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TRANSCRIPT
Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest hard surfaces industry news from Radio Stone Update.
0:31
Legal arguments are continuing on U.S. unfair-trade tariffs on quartz surfaces. Two cases involving U.S. Commerce Department investigations are headed for the Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The two appeals are of separate decisions made by the U.S. Court of International Trade, also known as CIT.
One appeal involving MS International – MSI – was filed right before Christmas. That case involves an October ruling against including fabricators as producers when Commerce investigated unfair-trade claims made against India and Turkey.
Meanwhile, the appeals court will hear arguments next month on a different case brought by MSI and other importers concerning inclusion of surfaces using fine-particle crushed-glass powder in unfair-trade tariffs on quartz surfaces from China.
Both cases involve Cambria Company LLC and the U.S. government as defendants.
MSI’s December appeal challenges the CIT’s dismissal concerning how Commerce investigated Cambria’s 2018 unfair-trade complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission, also known as the USITC. Such complaints require at least 50 percent support from the domestic industry that may be harmed by unfair imports.
MSI contends that that 50 percent should include fabricators, while Commerce only considered U.S.-based quartz-surface manufacturers. MSI als0 contends Commerce also appears inconsistent in its definition of producers. No date has been set to hear that appeal.
However, the appeals court will hear arguments on Feb. 11 regarding the inclusion of materials using fine-grain glass powder in defining quartz surfaces from China. That appeal is being made by Bruskin International, along with MSI, Arizona Tile and Foshan Yixin Stone Company.
The appeal centers on Commerce’s decision, during the probe on Cambria’s petition against Chinese quartz-surface imports, to broaden the scope of the investigation to include materials made with crushed glass, as well as quartz sands. The expansion was made at the request of Cambria.
Cambria argued successfully that the substitution of glass powder for quartz is an evasion of the 300% plus tariffs on quartz surfaces from China. The request exempted materials using larger-dimension glass, such as the recycled materials used by U.S. manufacturers Vetrazzo and IceStone.
3:06
In other tariff news, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection – the CBP — affirmed the evasion of unfair-trade tariffs on Chinese quartz surfaces in two separate cases in late 2021.
The CBP declared on Nov. 25 that 15 companies brought quartz surfaces into the United States from China via Malaysia. And, on Dec. 6, the agency determined that Vivaldi Commercial LLC sought to bypass the Chinese quartz-surface tariffs by importing surfaces that substitute fine-grained glass power for quartz sand during manufacturing.
Both cases resulted from complaints filed by U.S. manufacturer Cambria Company LLC as part of the federal Enforce and Protect Act, or EAPA. In October 2020 Cambria alleged that some of the companies imported quartz surfaces from China but claimed the materials’ origin at Malaysia in a process known as transshipping. The CBP announced its initial findings earlier this year and a detailed investigation turned up additional evidence.
Cambria’s complaint on Vivaldi cited its surfaces as being crushed-glass particles smaller than the required size for exclusion from the glass for quartz as part of the Chinese material tariffs.
In both cases, the CBP ordered the final processing of customs procedures on all the materials in question be halted until the U.S. Commerce Department determines the correct tariff amounts. Other actions against the importers are still to be determined.
4:44
Just when trade shows began holding in-person events again, the omicron variant of COVID-19 put the brakes on a Spanish event. Organizers of the Cevisama tile trade show in Valencia, Spain, announced in late December that the show scheduled for Feb. 7-11 will now take place June 13-17.
The decision was made after the organizing committee analyzed the negative evolution of the pandemic. The event’s director, Carmen Alvarez, says “Our aim is for Cevisama to run successfully in terms of economic profitability for our clients and, of course, with the best possible health and safety guarantees. At the moment, this does not seem feasible.”
Alvarez added that they expect the scenario to be clearer in a few months’ time, and that organizers are going to double their efforts to celebrate the sector’s great reunion in June.
The rescheduled event will include Cevisama Tech showcasing the latest solutions and innovation and technology applied to the ceramics industry, as well as highlight Valencia’s designation as World Design Capital 2022. In its last edition in 2020, the show brought together more than 800 firms and brands, and some 90,000 professionals, with more than 21,000 coming from other countries.
7:17
Pearlman Group has acquired Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc., which does business under the name Vector Tools. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
Founded in 2001 in Alpharetta, Ga., Vector is a distributor of stone fabrication and installation tools and supplies operating in the Southeast. The company offers a broad range of products, including its own Vector line of tools.
The company’s founders and current management team and employees will continue to operate the company. Vector currently has locations in Nashville, Birmingham, Ala., and Charlotte, N.C. Pearlman CEO Scott McLendon says, “We have been impressed by Vector as a respected competitor of GranQuartz and are excited to be partnering with their team to add to our existing capabilities and serve our collective customer base even better.”
Pearlman’s GranQuartz division is a market-leading distributor, serving more than 8,000 stone fabricators, tile installers and concrete and monument professionals. Pearl Abrasive is a leading developer and provider of high-quality, branded adhesives and cutting tools to more than 5,000 distributor customers in construction and industrial end-markets
8:34
Cambria Company LLC is adding another production line at its quartz-surface manufacturing plant in Le Sueur, Minn. Completion is set for next June. The St. Peter, Minn. “Herald” initially broke the story, saying the 50,000 ft2 addition will house a “make” line for quartz-surface slabs and a polishing line.
Work on the expansion began this past March, with completion of the polishing line set for April, and the “make” line in June. The expanded production facility will bring 110 new positions to the company, which currently boasts a workforce of 530. Most of the expansion work so far has dealt with installing utilities and leveling land for expanding the plant’s current structure.
The new production line will produce Cambria’s current regular and jumbo slabs, while adding the capacity to create super-jumbo slabs. The new addition is the fifth since the plant originally opened with 179,000 ft2 in 2000. With the current addition, the plant will cover more than one million ft2.
Cambria President and CEO Marty Davis told the “Herald” that the current expansion is phase one of a two-part plan, and preliminary work will start this coming summer for adding yet another “make” line at a cost of $125 million.
In other news around the industry….
10:01
Natural Stone Institute members provided natural stone and fabrication services for its 40th home as part of the Gary Sinise Foundation’s Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment – or RISE – program. Natural stone and fabrication for U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jason Tabansky and his family in Boerne, Texas, were provided by Triton Stone Group, TexaStone Quarries and Unique Countertops.
A helicopter pilot with 15 years of service, including deployments to both Afghanistan and Iraq, Tabansky was left almost completely paralyzed due to an adverse drug reaction following a shoulder injury. Despite having control of only his hands, he has become a hunter, fisherman and competitive archer, as well as the bass player for his church.
Companies interested in getting involved with future projects are urged to email rise@naturalstoneinstitute.org for more information.
11:00
MS International Inc. – otherwise known as MSI – recently broke ground on its newest showroom and distribution center in Las Vegas. The 163,000 ft2 facility will serve residential and commercial markets in Nevada, and is scheduled to open this fall.
The showroom will feature products developed around lifestyle, trends and budgets, complete with a state-of-the-art indoor slab area featuring natural stone and Q Premium Natural Quartz. Founded in 1975, MSI is a leading supplier of flooring, countertops, wall tile and hardscaping products. Headquartered in Orange, Calif., MSI currently has more than 30 showrooms and distribution centers across the U.S. and Canada.
11:49
And, Ken Williams, president of Caesarstone North America, is one of two new members of the National Kitchen & Bath Association – NKBA – board of directors. Williams and Ken Roberts, president of Delta Faucet Co., will join the board early this year and serve four-year terms.
Williams joined Caesarstone in 2016 after holding various senior executive-level positions, including executive vice president of sales and marketing in a number of Masco Corp. divisions, and general management roles at Fortune Brands, Redhill Company Ltd., and Thorn Stevenson Kellogg Management Consultants.
The 50,000-member NKBA is the not-for-profit trade association that owns the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), set for next month in Orlando.
Remember, for all the news in the hard surfaces industry, our online newsletter, Slab& Sheet, appears on alternate Wednesdays. For notes and a full transcript of this podcast, go to our website at www.radiostoneupdate.com
For Radio Stone Update, I’m K. Schipper and we’ll see you here again soon.
