For over 40 years the SUGHERIFICIO GINANNI s.r.l. company, an industrial enterprise, has been involved in finding, selecting, processing and selling cork products. Our company selects the raw material directly. Our production is aimed at different sectors: the rubber and footwear industries, building and furnishing. We manufacture and commercialise various types of cork grains, footwear wedges, agglomerated and cork blocks, sheets of different thickness, insulating facings and floors, decorating corks, small boards in natural cork. THE PROCESSING The Ginanni s.r.l. company has always tried to use the properties of cork to advantage. The cork-oak (QUERCUS SUBER) is an arboreous species which belongs to the family of the Fagaceae; it grows spontaneously, in particular in the Mediterranean areas. When the tree is approximately 30 years old and has reached a circumference of at least 60 cm, it is possible to strip off its cork. The first time you obtain a male or virgin cork, which has a rough, porous surface: it is particularly suitable for grinding, and then used (in grains or agglomerated in panels) as a thermo-insulating and sound-proofing material in the building sector. After the first barking, the cork-oak takes 9-10 years to regenerate its bark and produce the so-called female, or gentle, cork which has a plain, compact, light, elastic and waterproof surface. This kind of cork is much more suitable for processing.Several products are obtained from this kind of cork, after many different stages using the most updated technologies.Due to its particular features, cork is a material that is suitable for many purposes. PRODUCTS FOR THE FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY With the help of different experts, we have developed the footwear sector in particular. Following the Italian and international fashion trends, we have created top quality shoe wedges in natural or agglomerated cork. We produce agglomerate blocks, in sheets of different thickness, different size or density grains (air-cleaned), boards in natural cork; these products are used by the footwear industry and also by the orthopaedic sector to create personalised items. Natural cork is particularly light, therefore bands and small boards in natural cork are vastly used in the orthopaedic sector.