History and future of natural stones in architecture (NaStA) – bridge between South East Finland and Russia

The project will maintain cross-border cooperation and create a business model for the use of natural stone in St. Petersburg.

Finnish and Russian business cooperation in stone industries operation in not well-developed, although in the past large quantities of stones were transported across the border to decorate St. Petersburg’s buildings, monuments, bridges and embankments. The well-known 19th-century buildings in St. Petersburg were mostly made of Finnish natural stone. The most important type of stone used for historical contraction is the unique Finnish Rapakivi granite, which is still produced in the area.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to promote the natural stone market and trade across the Finnish and Russian borders, to support and develop the operating environment of natural stone companies and to create a business model for the use of natural stones for historically and architecturally valuable renovations in Russia. Overall objective of the project is to enhance the Finnish-Russian cross-border collaboration and to open more attractive business opportunities and possibilities.

Activity

The project activity is divides into 5 streams. Xamk is responsible for activity 4 “Business potential for enterprises and technical and economic feasibility assessment”. The activities include the assessment of new business opportunities in cooperation with the project’s stakeholders. Logistics operators in south-eastern Finland and Russia will be involved to start and facilitate cross-border business relations with Finnish and Russian operators. There will be describes the logistics supply chain from quarry to restoration structures.

Xamk is actively involved in the implementation of Activity 5, which supposes the dissemination of project objectives and results, as well as practical suggestions. It includes natural stone-related workshops, seminars and networking events for small and medium-sized enterprises, media promotion and tourism development, creating new tourist routes focusing on natural stones used in large city buildings, especially in St. Petersburg.

Results

The project output will be:

• identification and evaluation of main stakeholders, creation of cross-border business relationships, exchange of knowledge and information
• description of logistics, business and supply chains
• making the video/film “Story of the stone”
• proposal / creation of a new cross-border logistics cluster for the stone industry

Higher education and research cooperation with Russia has been freezed since March 4^th 2002, according to the recommendation by Ministry of Education and Culture. Ongoing RDI projects can continue without partners from Russia or Belarus.