specialises in high quality stone for domestic use, especially flooring, kitchen work surfaces and commercial cladding. Turnover is more than £6 million.

Now the 1999 Kent Growth Company of the Year and 1996 West Kent Company of the Year is embarking on a new phase that aims to make it number one in a market growing by more than 20 per cent a year.

Stonell recently snapped up stonemasonry firm Ashby Stone of Greenhithe, bought a quarry in Cumbria, set up a factory in Matlock, Derbyshire, and established a parent company Classical English Stone.

Classical English Stone will have a combined workforce of around 100 people by the end of this year and quarry, manufacture, polish and cut, clad, fix, carve and distribute stone throughout the UK. Managing director Alastair Jessel said many new jobs would be created in Kent.

"This is the next step in the growth of the British stone market," he said. "From my garage in Goudhurst to today has taken 10 years and I hope that it will take us less than two years to do the same again but this time with local stones rather than imports."

He said: "Nobody else has done it and I like challenges. The English industry is dead on its feet. This time next year, hopefully we will control approximately 50 per cent of the UK supply of stone for commercial projects.

"We're looking to try and dominate the industry straight away. It isn't as profitable but we will collect the margins from the quarry, the factory, the trade and retail."

In this way, profitability would be much the same as importing stone from countries with lower overheads, such as China.

The company has also linked up with a firm in Northern France. Mr Jessel forecast that exports, now running at barely five per cent of turnover, would rise to 70 per cent.

Mr Jessel and partner Dick Chard intend floating the new company on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in March 2004 when they expect turnover to reach £10 million.

Mr Jessel said Classical English Stone would be the most vertically integrated stone company in Europe since it was the only one to have retail showrooms throughout the south of England, with more planned for the future.