EDISON, NJ -- On April 8, MS International, Inc. (MSI) hosted the New Jersey Stone Summit, an event that's part of the Stone World/MIA education series, which was held at MSI's showroom and distribution center in Edison, NJ. The daylong seminar, which offered guidance and advice on how to handle some of the current issues in today's industry, was attended by a total of 59 industry professionals, including 38 fabricators from 27 fabrication companies. In addition to a main presentation, the event featured networking opportunities, product demonstrations, a warehouse tour and a Fabricator Forum, which allowed attendees to personally interact with two industry veterans -- Buddy Ontra of Ontra Stone Concepts in Monroe, CT, and Jonathan Mitnick of CCS Stone Inc. in Moonachie, NJ -- on a variety of current topics.
Tony Malisani of Malisani, Inc. in Great Falls, MT, and current president of the MIA, gave an in-depth presentation about "How to Set a Cost and Sell a Project's Value," and led the overall discussion amongst attendees, detailing topics such as pricing strategies, marketing techniques, different selling methods and how to better understand/measure your overall business. "Education is important, so make yourself the expert," he told the audience. "Take that opportunity. The information is there -- it's available to everybody."