Cini Marbles are nationally recognised for providing the highest level of quality of fine natural stone. Joseph Cini’s dedication to selecting the finest materials from their best native sources is coupled with technical expertise and flair for design, achieved through decades of passion, innovation and hard work.
In Joseph’s words, delivering a tailored and unique approach for each individual client is what sets Cini Marbles apart.
Joseph Cini has spent over half of his life working in the marble trade. In less than two decades, his hard work and dedication to the craft have led him to become one of Malta’s leading connoisseurs and providers of fine quality marble, granite and other natural stone, as well as quartz.
Joseph’s father had his own little marble outfit; sourcing materials locally and installing minor jobs as perfectly as possible. He was happy serving his small portfolio of clients from his workshop in Valletta. From a young age Joseph nurtured an ambition to see his father’s business grow. After having learnt the trade from his father, Joseph took the radical decision to gain more experience by working for other companies, which he had done for a two year period. Following this, and at the ripe young age of eighteen, Joseph took the decision to set up his own business. With his father retiring, he obtained his tools and van which enabled him to undertake a few jobs consisting of staircases and a variety of kitchen tops.
His success did not materialise overnight. His first workshop was a small garage in Birkirkara, which came with an old marble cutting machine. And in the nineties, it involved frustrating days of waiting around in an empty and quiet garage hoping that some client would materialise, followed by long hours of manual work and completed with a strong ambition and drive to succeed. “There were times when two weeks passed without any work coming in. My funds were very limited so I could not have afforded any advertising,” he recalls. If the limited amount of work was not enough to dampen Joseph’s ambitions, he had to contend with the limitations offered by his workshop location. He explained that his garage was tied to an old permit which meant that he had to close doors between noon and 4pm. This meant that even when work starting picking up, he was held back by not being able to deliver as expediently as he wanted to. Joseph simply could not develop his business strategy.
Rather than giving up, he embarked on a search for larger premises which gave him the flexibility to work the hours he needed. He secured a workshop that measured 40 by 13 feet – approximately the size of a four car garage. This time though, there was no access to any machinery.
As time passed and the business grew, so did its need for larger premises. A garage that was earmarked for rental suddenly was being sold by the owner – this was a spanner in the works for Joseph. Fortunately his father came to the rescue and funded the investment. Joseph insisted on paying his father back in full and today he is rewarded with a relationship which transcends a deeply familial nature with one also of lending a veteran eye to the staff’s workmanship.
Eventually, Cini Marbles imported its first container from abroad. The decision taken to do so was a result of wastage that was being experienced due to marble slabs being purchased locally in small quantities. Joseph argued that if marble was bought in bundles, the extra off cuts could be used rather than just left lying in the warehouse.
From a young age Joseph nurtured an ambition to see his father’s business grow
From one container, orders started to be delivered in batches of five container deliveries. “This meant that warehouse space needed to grow – storing marble slabs on the pavement was not acceptable”, he added.
Joseph’s dedication to fine workmanship and his sheer drive to succeed kept pushing the company forward, causing its steady, constant growth. A plot in Tal-Ħandaq – an area which in the 1980s had been changed to an Industrial Zone, was thus sourced. Since then, the area has flourished with an extensive amount of businesses setting up shop there. And this time round, financing – although challenging – was secured.
Cini Marbles was subsequently drafted to carry out works at a new hotel that was being built in Mellieħa; the Seabank Hotel was a nine month project which granted Joseph’s growing company its rightful place on the map. Recognising the fact that they had only one machine at their disposal and other clients were unwantingly being sidelined in favour of this project, Joseph had embarked on yet another expansion project – this time by purchasing three adjacent plots enabling him to grow his footprint, and hence engage a number of technologically advanced heavy equipment units whilst also increasing the warehousing capacity whilst simultaneously carrying all material within the same area. This allowed for Cini Marbles’ entire operations to be housed under one roof. The project was not completed in one go and was split into different phases.
photo: a Bedroom living space presenting an actual natural stone-based design.
The company’s latest milestone is their considerable premises in Tal-Handaq’s main road, in Qormi, which is sufficiently ample to have allowed Joseph to be able to present their various surfaces by setting up various living spaces. The showroom interconnects to the warehousing floors, meaning that clients visiting the showroom can then be taken to the warehouse to select the material directly – rather than from a mere sample.
The only corners which Joseph will cut are made of stone. “There is no compromise when it comes to quality and we will not accept a finished product being of lesser quality – even if that means redoing the work.” One area which brings Cini Marbles to the forefront is Joseph’s dedication to selecting the finest materials from their native sources. From Italy to India to Brazil to Africa – Joseph believes that the best location to buy their raw materials is from the country of origin. Indeed, “I travels extensively to our supplier network – selecting the best materials and negotiating bulk buying prices that in turn will be of benefit to our customers,” he passionately explained.
Despite the cost of retaining idle stock in their warehouses, Joseph is a firm believer in bulk buying – he is adamant in providing customers with a wide choice already in stock rather than seeing them either have to wait weeks for delivery of a particular item, or have to compromise on desire in favour of expediency. “The nature of modern work, and play, means that clients are far more hurried nowadays than ever before. Competition is strong and any delivery time frames which extend beyond a typical comfort zone are bound to prompt our customers to consider other options, even though they understand that stone quality, workmanship precision and value for money would go down some notches,” Joseph explains.
visiting our Showroom gives a first hand experience of the Cini Marbles’ full potential and what our products, and our team can achieve
This inherent need to efficiently delight all customers also highlights Cini Marbles’ propensity to carry “sizeable quantities of even those rarer and slower-to-sell stones, and not just the quick movers”.
Back to the newly setup showroom, the idea behind its structure was to have varied living areas setup and installed with the natural stone so as to give clients a factual understanding of how the end result will appear. This is far easier than trying to work on their imagination – experience has taught Joseph that the latter will often lead to disappointment. He explains that “in essence, visiting our Showroom gives a first hand experience of the Cini Marbles’ full potential and what our products, and our team can achieve” – this has many a time facilitated a client’s decision process.
Joseph is very much a hands-on doer, and keeps himself involved in all projects. He personally oversees their large scale provisions to high profile projects and also ensures that the smaller projects are given the same degree of attention.
Your workplace is your second home – you spend as much time here as you would do with your family – when employees are happy and motivated this is evidenced in the work we produce
The idea behind the newly setup showroom’s structure is to present clients with a variety of living areas so as to give them a factual understanding of their coveted end result
He leads a staff complement of over twenty employees; mostly being a mix of experienced supervisors and skilled labourers. Joseph has also given apprentices of the trade the opportunity to gain hands-on experience whilst being mentored by qualified and skilled labourers.
On work harmony, he says “It is important to have a good sense of camaraderie. Your workplace is your second home – you spend as much time here as you would do with your family – when employees are happy and motivated this is evidenced in the work we produce.”
Cini Marbles’ success story was fuelled by Joseph’s ambition and unbridled drive. He has been supported by a family who recognised the need for this ambition to be nurtured. Joseph also credits his success to not shuffling his feet when investing; constantly upgrading space, efficiency, capacity, precision. Indeed, the technology that they have invested in throughout the years has complemented his creative streak. His parting words of advice to any young entrepreneur are to dream big but work hard – nothing will come easy in life. If one has dreams but does not have the will to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and work hard then they will never reach the heights that would have been otherwise achievable.
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