In September of 2006, Jose Lima founded Art’s of Stone in New Milford, CT, with five different colors of natural stone slabs available. Today, the company has 110 colors of stone in its stockyard, and it has grown from doing a single kitchen per week to a current production rate of four kitchens per week.
In May of 2006, I wrote a column for Stone World entitled, “Silicosis: Dangerous from many angles” that stressed the need for stone fabrication shops to understand the issues of silicosis in our industry, to develop proper procedures in their shop and to educate their employees on the disease. At that time, the Marble Institute of America (MIA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had recently entered into an alliance to develop information to help MIA member employers and workers recognize and prevent hazards such as exposure to silica. The results of this alliance have been extremely positive, and they are continuing to develop.
Forever Granite & Marble, LLC, a leading supplier of natural stone products for residential applications in the Tacoma, WA, region, has been experiencing meteoric sales growth in recent years thanks to aggressive marketing, competitively priced high-quality products and automated processes that enable production to keep up with demand.
For many stone fabricators, 2007 was a year like none other -- and not in a positive way. After solid growth for nearly a decade, the stone fabrication sector faced a host of challenges last year. When you consider that nearly half of the fabricators in the U.S. have been in business for less than 10 years, this means that many companies are experiencing their first downturn ever. Or at the very least, it was the first time that growth curtailed. Despite all of this, a recent Stone World survey of fabricators across the country revealed an optimistic mood among respondents. In general, fabricators have a fairly positive outlook for 2008, and they are predicting significant growth in the industry over the next five to 10 years.
The need for industry education in the stone industry has been well documented, and to help fill that need, Stone World has been presenting its Stone Fabrication Workshops since 2005 -- hitting a total of 24 cities in all. These day-long sessions were extremely well received by fabricators of all sizes and experience levels, and based on the success of these original Workshops, Stone World will be offering a completely new educational series beginning in 2008. The "Fabrication Management Clinics" will be geared towards fabrication shop managers, supervisors and owners, with in-depth sessions on topics for operations of all sizes.
In an industry first, the Marble Institute of America (MIA) has entered into a formal alliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Among several initiatives being taken by the two organizations is a series of seminars for stone fabricators. These one-day sessions educate stoneworking professionals on OSHA standards, and they are specifically geared towards the stone industry. In addition to classroom instruction, a shop “walk-through” educates participants on specific hazards within a stoneworking facility that can be cited by OSHA. Earlier this year, Stone World documented one of these OSHA/MIA presentations, which took place at the facilities of Alpha Professional Tools in Oakland, NJ.
The importance of Marmomacc to the world of stone was demonstrated by this year’s “Marmomacc Meets Design” initiative, which paired leading international designers with 10 Italian stone processors. The pairings focused on the “lightness” of stone in developing objects such as lamps as well as entire booth designs.
The 42nd edition of Marmomacc, the International Natural Stone and Technology Exhibition, took place from October 4 to 7, 2007, at VeronaFiere in Verona, Italy. And according to its show organizer, the increasingly international event confirmed its role as a landmark show in the natural stone industry by posting impressive attendance figures.
On September 20 of this year, the new Charles Luck Stone Center opened its doors in Richmond, VA, marking a new era for one of the country’s most venerable stone suppliers. The endeavor is a bold new retail concept from Luck Stone’s Architectural Stone Division, one of the largest natural stone suppliers in the Mid-Atlantic region, and it has been patterned after some of the most successful upscale retail and hospitality firms in the world.
Last month, I drove to Richmond, VA, to check out the new Charles Luck Stone Center. And while I anticipated seeing a new, top-of-the-line stone showroom, I ended up seeing a lot more than that. Taking their cue from high-end retailers such as Gucci, Prada and Armani as well as hospitality experts such as Ritz-Carlton, the people at Charles Luck Stone Center have truly created a stone sourcing “experience.”
