Order your paving early enough

The company is known for its large inventories, production of concrete clinkers and Belgian bluestone, and imports of oriental natural stone and ceramic tiles. According to Joren Verbruggen of Artstone, 2020 and 2021 are special years for the entire industry.

"There is an acute shortage of clay pavers in the spring," Verbruggen said. "Supplies are faltering and stocks are almost depleted. We expect deliveries to pick up again starting in the second half of the year. For those looking to build their driveway or patio now, in the spring, this may be poor consolation. At Artstone, however, we have plenty of alternatives to counter this temporary problem. A great solution is our concrete clinkers in an elegant waal format and available in various colors. We produce these in our own factory, which also means that they can now be delivered directly from stock."

Opting for Belgian bluestone "Another supply problem occurs with Vietnamese bluestone. Here, too, there are major delays in delivery. Worse, since the virus outbreak, transportation costs have increased no less than fivefold! Because the number of available containers is scarce, much of the goods ordered remain in Vietnam. We still have stock on hand of a number of finishes and sizes, but reservations are therefore a must."

"The positive thing about this, in turn, is that the price difference with Belgian blue stone from our own production has become almost negligible. We see that for this reason more and more people are opting for our native bluestone, which is just a bit more qualitative and durable. Ceramic patio tiles or driveway tiles are also regularly taken as alternatives."

Import of paving materials

For materials such as natural stone and ceramics, Artstone has set up its own import channels. Thus, ceramic tiles continue to be readily available in 2021. Both 20/20/2 in ceramic and 60/60/2 or 60/60/3 and 90/90/3 for a driveway are readily available. Tiles with a thickness of three centimeters are ideal for driveways. Verbruggen: "This allows us to play just a little bit shorter than some of our colleagues. Nevertheless, we advise our customers to place all orders in good time. That way we can cope even better with the current struggles in terms of supply."

Kandela Platines

"Due to the high cost of transportation, a lot of materials were left standing. For example, compared to other years, a lot less Kandela (platins) have come in. We have several thousand square meters on order, which will arrive in the next few months. So if you want to place Kandela in May and June, it's best to reserve now. Most of that order will be sold before it arrives in Belgium."

Concrete, full-fledged alternative

"Our dimensionally stable concrete clinkers from our own production are also popular as an alternative to clay clinkers and natural stone clinkers," Verbruggen continued. "Concrete is widely applicable as paving and available from Artstone in both clinkers and tiles. Thanks to our own production, we can compose the colors ourselves and therefore also better match the look of clay and natural stone clinkers."

"This in-house production also ensures that we can always guarantee competitive prices as well as prompt delivery. There is also a big difference in price between concrete clinkers and natural stone and clay clinkers. In short: concrete is a contemporary and extremely durable alternative to paving in natural stone."