Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest in Hard surfaces industry news from Radio Stone Update.
0:33
It was a busy end of September for the stone industry in Verona, Italy, as the 56th Marmomac natural stone exhibition drew 47,000 attendees, or almost twice the number who attended last year.
The event at Veronafiere drew industry members from 132 countries, with 63 percent of attendees coming from countries other than Italy. Veronafiere President Federico Bricolo says the result all but returns the event to pre-COVID numbers.
Veronafiere CEO Maurizio Danese says the show was particularly impressed with the return of important target countries such as the United States, Brazil, India and Turkey. He said, “The figure posted for international attendance is all the more impressive when bearing in mind the down-scaled presence of China, Russia and Ukraine in the wake of well-known health and geopolitical issues.”
Marmomac 2022 also launched a new green approach for the Italian natural stone production chain, with the presentation of the 10-point planning document in the Authentic Natural Stone Sustainability Manifesto. The project seeks to create an environmental declaration for natural stone products involving a commitment to adopt a certified and circular production cycle to ensure increasingly lower environmental impacts affecting air, water, and overall CO2 emission levels.
Marmomac Plus, the show’s virtual portal, will now continue throughout the year. The next in-person edition of Marmomac will be Sept. 26-29, 2023.
2:16
Meanwhile, down the road in Bologna, Italy, the 39th edition of the international tile event Cersaie drew slightly more than 90,000 attendees during its Sept. 26-30 event at BolognaFiere.
As with Marmomac, that number represents an almost 50 percent increase from last year, bringing Cersaie close to its pre-COVID numbers. In 2019, the event drew more than 112,000 attendees.
More than 48 percent of this year’s attendees came from outside Italy. The show presented 624 exhibitors in more than 1.5 million square feet. Of those, 237 came from 26 countries outside Italy. Cersaie returns to Bologna Sept. 25-29 next year.
3:08
The National Tile Contractors Association – the NTCA – will offer seven training sessions on Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels and Slabs – also known as GPTP -- from now through December in several Western states.
The all-day events teach the new tile industry standards and methods for installing GPTP, as well as information on how the material is made, where it can be used, and the special tools, setting materials and techniques required to install it.
The sessions are offered at no charge, although there is a $50 registration deposit that will be refunded upon completion of the training sessions. Each session is limited to 20 participants and runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To register get in touch with the local contact for each session. A full list of sites and contacts is available at www.tile-assn.com/events/event_list.asp
4:12
A Word from Quantra
5:25
The face will look familiar, but Diamant Boart, a trade name known for 85 years in the industry, will soon answer to Husqvarna. The brand change was introduced to customers and the market as part of the Marmomac show at the end of September.
Diamant Boart became part of Husqvarna Group’s Construction Division in 2002, and Pierre Andary, senior vice president of diamond tools at Husqvarna, says the time has come to operate under a single name and market image. The change will be implemented over the coming months, but the Diamant Boart trademark will be kept and used for a selected range of products.
Says Andary, “Many customers already know us as part of the Husqvarna Group. We are convinced this will bring benefits for our customers and the stone industry at large, as we can focus our efforts on one strong brand.”
6:17
U.S. Stone Industries, a Herington, Kansas-based quarrier and fabricator, has earned certification to the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard (ANSI/NSI 373) from the Natural Stone Institute.
The company achieved Silver status for its fabrication facility, which processes limestone from raw blocks of stone into usable building materials.
The predecessor companies of U.S. Stone Industries began large-scale quarrying of Kansas limestone in the 1930s. The company consolidated a number of firms under the U.S. Stone brand in 2001. The company now operates eight quarries and a 110,000-square-foot production facility.
The Natural Stone Sustainability Standard was first published in 2014 by the Natural Stone Council. Ownership of the standard transferred to the Natural Stone Institute in early 2021, marking a significant opportunity to raise awareness about the standard.
Quarriers and natural-stone fabricators can look to this standard to identify ways to improve sustainability efforts in their operations. By defining best practices for land reclamation, adaptive reuse and management of excess materials and waste, the standard helps ensure good stewardship of the land.
U.S. Stone Industries President Ben Retter, says, “Our experience throughout the certification process validated our core belief that sustainable initiatives are exceedingly beneficial to our environment, our industry, our customers and our operations.”
To learn more about the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard and source certified natural stone, go to www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/sustainability
In other news around the industry….
8:13
After months of waiting, the 22nd China Xiamen International Stone Fair opened its doors July 30-Aug. 4, and organizers report attendance grew slightly more than 5 percent from 2021 as the event continues to come back from its 2020 cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Almost 1,100 exhibiting companies from China and around the world participated in the fair, filling 162,000 square meters of space in eight exhibition areas. More than 1,200 global brands participated. According to a survey, most exhibitors said they were there to learn about industry trends, meet regular customers and look for distributors and agencies. The 2023 edition of the Xiamen Stone Fair will be held next March 26-29.
9:03
Louisville Tile Distributors, Inc., announced that they have acquired full interest in Mid America Tile, a Chicago-area wholesale tile distributor and importer based in Elk Grove Village, Ill. The location becomes Louisville Tile’s 13th branch office.
The acquisition includes a recently renovated showroom, office space and a 71,000-square-foot warehouse. The acquisition extends Louisville Tile’s geographic footprint as a leading distributor in the midwestern U.S. It also adds 15 full-time employees to the company’s team of more than 250 employees.
9:43
And, Knoxville, Tenn.-based BB Industries announces the addition of Maverick Wilson as the new warehouse supervisor charged with managing the company’s expanding fulfillment center in South Salt Lake, Utah. Wilson has nearly a decade of experience managing logistics, warehouse operations, inventory, and shipping.
BB Industries has announced that it is doubling the space and capacity of its Utah fulfillment center before the end of the year. The expansion will allow the company to increase its inventory value by 50 percent while reducing stockouts and increasing picking efficiencies.
Remember, our online newsletter, Slab & Sheet, appears on alternate Wednesdays, and the September/October issue of Stone Update Magazine is now online. For notes and a transcript of this podcast, go to www.radiostoneupdate.com
For Radio Stone Update, I’m K. Schipper, and we’ll see you here again soon.
