Like
many stone industry professionals today, I find myself facing difficult
financial times for the first time in my career. Over the past 15-plus years,
my professional day-to-day life has grown in unison with the growth of the
stone industry, and this has been particularly evident in my robust travel
schedule.
The seventh edition of Piedra, the biennial international stone fair, took place in Madrid, Spain, from May 7 to 10, and it featured a full agenda of stone exhibitions, conferences and events. The trade fair welcomed some 33,509 professionals from around the world, who came to see 768 exhibitors and represented companies.
Since its inception nearly 30 years ago, the CarraraMarmotec trade fair in Carrara, Italy, has held a special connection with the nearby mountains of White Carrara marble - Michelangelo’s material of choice - as well as the stone artisans in the region. But this latest edition - held from May 29 to June 1 - was the first under a modified format that strengthens this bond, and it drew a higher level of international attendance than ever before.
Every October, the international stone industry turns its attention to the stoneworking region of Verona, Italy, for the Marmomacc trade fair, and this year’s event is set for October 2 to 5, 2008. Already established as the world’s leading international exhibition for natural stone, the event features an extensive exhibition of stone and technology, as well as a full agenda of initiatives that connect the industry and the architectural community.
Just as stoneworking technology continues to evolve and advance, the products used for countertop installation are also on the rise. Products for transport, protection and sink installation are available from a number of recognized stone industry sources. The following is a sampling of some of the products on the market today.
With American stone industry companies fighting harder than ever before to turn a profit, we are seeing a number of approaches to offsetting the decline in sales these days. Some firms are lowering prices in an attempt to draw more business - although this seems rare among established stone fabricators. Other have changed their target client base, and they are aggressively going after new markets in an attempt to regain some lost business (i.e. remodeling work rather than new construction). Unfortunately, though, no matter what sales and marketing strategy is in place, the majority of U.S. stone fabrication shops will not do the same volume of business that they did a year ago (or even two years ago).
India’s rapid growth in the Information Technology sector has given rise to a number of corporate campuses for multi-national companies in the field. And in addition to offering a range of technologically advanced services, these projects have often utilized a large quantity of high-end stone materials. One of the largest ongoing projects is TCS Technopark in Chennai, which is using two varieties of granite, which were quarried in India.
Established in 1941 by Jack Kingry and Coy Brunson, Southside Granite Co. of Dothan, AL, quickly became the most fully equipped memorial manufacturing plant within a 100-mile radius, serving customers in Alabama as well as Georgia and Florida. Today, the company remains in the memorial sector, and it also fabricates kitchen countertops and architectural stonework for a diverse client base.
Question: How are people templating their countertops these days? It seems more shops have gone digital, but it is not universal - even when people have CNC machines, waterjets, etc. For fabricators who are using digital templating systems, how long did it take for you to learn? Were your templating employees hesitant to make the change? Were there any mistakes or lessons to be learned? For folks who are templating manually, what are you using, and what has prevented you from making the switch to digital?