Recently, a group of 15 leading fabricators from across North America toured the Northern region of natural stone production in Italy, considered by most to be the “epicenter” of the natural stone industry. Five full days were spent touring equipment manufacturers, block/slab suppliers and factories that make consumables for our industry. The schedule was very full, up at 6:30 a.m. and done around 11:00 p.m. every night. We toured the facilities of industry leaders in their field, including GMM, CMS/Brembana, Montresor, Simec, Tenax, Italdiamant, Comandulli, Antolini, Breton, Marble Arreda and Santa Margherita as well as two traditional Italian fabrication shops.