The Stone Industry Education seminar program for 2018, sponsored by Stone World magazine and the Natural Stone Institute, started this year’s series in Austin, TX, hosted by Arizona Tile. The event saw more than 50 fabricators from the area come together to discuss different issues and solutions for their business. “The Texas event was a great way to kick off the 2018 Stone Industry Education series,” said Aaron Dahnke, education manager for the Natural Stone Institute. “With over 50 fabricators in the room, the discussions and networking were dynamic and fabricators gained a lot of knowledge about industry best practices.”
The morning seminar was led by Duane Naquin of Stone Interiors, located in Gatson, SC. Naquin discussed metrics with the group and also addressed different questions that the group had. Kelly Masters of Stonite Surfaces, located in Austin, TX, was looking for information on how to deal with skilled labor and trying to find good workers. “One of the things that we did, that worked really well for us, was using a temp agency,” said Naquin. “It essentially lets us try out the employee for 90 days to see if they are a good fit for our business. But to also retain the employees, we create a culture that they want to be a part of. We treat them well and we make sure they have safe working conditions.”