K. SCHIPPER: Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest from Radio Stone Update.
00:27
Last week was Earth Day, and Canadian quarrier Polycor, Inc., announced that it is the first natural-stone quarrier to make a firm commitment to carbon neutrality.
The company will achieve carbon neutrality by 2025, five years ahead of the curve set by the American Institute of Architects’ call to become carbon neutral by 2030.
Company CEO Patrick Perus says Polycor has a history and brand focused on global leadership while prioritizing and fostering sustainability, innovation and environmental stewardship.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC – has identified 2030 as a tipping point for requiring significant reduction in emissions. The building industry accounts for 39 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, consequently bearing a tremendous responsibility to mitigate global environmental risk.
Perus says he’s hoping Polycor’s example can inspire other construction material providers to do the same. He notes customers and partners are increasingly demanding environmentally friendly products.
The company’s carbon neutral efforts will focus on increasing energy use from renewable resources; installing electrical charging stations and prioritizing new vehicles with alternative fuel sources; reducing waste through everything from sustainable packaging to prioritizing recycling and reuse, and; performing carbon offsetting activities, such as tree planting, as well as repurposing former production sites.
Founded in Quebec in 1987, Polycor employs more than 1,300 people and owns more than 50 quarries in North America and Europe. It’s one of the largest natural stone quarriers in the world.
02:25
The third edition of the online SmartFair drew slightly more than 30,000 unique visitors earlier this spring, according to organizers. After three official days of fair and two weeks of customer follow-up, the virtual attendee count reached 30,250 online attendees who dealt with 30 exhibitors in 19 countries with more than $500 million worth of loaded materials, excluding machinery.
Slightly more than one in five of the attendees identified as fabricators. Other large categories of visitors included distributors, importers, consultants, and architects and interior designers.
The third edition introduced an event agenda that included video content streamed during the three main days of the fair that included webinars, company presentations, interviews and product launches. Also contributing were SmartFair’s media partners, including Stone Update’s Emerson Schwartzkopf, whose presentation on “The Shifting Scales of U.S. Hard-Surface Imports” is still available on YouTube.
After the three-day main event, participants had two weeks of after fair to close deals and collected clients’ data. The next SmartFair edition will be announced soon.
4:51
EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: This is Emerson Schwartzkopf. Hard-surface imports to the United States remained strong in February, with the $338.9 million in total customs value topping the same time last year by 34.6%. Quartz slabs remain the powerhouse, as the total value this February came to $115.1 million … exactly one-third more than in February 2020.
Granite also showed good year-to-year growth in both value and volume at U.S. ports-of-entry. The 93,682 metric tons delivered this February beat 2020 totals by nearly 30 percent. All other sectors enjoyed double-digit growth, including an astonishing 98.5% in imports of Other Stone – which includes that current popular variety, quartzite.
Will that growth continue? Well, that may not be dictated by customer demand; there’s talk among importers of all goods of a lack of shipping containers worldwide, U.S. ports clogged with traffic, and massive increases in shipping rates due to higher fuel prices. February import data didn’t show a slowdown, but we could see big changes soon.
Keep up with the flow of material with Hard-Surface Report, the monthly in-depth survey of U.S. imports of natural stone, quartz surfaces and porcelain. Check in at latest.hardsurfacereport.com.
06:30
K. SCHIPPER: Registration for Hardscape North America – HNA – is now open – and organizers are committed to bringing the industry back together in Louisville, Ky. on Oct. 20-22. A survey of exhibitors and attendees showed 82 percent were likely or very likely to attend HNA 2021.
Charles McGrath, executive director of the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute – the ICPI, which sponsors the event – says a live show will allow exhibitors and attendees the opportunity to do what’s best done in-person. That includes finding solutions, getting a first look at new technologies, gaining hands-on training, and networking with friends and industry leaders.
As in years past, HNA will run concurrently with Green Industry & Equipment Expo, the largest trade show for the lawn and landscape industry, at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
New for 2021 will be the Hands-On Drone Zone where attendees can test their ability on a flight simulator and fly a drone with an export trainer, and Hardscape House, a 42,000 square foot pavilion under roof and adjacent to the 20-acre Outdoor Demonstration Area with exhibitor displays for hands-on testing. That area will also host the returning HNA Installer Championships and the HNA Hardscape Awards Presentation, which recognizes outstanding hardscape projects by contractors in commercial and residential applications in 18 categories.
Also on tap are eight conference sessions, and the ICPI and National Concrete Masonry Association pre-show installer courses approved for CE hours for ICPI Certified Concrete Paver Installers.
Early-bird registration, available through Sept. 9, is $20 and provides access to more than 900 indoor exhibits, the Outdoor Demonstration Area and free parking at the exposition center. For more information go to www.HardscapeNA.com
8:40
LATICRETE recently announced that it has created a Customer Experience Department to unify operation and enhance performance. The new department unites Technical Services, Customer Service, Quality Assurance and LATICRETE University under the direction of Art Mintie, who has more than 25 years of experience in dealing with technical service with the company. In his new role, Mintie will hold the title of Vice President of Customer Experience.
By combining those four distinct areas, Mintie says the Bethany, Conn.-based company will be able to create a seamless, transparent customer journey that makes interaction with LATICRETE easy and positive, and streamlines resource sharing and enhances communications between LATICRETE and its customers.
Mintie joined LATICRETE in 1995 as a member of the Technical Services Department.
In other news from around the industry…
09:41
Frank DeCarolis joins BB Industries in outside sales covering Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. DeCarolis started in the stone industry back in 2001 importing and distribution natural stone throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, and moved into tool sales in 2018 with GranQuartz and Regent Stone Products. BB Industries Vice President Jeff Dykstra says DeCarolis’ stone and tool experience is a great addition to the company’s sales team. He is based in the Washington metro area.
10:17
“Natural Stone Principles” is the newest continuing-education-unit – or CEU – course from the Natural Stone Institute. An updated version of the popular “Natural Stone 101” course, “Natural Stone Principles includes a renewed focus on utilizing natural stone in design, and reflects current trends and innovations in stone design. The new course is available to certified CEU speakers for download and presentation through the CEU Events dashboard
To learn more, go to www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/CEU
10:57
Cosentino Group announces the creation of a new Digital Business Unit or DBU as part of its effort to evolve the surfacing company’s business model. The DBU will lead all of the company’s digital-business initiatives worldwide, including work previously split between the strategy, marketing and systems teams, as well as implementation of new strategies such as the Call Centre for potential customers and prospects. Heading the new business unit will be Paco Martinez-Cosentino Alfonso, who will become Global Head of Digital Business. He has been with the company since 2012.
For the latest in industry news, visit our online newsletter, Slab & Sheet. And, for notes on this episode and a full transcript, go to our website at www.radiostoneupdate.com’
I’m K. Schipper for Radio Stone Update and we’ll see you here again soon.