Each year the Stone Fabricator’s Alliance (SFA), hosted by Tenax, plans a trip to Italy to give a small group of fabricators a new perspective on stone products, the business and what it means to be in the industry.
This month marks my 21st anniversary with Stone World- how fast the time goes by! And while many aspects of the industry, and even systems for publishing a magazine have changed, it is comforting that many things have also stayed the same.
Conceived in the tradition of the Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA) Workshops, the second edition of the SFA Mega-Workshop will take place from October 20 to 22, 2011 in Collinsville, IL -- a suburb of St. Louis, MO.
When I was in journalism school, I was taught that the editor's column is the most valuable space there is. It is where I get to communicate directly with my readers and, on occasion, to speak from the heart.
When I was in journalism school, I was taught that the space for the editor’s column is the most valuable page in the entire magazine. And once again, I am using this prime real estate to urge the industry to focus on safety in the workplace - whether that is a shop, a warehouse, the jobsite or even the office.
For several years, the Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA) has been conducting workshops for its members and guests at fabrication shops around the country. From October 7 to 9, the SFA expanded on that model by holding its first “Mega-Workshop” in the St. Louis suburb of Collinsville, IL.
With fabrication shops working on tighter margins than ever before, many shop managers and owners are eliminating unnecessary cost by increasing efficiency. Recently, I conducted a roundtable on increasing shop efficiency with members of the Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA), which can be found on page 62 of this issue.
When talking to a long-time fabricator friend of mine recently, I noted that a lot of homeowners out there seem slow to emerge from their "Cocoon of Fear" -- a term which seemed to both amuse and concern him.