José Á. Aznar-Sánchez, Anselmo Carretero-Gómez, Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz

An industrial district around a mining resource: the case of marble of Macael in Almería

Marble quarries in Macael have been exploited since ancient times but its complex industrial district had to wait till the fifties to emerge. This industrial district includes extraction, processing and marketing activities. In the 1980s some development programmes were designed in order to modernize and boost the marble sector. Since then, it has become an international reference for ornamental stones. The sector has undergone a great transformation: from being a mining agglomeration to become an industrial district. This shift has provided the district with a great dynamism and resilience. Moreover, its competition position has considerably changed. It used to be based on comparative advantages but nowadays it is based on competitive advantages. In its heart a nodal enterprise Cosentino has emerged, which has become an international leader on a global scale.

Keywords: marble, Almería, local development policy, industrial district, crisis