A crusher might not be the first piece of equipment you would associate with high-end interior design. But for London terrazzo specialist Diespeker, a compact crusher from British manufacturer Dragon Equipment is helping turn unwanted stone into an important ingredient in bespoke architectural surfaces.
Established in 1881, Diespeker has more than 140 years of experience working with terrazzo, marble and other natural stone. Now, its collaboration with Dragon Equipment is bringing that heritage together with modern British engineering, creating a new route for stone that might otherwise become waste.
Diespeker is using Dragon Equipment’s compact CR300 Crusher to process stone including marble and granite, producing stone chips that can be incorporated into new terrazzo designs. Terrazzo is widely used in flooring, tiles, worktops, wall cladding, staircases and other architectural and interior applications.
The CR300 gives Diespeker the ability to crush stone to different sizes, allowing the company to produce the stone chips required for different terrazzo designs. This flexibility is particularly valuable when creating bespoke finishes, where the size and appearance of the stone is specified.
The process offers a practical example of the circular economy in action: stone offcuts that might otherwise be discarded can be crushed, processed and given a new life as part of a premium finished product. Rather than recycling being an end point, the recovered material becomes part of the design itself.
At just 700mm wide, the CR300 is Dragon Equipment’s smallest crusher, making it particularly suited to environments where space is at a premium. Its compact footprint allows crushing capability to be brought directly into Diespeker’s London operation, while its adjustable crushing settings provide the flexibility needed to produce different stone sizes.
Designed and built in Great Britain, the CR300 Crusher represents a very different application for compact crushing technology. While crushers are traditionally associated with construction, demolition and recycling, Diespeker is putting the machine to work within a high-end manufacturing and design process.
Jeff Haines, Managing Director of Dragon Equipment, said: “We’re used to seeing our crushers working in construction, demolition and recycling environments, so seeing the CR300 being used as part of Diespeker’s terrazzo production is a particularly exciting application for us. It demonstrates that compact crushing can play a role in high-end design, not just construction.”
For Diespeker, the project provides another way to explore the potential of stone within its terrazzo production, connecting the company’s long history of craftsmanship with a more resource-conscious approach to material use.
John Krause, Managing Director of Diespeker, added: “We were keen to upgrade our existing capacity for crushing, as more and more clients have been talking to us about reusing stone from refurbishments and rebuilds. We currently have two major commercial projects in progress for top tier clients requiring this approach, so the CR300 is already proving an invaluable addition to the factory.
“Of equal importance to us was to collaborate with another British company. We’re proud of our heritage and we’re delighted to have a British ‘dragon’ on our side!”
From stone offcut to crusher, from stone chip to terrazzo, and ultimately from waste material to a finished architectural surface, the collaboration offers a simple demonstration of how materials can be kept in use for longer – while creating something designed to be seen and enjoyed.
You can find out more about both companies at www.dragon-equipment.co.uk and www.diespeker.co.uk.