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K. SCHIPPER: Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest from Radio Stone Update.
The International Surface Event –– TISE – announces that its 2021 show has been rescheduled from late January to June 16-18 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Educational programs will begin June 15.
Dana Hicks, TISE show director, says in a letter sent August 18 to exhibitors, that the decision was not reached easily and,, “A host of extraordinary factors were taken into consideration.”
TISE stretches back to the original Surfaces show in the 1990s – joined by StonExpo in 2011. The show is now owned and produced by worldwide event organizer Informa Markets.
If you’ve been watching for the return of Coverings Connected, you’re already missed the first of three sessions – which took place today. However, the Coverings Connected digital experience offers two more runs.
Coverings Connected offers educations webinars, Continuing Education Units, on-demand content and an online showcase of Coverings’ tile and stone exhibitors from around the globe. Upcoming sessions are scheduled for November 28 and February 23 – which also happens to be National Tile Day.
The events lead up to the in-person Coverings 2021, which is scheduled to take place April 13-16 in Orlando, Florida. Companies looking to get involved and promote their businesses and brands through additional digital opportunities can participate in various Coverings Connected sponsorships. For more information about Coverings Connected, including schedules, resources and opportunities, go to www.coverings.com.
Everyone in business knows there are a few select lists to be on, and Raleigh, N.C.-based Majestic Kitchen and Bath Creations has made one of the best-known rankings. The company appears on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list. The list ranks the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.
There’s good reason for Majestic to be there, too. Over the past three years, the company has seen a 67% growth in revenue. Since 2017, the company has seen consecutive year-over-year double-digit organic growth. The growth comes through a series of strategic acquisitions that has allowed the company to broaden its product portfolio and provide production redundancy to meet increased demand.
Majestic’s 246 employees represent a 30% increase since 2017. Founded in 1990, Majestic Kitchen and Bath Creations manufactures and offers a wide selection of products from granite to quartz to solid surface and glass products.
Scott Byers, the company’s president and CEO, says, ”Being named by Inc. magazine as one of America’s 5000 fastest growing private companies is truly a testament to the dedication and professionalism of our team and a strong recognition of where they set the bar for delivering quality and certainty to each of our clients.”
Verona Marble Company announces it will now be distributing Vadara Quartz. The Dallas-based wholesale stone goods importer and distributor has served both the commercial and residential segments of the market in the south-central U-S since 1985.
Verona Marble Company offers five slab galleries and distribution centers for clients in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, southeast Kansas and southeast Missouri.
Erik Butler, vice president of operations at U-S Surfaces, Vadara’s manufacturer, says, “Verona Marble Company has been an integral part of the stone industry’s heritage, so we’re very excited to welcome them to the Vadera family.”
Vadara Quartz is seeking distributor partners to serve the Rocky Mountain and mid-Atlantic territories, and inquiries are welcome.
The summer season is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean some people – especially in warmer climates – aren’t still thinking about doing an outdoor project yet this year. While natural stone is associated with everything from fireplace veneers to outdoor kitchens, its good looks and durability should make it a natural around pools, as well.
Of course, it’s not uncommon for pool tiles to come in everything from travertine to marble to bluestone that can easily be carried into other outdoor areas, such as walkways and an outdoor kitchen, or even indoors. However, that’s not the only role it can play. Natural stone can also make a great statement as pool copings.
The trick to getting the right stone for a coping is to make sure it’s low absorption. Daniel Murphy, vice president of Oakville Stone, a Mississauga, Ontario, stone wholesaler, says,
“We have limestones that are less than 1% absorption. Those are very durable. People will use that around pools, but typically a limestone does have a higher absorption rate – so there are some limestones you wouldn’t’ be able to use.”
Still another possibility is granite, again because of its low absorption rate.
Other advantages to utilize natural stone around the pool include being able to cut it to any length a pool requires, and the number of surface treatments it will take to improve the surface co-efficient and make it slip-resistant.
If you’d like to read more about the use of natural stone around pools, take a look at the latest issue of Stone Update Magazine at magazine.stonemag.com.
UNESCO — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — with the support of the European Union, is working with the private sector to encourage youth employment and training through an apprenticeship program for marble, stone and alabaster carvers war-torn Iraq.
The Reviving Mosul and Basra Old Cities project involves training young men in specialized cultural and creative industries related to the reconstruction process in Mosul.
UNESCO’s apprenticeship program for marble, stone and alabaster carvers is supporting seven different small to medium enterprises in Mosul to take on and train apprentices under the supervision of the Department of Labour and Social Affairs.
Currently, fourteen apprentices from vulnerable groups have been engaged by the industry and are working on various projects in the city. The program hopes to alleviate economic hardship caused by the past conflict and address the on-going skills shortage in Mosul in key areas of reconstruction.
Once the pandemic has eased the program expected to expand to other necessary trades in Mosul and relevant industries in Basra.
Think you’re having a bad day? Well, consider AIG, the insurance industry giant that underwrites policies for Mansions of Australia Insurance. AIG was recently directed by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority – or AFCA – to make a total loss payment to a woman of more than $15,000 U.S. for damage to a marble coffee table she bought more than a decade ago.
After being ordered by AFCA to work together to agree on the table’s value before it was damaged, the two parties returned to the authority with their own up-to-date valuations. The problem is that AIG argued if the table could be repaired the policy entitled it to do so.
AFCA officials claim the policy conveyed an impression that policyholders could require any repair work be done to more exacting requirements to preserve authenticity or high-end values. The authority notes that marble is a natural resource and no two slabs are exactly alike.
The table’s original manufacturer is a well-known brand name that AIG says is no longer operating. Because of that, AFCA ruled the table could not be restored to a condition equal to its condition as new, which is what the policy promised. Consequently, AIG was ordered to, “settle the complainant’s claim on a total loss basis and pay the table’s value immediately before the claimed loss occurred.”
Remember, you’ll find all the industry news in our online newsletter, Slab and Sheet. The story about the use of natural stone around pools is in the latest issue of Stone Update Magazine at magazine.stonemag.com. And, don’t forget to look at the notes on this episode’s webpage for links to everything in this broadcast.
I’m K. Schipper for Radio Stone Update and we’ll see you here again soon.
