NACE 23.7 – Cutting, Shaping and Finishing of Stone | Public Tenders

Definition: NACE 23.7 covers the cutting, shaping and finishing of natural stone such as granite, marble, sandstone, limestone and slate into finished products. In public procurement, natural-stone products are relevant for prestigious floor coverings, façade cladding, heritage restoration, municipal cemeteries and infrastructure projects.

Legal basis: NACE Rev. 2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) · Last updated: January 2026

What does NACE 23.7 cover?

NACE 23.7 (Cutting, shaping and finishing of stone) classifies companies that quarry, saw, split, grind and process natural stone into finished products — a craft-based segment with a clear link to public prestige buildings, heritage protection and cemetery management.

Group 23.7 within Section C (Manufacturing) and Division 23 covers:

The most important rock types processed for the public sector are granite (paving, outdoor coverings), sandstone (façades, restoration), limestone (steps, indoor floors), marble (prestigious interiors) and slate (roof covering, wall cladding). Natural-stone paving is among the most durable and long-lasting covering materials for public spaces.

Public tenders: scope of activity NACE 23.7

Natural-stone products play a significant role in public procurement for the design of public spaces, heritage protection and municipal cemeteries — segments in which quality and historic authenticity take precedence over price alone.

Typical contract types

• Public squares and pedestrian zones: granite and clinker paving works for prestigious city-centre areas, market squares and town-hall forecourts — often combined with historically matched stone formats
• Steps and podiums: natural-stone steps (granite, limestone) for public buildings, monuments and metro entrances with a long service life
• Heritage protection and restoration: reproduction and replacement of natural-stone elements on listed buildings (sandstone, limestone and marble restoration), cleaning and conservation of historic stone façades
• Municipal cemeteries: gravestones and surrounds, natural-stone cemetery paths, urn walls and columbaria; public contracting authorities are municipal cemetery offices
• Façade cladding: natural-stone façade panels for public prestige buildings (ministries, embassies, court buildings)
• Road and path construction: natural-stone paving and kerbstones made of granite or porphyry for historic city-centre areas

Thresholds and procurement procedures

Larger natural-stone projects (e.g. square redesigns, comprehensive façade restorations) may exceed the EU works threshold. Heritage-protection projects with specific material requirements (original stone, historic stone formats) are frequently tendered in the negotiated procedure with prior call for competition, since not every provider has the required specialisation.

Relevant CPV codes for NACE 23.7

The following CPV codes allow targeted searches for natural-stone tenders on TED and national procurement platforms.

Current tenders are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), on municipal procurement platforms and on the German Procurement Portal (DTVP).

For whom is NACE 23.7 relevant in procurement law?

Public contracting authorities

The main contracting authorities for natural-stone products in the public sector are municipal parks and cemetery offices (gravestones, cemetery paths), municipal civil-engineering departments (natural-stone paving and kerbstones), heritage-protection authorities and state heritage offices (restoration materials), federal authorities (prestige buildings, federal ministries), municipal building services (façade restorations), and Deutsche Bahn and municipal transport operators for railway-station projects with a historic ambience.

Companies and bidders

Natural-stone businesses (stonemasonry and stone-sculpture trades) acting as bidders should consider:

• Master craftsman qualification: in the stonemasonry and stone-sculpture trades, the master craftsman's certificate is relevant for commercial public works; entry in the trades register
• Origin certificates: increasing requirements regarding the origin of natural stone (social and environmental standards in the country of extraction) — particularly for granite from Asia (exclusion of child labour)
• Heritage-protection references: evidence of experience with heritage restoration projects, recommendation by the state heritage office where applicable
• Samples and approvals: for restorations, sample areas often have to be prepared before works start in coordination with the heritage authority
• CE marking: for natural-stone paving (EN 1342), kerbstones (EN 1343) and slabs for outdoor areas (EN 1341), CE marking under the Construction Products Regulation is mandatory

NACE 23.7 in context: Section C and Division 23

NACE 23.7 complements the industrial mineral-processing activities of Division 23 with the craft-based natural-stone segment — particularly relevant for heritage protection and prestigious public spaces.

• NACE C – Manufacturing: parent section
• NACE 23 – Manufacture of glass, ceramics and other non-metallic mineral products: parent division
• NACE 23.6 – Manufacture of articles of concrete, cement and plaster: competing surfacing material (concrete paving stones)
• NACE 08 – Other mining and quarrying: upstream raw-material extraction

Frequently asked questions on NACE 23.7 and public tenders

Why are natural-stone paving works tendered publicly despite their higher costs? Natural-stone paving offers extreme durability (>100 years service life), repairability (individual stones can be replaced), authenticity in historic city centres and increasingly ecological advantages (no microplastics, no polymer binding). Life-cycle costs are therefore often more favourable than for concrete paving.

What requirements apply to the procurement of gravestones by municipal cemeteries? Municipal cemeteries as public contracting authorities must tender contracts for gravestones, urn fields and natural-stone cemetery furniture in compliance with procurement law once the thresholds are exceeded. Origin evidence for natural stone (socially responsible extraction, no child labour) is increasingly required.

Can natural-stone businesses from other EU countries bid for German tenders? Yes — EU-wide tenders are open to all EU bidders. For specific heritage-protection contracts with requirements regarding historic stone formats or regional rock types, technical specifications may de facto narrow the bidder pool, provided that those requirements are objectively justified.

Last updated: January 2026 All information provided without warranty. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement.