Iribarren was appointed during SNROC's extraordinary general assembly during the recent Rocalia Natural Stone Exhibition at Eurexpo Lyon. The 52-year-old succeeds Jean-Louis Vaxelaire for the next two years. Vaxelaire will continue to participate in SNROC strategic decisions.
Iribarren has spent his entire professional career in stone. He represents the third generation within the Carrières Iribarren family business. 1994 he created Carrière de Luget, based in Vienne, New Aquitaine, Western France. In 2023, he successively took over Pierre du Périgord, based in Limeyrat in Dordogne, and Carrières de la Vienne, which operate four quarries in Vienne specialising in stones for historic monuments and two quarries in Châtillonnais in Côte-d' Gold.
Carrière de Luget is positioned nationally as a specialist in interior and exterior natural stone paving and has 110 employees in its nine quarries, three factories and two showrooms.
In his leadership role, Iribarren says he is looking to secure the "democratisation" of French natural stone among the general public, emphasising the very favourable carbon footprint of the material, the non-relocatable jobs, the economic and environmental impacts positives of purchasing French stone rather than imported stone (50% of the stone used in France is in imported).
Iribarren adds that he wants to create a "job brand" attesting to the safety conditions in quarries and workshops that are applied in France, from the modernisation and digitalisation of professions from quarry to installation, while highlighting the remarkable know-how of the sector in France (know-how illustrated in particular during the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and numerous massive stone construction projects).
The new SNROC roadmap will be supported by the new governance of the union, elected at the extraordinary general assembly. The new 13-strong board of directors of 13 members are:
Jean-Marie Bégoc, SOCAL – Brittany
Valérie Bergeron, Polycor France (Rocamat) – vice-president of massive construction
Jean-Roch Deswarte, SETP – Burgundy – vice-president of urban planning
Emeric de Kervenoaël, Carrières de Noyant – Hauts de France – treasurer
Matthieu Goudal, SCB GRV – Brittany
Bertrand Iribarren, Carrière de Luget – Nouvelle Aquitaine – new president
Gilles Lataillade, Proroch – Occitanie
Margot Loubière, Carrières Rauscher – Alsace
Christophe Margand, Guinet-Derriaz 1912- Auvergne Rhône-Alpes
Paul Mariotta, Carrières de Provence – secretary
François Phlippoteau, Carrières de France – Occitanie
Philippe Robert, La Générale du Granit – Bretagne – funeral vice-president
Jean-Louis Vaxelaire, Graniterie Petitjean – Grand Est – president
The main regions supplying natural stones - Grand Est, Brittany, Hauts-de-France, New Aquitaine, Burgundy-Franche-Comté, PACA and Occitanie - are united by SNROC.
