Italy’s school of rock: The Stone Fabricators Alliance hosts Italian stone trade students
Two students from the Istituto Paolo Brenzoni Arte del Marmo, a technical school for the Italian stone trade in Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Italy, spent three weeks experiencing several stone fabrication shops in the U.S., as well as American culture
Since 2011, the Stone Fabricators Alliance’s (SFA) annual Tour of Italy, conceived by Ronald Hannah of Cadenza Granite & Marble and in conjunction with Tenax, has brought well over 100 North American fabricators overseas to experience the Italian stone industry. Machinery and tool manufacturers such as Breton, CMS and Comandulli, along with visits to material processors like Cereser, Antolini and the quarries of Henraux, are typical stops for the ever-changing itinerary.
More unique visits, such as a 2015 stop to the Istituto Paolo Brenzoni Arte del Marmo, a technical school for the Italian stone trade in Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Italy, are always a special treat and welcome diversion from machines and stones. Visiting for a second time in 2016, the SFA decided to take the relationship further by initiating a student exchange program, bringing two of the school’s students overseas to experience U.S. fabrication shops and the American way of life.