In 1993, when I first began working for Stone World, one of the first trade shows I attended was the Marble Institute of America Convention in Washington, DC. Still a bit wide-eyed, I walked around the exhibit hall taking it all in -- stone slabs from around the world, seemingly giant machines, sculpted pieces. It was all so new. And then I turned a corner and saw a familiar logo -- DuPont. It was odd to me to see such a well-known name among a sea of new and unique companies, so I went over to check it out. Turns out they were selling some plastic-looking product called Corian, and frankly, it didn't look all that much like stone to me. I wasn't sure what it was doing there.
Being new, I asked a few people about it, and the overwhelming response I got was outrage. People were appalled that a wing of this evil empire had trespassed into their venerable society. The stone industry was about individual craftsmanship and creativity, and it was being invaded by Corporate America. Moreover, the suits from DuPont were pitching a manufactured product at a convention for natural stone.