Stone World was started by Mike and Stephanie Lench in November 1984. At that time, GranQuartz was busily introducing machinery and equipment for the stone industry to include large diameter (11-6 foot) block saws, automatic abrasive line polishers, edge polishers, etc. All of these machines in the early years were produced in Europe, which necessitated a trip to Europe every time a machine was sold, since Marble Institute of America (MIA) and Building Stone Institute (BSI) only had tabletop exhibits, precluding demonstration of large machinery.
Very soon after the inception of Stone World, Mike visited us at GranQuartz and we immediately supported the magazine with advertising. We also recommended that Stone Worldbecome involved in the monument industry which at that time was probably the single largest sector of this industry. It employed at least 5,000 people in Elberton, GA; Barre, VT; Cold Spring, MN; Millbank, SD and scattered industry around the U.S. and Canada. This industry sector was the first user of this new equipment, thus the recommendation.