Last month, I sat in the showroom at IGM in North Bergen, NJ, with nearly 40 veteran fabricators from the New York Metropolitan area, and I saw something that probably wouldn't have been possible five or 10 years ago. These fabricators -- many of them competitors with one another -- had a brainstorming session like I've never seen before. The event was part of the MIA/Stone World industry education series, but it was in a different format than past events.
Rather than a standard presentation or seminar, the event was an open forum, where audience members raised specific issues, and one by one, each topic was written down and slated for discussion. At a recent MIA/Stone World Industry Education event at IGM in North Bergen, NJ, veteran fabricators -- many of them long-time competitors -- candidly shared ideas on how to succeed in the current business climate. The lead speaker of the event was Tony Malisani of Malisani, Inc., and Secretary of the Marble Institute of America.