ASI sells engineered-stone division; June U.S. hard-surface imports top $470 million; granite quarry group aligns with Natural Stone Institute; more.
This episode is brought to you by Water Treatment Solutions, offering premium water recycling systems custom-built for the stone, concrete and glass industries. Join the growing group of satisfied customers now recycling nearly 1.4 billion gallons of water every year. Find out more at www.watertreatmentonline.com.
0:34
ASI Sells Engineered-Stone Division in Cash/Debt-Assumption Deal
2:12
Granite Quarry Group Merges with Natural Stone Institute
3:58
Pokarna Engineered Stone Dedicates New Plant
4:59
U.S. Hard-Surfaces Imports Top $470 Million in June
6:39
PASSINGS: David R. Fell, 59.
7:42
Coverings: 10,000 Registered
8:24
BB Industries Adds Two in Central U.S.
08:57
Natural Stone Institute CEU Awards
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.
ASI sells engineered-stone division; June U.S. hard-surface imports top $470 million; granite quarry group aligns with Natural Stone Institute; more.
This episode is brought to you by Water Treatment Solutions, offering premium water recycling systems custom-built for the stone, concrete and glass industries. Join the growing group of satisfied customers now recycling nearly 1.4 billion gallons of water every year. Find out more at www.watertreatmentonline.com.
0:34
ASI Sells Engineered-Stone Division in Cash/Debt-Assumption Deal
2:12
Granite Quarry Group Merges with Natural Stone Institute
3:58
Pokarna Engineered Stone Dedicates New Plant
4:59
U.S. Hard-Surfaces Imports Top $470 Million in June
6:39
PASSINGS: David R. Fell, 59.
7:42
Coverings: 10,000 Registered
8:24
BB Industries Adds Two in Central U.S.
08:57
Natural Stone Institute CEU Awards
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 edition of Radio Stone Update.
00:34
India-based ASI Industries Ltd. announces that it will sell its engineered stone division to an Indian stone processor/exporter in a cash and debt-assumption deal. Value of the transaction is estimated at approximately $30 million.
The deal for a full-asset “slump sale” to Marudhar Rocks International Private Limited is subject to the approval of shareholders, lenders and other involved parties. The transaction is targeted to close by next March.
The sale marks an abrupt change for ASI, which planned the roll-out of its Artizia brand of quartz surfaces for several years. The company, one of the largest limestone and sandstone quarriers in India, saw engineered stone as a progressive expansion. Commercial production – utilizing Breton® technology – began at its new facility near Jaipur on March 23.
In making the announcement, company officials described the move as bittersweet. However, the transaction will allow ASI to pare down its debts and become a zero debt company in the near future. It involves approximately $11 million from Marudhar Rocks, which will also take on all responsibilities of debt for the engineered stone division.
The final total will largely offset the $30 million in capital outlay for the construction of the new fully automated plant. Marudhar Rocks has also announced it will bring all the employees of the division under its employ. ASI officials say they remain committed to building the company’s Kotah natural-stone business.
02:12
The National Building Granite Quarriers Association – the NBGQA – is merging with the Natural Stone Institute. The NBGQA will work with the institute to advance industry efforts in supporting quarry advocacy, sustainability, outreach to architects and designers, and continued efforts to promote the use of natural stone.
Gregg Flint, NBGQA board president says, “This is an opportunity through consolidation to further strengthen the industry and create a uniform voice for natural stone.”
Natural Stone Institute Board President Michael Picco states, “We’ve been working alongside the NBGQA and its members for several years, which makes this merger a natural transition.”
Founded in 1916, the NBGQA originally included a dozen of the major building granite quarriers in the United States. Today, the membership includes five companies: Coldspring, Dakota Granite, New England Stone, North Carolina Granite and Polycor. All are already Natural Stone Institute members.
As part of the merger, the institute will acquire ownership of the NBGQA granite specifications, which are already heavily referenced in the “Dimension Stone Design Manual” along with other resources to further advance quarry safety initiatives, sustainability, natural stone promotion and advocacy.
The organization’s financial assets will be earmarked to assist with several initiatives being directed by the newly formed North American Quarry Advocacy Group. The NBGQA will remain incorporated for two years as the transition takes shape.
03:58
Pokarna Engineered Stone Limited dedicated its new, state-of-the-art quartz-surface manufacturing plant on July 31. K.T. Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology for the Indian state of Telangana inaugurated the facility in a formal ceremony.
The new facility is equipped with Breton® technology and covers approximately 600,000 square feet. Commercial production began at the plant in late March. The plant increases Pokarna’s capacity for producing its Quantra quartz surfaces to 15 million square feet annually.
Paras Kumar Jain, Pokarna CEO says, “This unit incorporates the latest technological innovations of safety, environment, product design and industrial performance.” Also attending the ceremony were other state officials and their representatives, vendor and supplier partners and dealers of the company.
04:59
EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: This is Emerson Schwartzkopf. The June numbers for U.S. hard-surface imports are in, and that anticipated slowdown in demand … (sigh) … I give up. The nearly $471 million in hard-surface customs value is yet another record, running 7.4% ahead of May and nearly double – 90.2% – the amount of June 2020 during the worldwide pandemic economic pause.
Quartz slabs and porcelain accounted for more than 55 % of all hard-surface imports in June, with quartz’s $156 million in value showing a nearly 9% increase from this May. Porcelain, meanwhile, registered a 13.6% gain in value at $110 million.
It’s not all paper gains, either, as the total volume of quartz slabs imported in June came to slightly more than 18 million ft², or a 5.6% step-up from May. Porcelain, however, managed to stumble a bit, with the 99 million ft² in June leading to a 2.2% decline from the previous month. Don’t blame Italy in June, as it surpassed May shipments by 48.7%. The big drain in June came from Turkey and India, which dropped month-to-month exports to the United States by 28% and 37%, respectively.
You can see all the details in the next edition of Hard Surface Report that goes live next week. Watch your email inbox for details.
06:39
K. SCHIPPER: Radio Stone Update is saddened to report the passing of David Ross Fell, president of BG Hoadley Quarries, who died on August 4 in Bloomington, Ind., at the age of 59.
Fell successfully led a multigenerational limestone business for more than 35 years. He served on the Boards of the Indiana Limestone Institute and the Allied Stone Institute and was a strong supporter of the Natural Stone Institute. His mother, Patsy Fell-Barker is still involved in the business, as are two of Fell’s three children.
In addition to his mother and children, Fell is survived by his spouse, Cheryl Robinson Fell, a brother and a sister, and three grandchildren. Memorial services were held on August 7 in Bloomington. The family prefers donations be made in David’s honor to your local Humane Society or the American Heart Association.
In other industry news…
07:42
Coverings reported 10,000 registered for the event in early July in Orlando, Fla. Jennifer Hoff, president of Taffy Event Strategies, the show management company for Coverings, says “The attendees of Coverings 2021 were highly charged and enthused about being part of the on-site event.” She adds there was plenty of positive feedback from exhibitors who were able to connect with customers thanks to Coverings’ mix of in-person and virtual opportunities. The show dodged a bullet when Hurricane Elsa took a more westerly track, avoiding major disruptions in travel and power to the show’s Orlando location.
08:24
BB Industries announces the addition of two new sales consultants, Ed Vredenburgh and Barry Rhodes, for its central United States service region. Vredenburgh will cover eastern Kansas and Nebraska and western Missouri. He comes to the company from a sales position with GranQuartz. Rhodes will cover the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. After working in law enforcement, he joined the stone industry with Keystone Tools and later worked for GranQuartz and selling stone slabs.
08:57
And, Stone Panels International is the 2020 continuing education unit – or CEU – Educator of the Year for the Natural Stone Institute. Stone Panels’ Kayla Strand also took individual honors for 2020. Stone Panels, a lightweight stone company in Marble Falls, Texas, educated almost 600 individuals in 74 classes as part of a marketing plan that targeted emails and flyers specific to architect and design firms. Strand was the program’s top performing speaker, contributing 44 classes and 317 attendees to Stone Panels’ totals.
Remember: you can keep up with all the industry news with Slab and Sheet, which appears online on alternate Wednesdays. For notes on this episode and a full transcript, go to radiostoneupdate.com
I’m K. Schipper for Radio Stone Update and we’ll see you here again soon.