Manu and Rika Shah started MS International (MSI) in 1975, in the basement of their home in Fort Wayne, IN. The original idea behind the business was for Mrs. Shah to work at home during her pregnancy and still generate additional income for the family. Manu had originally come to the United States to get his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, which he accomplished in 1968. From 1974-1981, while getting MSI off the ground, Manu continued to work full-time as a mechanical engineer at International Harvester, a manufacturer of trucks and farming equipment. During these years, he also worked as a broker selling blocks of granite to U.S. manufacturers, primarily in the monuments industry. In 1981, while still operating MSI out of their basement, the Shahs secured the contract to supply black granite for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. With their entire savings invested in this project, they spent endless nights making sure that the project was executed perfectly—and it was. Building on this success, the Shahs decided to develop and grow MSI full-time, and moved the company to Southern California. Until 1987, the business primarily served as a distributor of granite for monuments and tombstones. The Shahs soon realized that natural stone for residential and commercial usage had even higher market potential and redirected their efforts toward developing this sector of the industry. By 2008, MSI was among the top importers of natural stone in the world, with materials from virtually every major stone sourcing country across the globe, including India, Brazil, China, Turkey, Italy, Spain and Mexico.