L.A. County's supervisors make initial moves to possibly ban quartz-surface use; MSI ranks in the top 20 for U.S. container imports; Xiamen Stone Fair shows strong recovery; more.
0:00 Intro
0:33 L.A. County Mulls Quartz-Surface Ban
2:42 MSI in Top 20 U.S. Container Importers
4:26 A Word from Quantra
5:38 2023 Xiamen Stone Fair Report
8:36 Cambria Opens Los Angeles Facility
9:11 ISFA Chicago Fabricator Crawl in July
10:31 Alpha Professional Tools Hires Landseadal
11:18 Outro
Radio Stone Update is presented on the first and third Wednesdays every month at 9 a.m. everywhere on Earth with the latest news and insights in hard surfaces. Check our archives at www.radiostoneupdate.com.
L.A. County's supervisors make initial moves to possibly ban quartz-surface use; MSI ranks in the top 20 for U.S. container imports; Xiamen Stone Fair shows strong recovery; more.
0:00 Intro
0:33 L.A. County Mulls Quartz-Surface Ban
2:42 MSI in Top 20 U.S. Container Importers
4:26 A Word from Quantra
5:38 2023 Xiamen Stone Fair Report
8:36 Cambria Opens Los Angeles Facility
9:11 ISFA Chicago Fabricator Crawl in July
10:31 Alpha Professional Tools Hires Landseadal
11:18 Outro
Radio Stone Update is presented on the first and third Wednesdays every month at 9 a.m. everywhere on Earth with the latest news and insights in hard surfaces. Check our archives at www.radiostoneupdate.com.
K. SCHIPPER: Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest in hard surfaces industry news from Radio Stone Update.
0:33
While countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom wrestle with what to do about silicosis in fabrication shops, Los Angeles is taking the direct route. Its board of county supervisors voted June 6 to begin consideration of banning what it called silica-fabricated stone within its borders.
The action directed various county officials to report back to the board in 90 days on “the options to ban the sale, fabrication and installation of silica-fabricated stone.” Among those options are providing money and technical assistance for converting to other materials.
The board also instructed the heads of its public works and internal-services departments to report in 45 days with recommendations on banning future use of quartz surfaces on any county-funded projects.
The action would affect a market of 9.8 million people, including the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Monica. While all cities in Los Angeles County have localized control of some services and planning and zoning, the county sets policies on other issues, such as public health.
The supervisors also declared June as Silicosis Awareness Month and directed department heads to report in six months on outreach and education plans for fabricators and consumers regarding health risks.
The Los Angeles County action comes as the state’s main workplace health agency – Cal/OSHA – plans increased enforcement of air-quality rules concerning crystalline-silica exposure with quartz surface fabrication.
In early May, the agency and the California Department of Public Health contacted 814 stone-fabrication businesses detailing the dangers of silica. Along with the need to protect employees, the letter also linked silica exposure to lung cancer, noting that the state considers crystalline silica a regulated carcinogen.
The letter also directed fabrication companies to file a report with Cal/OSHA concerning their operations, or possibly face strict inspections in the coming months.
2:42
M S International, Inc., -- MSI – has been recognized again as the 19th largest importer in the United States by the “Journal of Commerce.”
With more than 73,000 containers imported to the U.S. in 2022, MSI secured a spot in the top 20 on the importer list, which also includes such giants as Walmart, Target, and Home Depot.
Rupesh Shah, co-CEO of MSI, called the ranking, “…a testament to our team’s hard work, dedication and unwavering commitment to maintaining the industry’s highest fill rates, despite unprecedented container shipping-related challenges in 2022.”
MSI also ranked 19th in the 2021 report from the “Journal,” a publication of S&P Global Inc. “The Journal” uses PIERS, a leading provider of import/export data using bill-of-lading details. “The Journal” ranked MSI’s 2022 import trend overall as “up,” joining seven other companies in the top 20, including GE Appliances, Heineken USA, and IKEA, with the positive ranking.
The positive note stood out in “The Journal’s” report on 2022, with containerized imports of all the top 100 companies dropping by 6.2% after two years of double-digit growth. MSI’s positive news seemed to buck the trend among home-improvement and home-furnishings imports, with the sector’s total 2022 imports dropping by 5.5% after growing 24.4% in 2021.
The top three U.S. importers – Walmart, Target, and Home Depot – accounted for 2.2 million containers last year.
5:38
EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: This is Emerson Schwartzkopf. It’s been four years since the China Xiamen International Stone Fair could truly be called international. The world’s largest stone event fell victim in 2020 to the pandemic shutdown, with no show that year. The fair returned in 2021 to its annual schedule, but China’s strict travel regulations to combat COVID-19 effectively stopped foreign participation.
China lifted its strict border controls earlier this year, opening the path for foreign attendees at the Xiamen Stone Fair. But … would they come back?
The latest edition of the event last week showed that, yes, the international visitors are back – not in the same numbers from before the pandemic, but enough to signal a strong overall recovery and fulfill the show’s 2023 theme of “connecting in a broad circle.”
Preliminary numbers show that slightly more than 139,000 attendees went through the entry gates on June fifth through ninth at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center. For overall attendance, that’s only 7.3% off from the event’s best level in 2019. And, Chinese attendees continued to come back to the show, with this year’s domestic totals up by almost 25% from 2022.
Foreign attendance dropped significantly, as show organizers reported that non-Chinese visitor totals came to only half of the 29,446 seen in 2019. And the 174 foreign exhibitors would account for less than a third of those on the show floor four years ago, although the event did feature official pavilions for Italy, Turkey and Brazil, among other countries.
Lower foreign numbers at this year’s Xiamen show are understandable, as visa restrictions loosened only a few months before the event, and access by air still includes a reduced number of flights, especially from the United States.
I know. I was one of those few U.S. citizens at the Xiamen Stone Fair, and making it there – as far as travel, anyway – wasn’t easy. What I found was an event that offered some interesting insights into the world perspective of hard surfaces … and I’ll go into more detail on that with a video report set for the July August issue of Stone Update magazine. Look for it in your email inbox near the end of next month.
8:06
K. SCHIPPER: Cambria® announces the grand opening of its new Sales and Distribution Center Showroom in Los Angeles. The state-of-the-art facility is located within 15 miles of downtown Los Angeles and marks a significant milestone for the company.
The 28,000 ft² facility is aimed toward industry professionals and end users with access to its quartz surfaces, appealing to both the design and fabrication markets. Located at 13102 Imperial Hwy., the expansive showroom is open to the public with a large on-demand regional inventory of American-made quartz products.
Visitors to the showroom will have the opportunity to explore Cambria’s full-size slabs and a library of more than 100 samples, including the recently launched Hailey™, Harlow™, and Brittanicca Gold Cool™ designs.
The opening of the Los Angeles Sales and Distribution Center marks Cambria’s 22nd location nationwide. The company also operates eight inspirational gallery locations.
9:11
The International Surface Fabricators Association – the ISFA – will put a business spin on a moveable fest with a Chicago Fabricator Crawl next month with shop and plant tours … and, yes, some stops for refreshments.
Scheduled for July 18 and 19, attendees will shuttle to five stops through Chicago suburbs, along with a couple jaunts for evening relaxation. July 18 events involve stops at Stonecrafters in Lakemoor, Illinois, Groves, Inc., in Woodstock, Illinois, and an end of the day at the Bulldog Ale House in McHenry, Illinois
The following day, activities move to GMD Surfaces in Mokena, Illinois, Laser Products Industries in Romeoville, Illinois, and wrapping up with a tour and roundtable discussion at The Countertop Factory Midwest in Addison, Illinois. The evening will conclude at Topgolf in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Sponsored by Moraware, Park Industries, and Wilsonart, it’s open to all fabricators, including non-members and registration starts at $49. Space is limited. For more information or to reserve at spot, go to www.ISFAnow.org/industry-roundtable.
10:31
And, Alpha Professional Tools® announces Vince Landseadal is the Franklin, N.J.-based company’s new West territory sales representative. A California native who served in the Navy repairing ships as a diver, he relocated to Florida after his service.
After returning to California, Landseadal has worked in tooling/equipment for several large manufacturers in related fields. He has more than 15 years of territory management experience, and will be responsible for serving Alpha clients in California, northern Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. He can be reached at vlandseadal@alpha-tools.com
Remember, the May/June issue of Stone Update is now available at www.stonemag.com. Our online newsletter, Slab & Sheet, comes out on alternate Wednesdays. For a transcript of this broadcast, go to www.radiostoneupdate.com.
For Radio Stone Update, I’m K. Schipper and we’ll see you here again soon.