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K. SCHIPPER: Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest in hard surfaces industry news from Radio Stone Update.
0:50
Family-owned and -operated Minnesota Tile and Stone – MTS – is merging with K.G. Stevens in a private-equity deal announced Jan. 11. Terms of the transaction weren’t reported.
Alan Dale, former owner and president of MTS, retired upon completion of the transaction with Milwaukee-base private-equity firm Borgman Capital. At the same time, Jason Garare, the former president of metal fabricator Super Steel LLC of Mequon, Wis., became the new president of K.G. Stevens.
Sequoya Bogrman, founder and CEO of Borgman Capital, says both MTS and K.G. Stevens share a standard of quality product offerings and best-in-class customer service. Says Borgman, “These shared values, geographic proximity and immediate benefit to customers of both companies makes the acquisition a win-win, as well as opportunities for future innovation.”
Founded in 1930 as Dale Tile, MTS operates five retail facilities in the Twin Cities metro area. The company offered specialty products such as hard-surface countertops and brick fireplaces. It increased its ability to serve the countertop market in 2010 when it bought fabricator Pollux Manufacturing Inc., in Minneapolis from Waukesha, Wis.-based Hallmark Building Supplies.
Alan Dale, who began working for his family’s company in the early 1960s, says his career wouldn’t have been possible without great suppliers, customers, and teammates. He adds that MTS has a great management team and with Borgman Capital can grow and prosper.
Borgman Capital was founded in 2017 and currently has 14 other companies in its portfolio. Current investments are Midwest-focused. It acquired K.G. Stevens, reportedly the largest countertop fabricator in Wisconsin, last October.
2:53
Manu Shah, founder and CEO of M S International Inc. – MSI – is retiring after 47 years in the business. He will remain with the company as CEO emeritus, according to a release from MSI, and will advise and coach many leaders at the company MSI. Shah’s sons, Rup and Raj, who currently serve as MSI co-presidents, will become co-CEOs.
Manu Shah was born in India as the youngest of nine children and came to the United States to study, receiving a Master’s in mechanical engineering from Purdue University. Together with his wife, Rika, he formed MSI in the basement of their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, keeping his day job as an engineer and exporting microprocessors and memory chips at night.
A change in the computer market led the Shahs to begin importing granite. In 1983, Manu Shah decided to go full-time with MSI and moved his family to Southern California a year later to be near a port city. A year after that, MSI surpassed $1 million in annual revenues. In 1987 the Shahs opened the first MSI warehouse in Santa Fe Springs, California.
Today, MSI is a top 20 importer in the U.S., featuring 10 product lines with thousands of products. The company reports more than $2.8 billion in revenue supporting the lives and livelihoods of more than 3,000 worldwide employees. Now based in Orange, California, the company also has more than 45 showrooms and distribution centers in greater North America.
Manu Shah has always kept his focus on giving back to the community both locally and globally. He plans to continue his philanthropic efforts in his retirement, in addition to spending more quality time with his grandchildren.
In his retirement announcement, Manu Shah called success a never-ending journey similar to climbing a mountain. He added, “When you reach the top of the summit and look below, you forget all the pain it took you to reach the top. You see the beautiful surroundings below and look forward to other mountains yet to climb.”
The company’s new co-CEOs, Raj and Rup Shah, say they are looking forward to continuing to build MSI using all the lessons and tools their parents have provided, and they assured them they will continue their vision for MSI.
6:34
Brazil is going all in at this year’s The International Surface Event – or TISE – with a unique presentation of the country’s products at “It’s Natural – Brazilian Natural Stone” which stresses the theme “Brazilian Geodiversity, Brazilianness and Art.”
The exhibit features 40 materials from 12 different geological types at Booth 4759, and is being promoted by the Brazilian Center of Natural Stone Exporters – Centrorochas – and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, otherwise known as ApexBrasil. The area is designed by Araciene Pessin, an expert in ornamental stones, and features the products of 22 companies with different applications, textures and various thicknesses.
The highlight of the display will be a large waterjet-cut mosaic which has a map of Brazil in backlit quartz crystal in the center, and around it the diversity of stones from all five regions of Brazil.
Tales Machado, Centrorochas president, notes that this is the organization’s first direct participation at StonExpo, and through “It’s Natura”l and in partnership with ApexBrasil, it hopes to open the range of opportunities for Brazil stone.
In addition to the exhibit, “Get to Know the Power of Brazilian Natural Stones” will be presented at noon on Feb. 1 at TISE’s Natural Stone Theater – booth 5023. Presenters will be Centrorochas Vice President Fabio Cruz, and international stone specifier Paulo Giafarov.
TISE is scheduled for Jan. 31 through Feb. 2 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
8:14
EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: November hard-surface shipments to the United States usually show a decrease from mid-year highs, but this year’s $400.6 million in U.S. hard-surface imports is down 20% from October. Material volume also experience double-digit declines in all major sectors.
November quartz-slab volume of 12.4 million square feet plummeted 35% from October deliveries at U.S. ports-of-entry. India’s month-to-month drop of 65.6% is likely due to uncertainty at that point on possible tariff hikes, but big declines also came from Spain (down 33%) and Thailand (down 42.3%).
After a summer where volume and values tended to be stable, it’s back again on the roller-coaster ride for U.S. hard-surface imports. Maybe we’re on a loop-the-loop and heading to some flat track.in the near future. The wise rider will hold onto the safety bar in case of sudden changes.
9:21
K. SCHIPPER: After two successful fabricator-packed expos last year, the U.S. stone CNC machinery manufacturer Park Industries® is making a West Coast swing with its first Digital Stoneworking Expo™ of 2023. Set for March 2 in Anaheim, California, attendees will be able to tour two local shops, watch CNC machine demos and learn about making their businesses more profitable.
Seminars will touch on several key topics, including digital fabrication, determining your ROI, and how to cut porcelain. The event includes shop tours of Epic Ceramic & Stone in Santa Ana, Calif., and Pacific Stone Construction in Anaheim. Park Industries will be displaying its waterjets and a CNC router.
There’s no charge to attend the Digital Stoneworking Expo, but space is limited and expected to fill up fast. To learn more or to register, go to www.parkindustries.com/dse.
In other news around the industry….
11:12
The Natural Stone Institute named Namib Bianco marble from Best Cheer Stone Inc., as the 2023 Stone of the Year. The white marble comes from a Best Cheer quarry in Karibib, Namibia, and features a crystalline white background with subtle white and ivory-toned veins embedded throughout the stone.
Namib Bianco is a translucent material, making it an ideal choice for creating backlit natural-stone projects. It also has a low water absorption rate and a higher density compared to other white marbles. To learn more about the Stone of the Year program, go to www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/stoneoftheyear.
11:52
The International Surface Fabricators Association – the ISFA — announces the appointment of two fabricators and an industry-vendor representative to its board of directors in 2023. The fabricators are Mike Henry of ASST and Mike Schott of Onslow Stoneworks, who will serve as directors. Frank Sciarrino of Granite Gold, Inc., and Quote Countertops will be an associate member representative.
Nancy Busch, executive director of ISFA, called all three excellent additions to the board with strong backgrounds in successful business growth and development. Austin Maxwell of Maxwell Counters will serve as president in 2023. For more information on ISFA, go to www.ISFAnow.org.
12:45
And, the Natural Stone Institute has named the recipients of the 2022 Natural Stone Scholarship and Women in Stone Empowerment Scholarship. Both recipients will be honored during the association’s annual Awards Ceremony at StonExpo in Las Vegas on Jan. 31.
Megan Ognibene, stone design consultant for Buechel Stone in Kohler, Wisconsin, is the recipient of the 2022 Natural Stone Scholarship, which provides a trip to StonExpo. Ognibene says she is looking forward to learning more about how to bring natural stone into every aspect of design and see new technologies.
Bre Covell, general manager for Pacific Shore Stones in Springdale, Arkansas, has received the 2022 Women in Stone Empowerment Scholarship. Although the scholarship provides a trip to one of three major industry events, Covell has opted to attend StonExpo, where she will be given the opportunity to shadow industry professionals.
13:44
Remember to look for the latest issue of Stone Update Magazine, which can be found at www.magazine.stonemag.com. For a transcript of this issue of Radio Stone Update, go to www.radiostoneupdate.com.
For Radio Stone Update, I’m K. Schipper, and we’ll see you here again soon.
