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Luigi Di Geso, president and CEO of MAPEI North America, has been awarded the National Tile Contractors Association’s (NTCA) prestigious Joe A. Tarver Service to the Industry Award for 2026.

The now enlarged facility features state-of-the-art office and laboratory space and is strategically located near the second-largest Laticrete manufacturing plant -- a key hub for its U.S. operations. 

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted 2-1 in the affirmative in a key decision affecting the quartz surface products market, setting the stage for a follow-up hearing on April 14 to consider potential remedies.

Our Monthly breakdown of the USITC import data covering natural stone, engineered quartz and quartzite, including year-over-year comparisons, top source countries and how tariffs are shifting the competitive landscape for U.S. fabricators.

With project owners focusing more on sustainability and contractors addressing increasingly demanding applications, specifiers must understand the fundamentals of quartz as a design material within the broader context of modern construction goals and expectations.

Erdoğan Akbulak, chairman and co-founder of Silkar Stone, passed away on January 12, 2026. He played a defining role in transforming Turkish natural stone from a supply-driven commodity into a value-oriented architectural material.

A major investigative report published on March 12, 2026 by KFF Health News and CBS News has drawn renewed national attention to the silicosis epidemic among engineered stone countertop fabrication workers and to a federal bill that would shield slab manufacturers from worker lawsuits.

The International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA) presented a shop licensing and certification program to California workplace safety regulators, positioning the industry-led proposal as a practical alternative to a physician-backed petition calling for an outright ban on engineered stone fabrication in the state.

California's Silicosis Training, Outreach and Prevention (STOP) Act, the most aggressive state-level regulation targeting silica exposure in the stone countertop fabrication industry, took full effect on January 1, 2026, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law on October 13, 2025.

Dry-Treat demonstrated how to prep and seal quartzite for a successful installation.