Presentation

A team of people

Created in 2004 by Julien Sourbes, in Lectoure, in the Gers, SGRP has built a relationship of trust with its customers. Indeed, this Gers company has grown and surrounded itself with highly talented stonemasons and masons, while at the same time remaining a human-size company. The team currently includes 56 employees and apprentices.

Its reliability and reputation have enabled it to work on beautiful French heritage sites (such as the Cathedral of Sainte-Marie d’Auch (see our achievements) and to meet all the requirements with rigour and competence.

SGRP has also put this know-how at the service of individuals who wish to maintain or restore quality-built heritage.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Julien Sourbes

My background

After completing a vocational training certificate in masonry then another in stone cutting followed by a Baccalaureate, I worked as a stone mason in the traditional, family-run business.

I then became a team leader and works supervisor at Renaud Monuments Historiques in Agen.

My experience continued with business management training, which led to the creation of SGRP. Today, the company works in the greater south-west and consists of a Gers stone quarry, a stone-cutting workshop, several teams of stone masons and a scaffolding branch. 

SEE MAP

My motivations

My passion for the restoration of monuments, built heritage and all local architecture is second to none after all these years. Thanks to my teams, I am proud to participate in the safeguard of local heritage.

Committed to the transmission of knowledge

As soon as we can, we also carry out actions with middle and high school students to raise their awareness of stone trades. We also took part in Journées du Patrimoine de Pays et des Moulins in Lectoure [Countryside Heritage Days and Mills] so as to give demonstrations of stone cutting to schoolchildren and arouse their curiosity and their interest in the cultural heritage which makes up the richness of our region.

The future lies in the transmission of knowledge of our past generations, while adapting to the current world.

“Sometimes beauty is found in the simplicity and purity of the work.”

Passion and values for our profession

Working with a high-quality material such as stone is reserved for craftsmen.  

It takes men driven by a passion for their profession to transform a large, raw block of stone into something more elegant. You cannot carve stone as easily as wood! The stone carver knows how to tackle it from the right angle to transform it into something beautiful. He knows his material. The workshop dust, the noise of the machines and the hardness of the material which makes its carving so delicate and technical further increases the beauty of this noble profession which perpetuates traditions.

At SGRP, our stonemasons and carvers always strive for perfection in their work. How satisfying is it to see a building restored to the rules of the art, that part of our heritage has been saved from the erosion of time!

“Places are also links. And they are our memory.”

Philippe Besson

Respecting tradition and heritage

Before being a stonecutter, the craftsman is first and foremost a connoisseur of materials. Each type of stone has its own characteristics that you need to know to practice cutting. From extraction in the quarry to laying, each stone requires unique know-how, knowledge and practice.

From this raw material, there is a whole built heritage that we respect, because it is the sum of the work of many craftsmen builders over the centuries. They know how to tell us their story through these buildings, bridges, walls and castles. At SGRP we are very committed to bringing this heritage to life, whether small or large.

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