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VOICEOVER: This edition of Radio Stone Update is underwritten by Prodim. Check out the company’s templating solutions during its live online Digital Stone Festival, starting September 29 at www.stone-festival.com

K. SCHIPPER: Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest from Radio Stone Update.

Costentino Group will open a new U.S. warehouse and distribution center in Elk Grove Village, Ill. The new leased facility will be located northeast of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in the community’s Elk Grove Technology Park, or some 25 miles from downtown Chicago.

The Spanish surfaces producer is taking over 46,000 ft² of a 128,000 ft² building. Cosentino Group expects to move into the new facility in the early spring of 2021. Massimo Ballucchi, executive director of marketing – Americas, says while Cosentino has had a strong presence in the Chicago market, the new location should improve its service levels and shipping times to customers. 

The Elk Grove Technology Park has been developed by Chicago-based Brennan Investment Group and sits on 85 acres in what’s considered the heart of the O’Hare industrial submarket. It also offers convenient access to three major highways.

The National Tile Contractors Association – the NTCA – awards its Tile Setter Craftsperson of the Year Award for 2020 to two men, Ferid Hasic and Leo Reynaga. 

Hasic, from Grazzini Brothers & Company in Eagan, Minnesota, won in the commercial category for an installation at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The project involved the installation of 35,000 ft² of large-format thin porcelain tiles at the stadium, which was the largest construction project in Minnesota. As part of the job, he trained and mentored ten additional tile setters during the course of the work, which took three months. 

Reynaga, who works for Visalia Tile is Visalia, California, earned his award for a residential project involving the intricate use of travertine tile for a pool decking. He headed the exterior portion of the project at a home in Fresno, California. The job used 3cm travertine pavers in a Versailles-pattern that ran through the edges of the pool deck. 

Because of Covid-19, both winners will be recognized at the 2021 version of the Coverings show, which is scheduled for Orlando, Fla., in April. They will receive round-trip airfare for two to the show, and three nights of lodging, and will be recognized at the annual NTCA Awards Night during the show.

Montana-based Granite Mountain Countertops is the newest member of the Artisan Group. Owned by Michael Howard, Granite Mountain Countertops operates two locations in Billings and Bozeman. The company originated as a family business that included remodeling and general contracting. Howard about the granite and tile division in 2013.

Howard’s goal is to grow the company is $10-$15 million in revenue within the next three to five years. He says, “We’re excited for the opportunity to be part of the Artisan Group and feel that we are a great match.” 

Artisan Group offers its own brands of premium countertops, including Metro Quartz, Artisan Stone Collection granite and marble, Saratoga Soapstone and Heritage Wood, and is planning to grow into a group with premier fabricators in key cities throughout the U.S. and two Canadian provinces.


EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: This is Emerson Schwartkopf, editor of Stone Update Magazine. Early this summer, I decided to be daring and go on the road – for all of 90 miles down Los Angeles freeways – to Orange, California, to interview Rupesh Shah, co-president of M S International. (Don’t worry – we observed proper social distancing and wore our masks.) 

The entire 10 Questions conversation is in our Summer edition, but I found one comment about the industry’s short- and long-term term future as particularly interesting:

RUPESH SHAH: We don’t know if it’s really pent-up demand, or is there a long term shift about how people think about their homes., as we know that the cases continued to go up and at some at some point, having unemployment about 10% will catch up with demand. So, you know, it’s too hard to say how each month is going to look. But again, I can confidently say two years from now, the industry will have its best year ever. And, and we’re very, very positive on that.

EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: You can find out more in the Summer 2020 edition of Stone Update Magazine. Check the podcast notes for the link to the full interview.

K. SCHIPPER: The Natural Stone Institute announces the successful completion of another home through the Gary Sinise Foundation’s RISE program. RISE stands for Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment, and the RISE program builds specially adapted smart homes for severely wounded veterans and first responders. The Natural Stone Institute has provided natural stone and fabrication services for the 30th time for a RISE home.

The home in question is located in Hopkinton, Mass., and was build for former U.S. Army Capt. Greg Galeazzi and his family. Galeazzi was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in the summer of 2010 when he was hit by an improvised explosive device or IED. He lost both of his legs and part of his right arm in the explosion and endured multiple surgeries and numerous complications on his way to recovery. Despite his injuries, he’s currently a student at Harvard Medical School. 

Natural stone and fabrication services for this particular home were provided by Marble and Granite, Inc., and Ontra Stone Concepts. Companies interested in getting involved with future projects are encouraged to contact Pam Hammond by e-mail at pan@naturalstoneinstitute.org.

Robert L. Wieland, an original founder of what is now the National Kitchen & Bath Association, died August 20. He was 91, and had been a resident of Devon House Senior Living in Allentown, Pa., at the time of his passing.

Wieland began a lifelong career as an award-winning kitchen designer at his family’s business, Kitchens by Wieland in Allentown in 1947. In 1963 he helped found the American Institute of Kitchen Dealers – the AIKD – and served as its second president. He also presided over the first AIKD Kitchen Show in New York in 1965.

 The AIKD later merged with the National Kitchen Distributors Association and evolved into the NKBA. The AIKD Kitchen Show changed its name in 1981 to its current moniker, the National Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, or KBIS.

In 1968, Wieland became the industry’s first Certified Kitchen Designer – CKD – after helping to develop the program with the University of Illinois. He also spearheaded the program to create the Kitchen Industry Technical Manuals. Over the course of his career, he won 47 NKBA Design Competition Awards. In 1990, he was awarded the James Foster Memorial Award and inducted into the NKBA National Kitchen & Bath Hall of Fame. 

Robert Wieland owned Kitchens by Weiland in Allentown until 2001. He’s survived by a son and a daughter. 

Remember you’ll find all the industry news in our online newsletter, Slab and Sheet. 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.