Category: Articles

Sources of Stone

Foreign Stone: A Grave Concern?

By K. Schipper
 
Less-expensive natural stone from overseas
helped fuel the boom in residential countertops and vanities in the
United States – and it’s also having their impact in what might be
called the last retail market as well.

In the monument
industry, consumers enjoy lower prices and a wider range of granite
colors in both custom and standard blanks. Wholesalers, however, are
being forced to cut profit margins and delivery times, while retailers
face the prospect that that overseas suppliers will begin to offer
finished products.

Technology

Laser Survey 2005 On The Beam

Like to draw a crowd at a stone trade show? You can give away Hershey bars or hire a band, but the sure way to get a crowd – even in a massive event like Marmomacc in Verona – is to run a laser engraver on stone.

But, who’s behind all this great stuff?

JobSight

Le Palais De Justice, Montréal

MONTREAL – The Le Palais De Justice De Montréal (Montréal Courthouse) now features 145,000 ft² of granite flooring – even though original renovation plans didn’t call for any stone on the floor.

Import Trends

Import Trends 2004 A Factor of Two

By Emerson Schwartzkopf
 

In 1996, the dimensional
stone industry looked pretty good with more than $500 million in
imports, but it might’ve been hard to get anyone to wager that, nine
years later, that figure would double. Anything beyond that would be a
sucker bet.

Business/Management

Estimating/Workflow Software

Sure, it’s easy to quote a job. Just take a quick look at what someone wants, guess how much stone it needs, figure how many workers you’ll pay for so many hours, scratch something out on the back of whatever’s handy, and you’ll ….

 

Sources of Stone

Brazil: Minas Gerias & Slate

By Roseli Perrone
  
   PAPAGAIO, Minas Gerais, Brazil – The Dimension Stones Industries Association of Minas Gerais State (SINROCHAS-MG) and the Brazilian Association of the Dimension Stones Industry (ABIROCHAS), are involved in a program called Image Project to help the industry promote itself in the domestic and international markets.

Sources of Stone

Minas Gerias: The Slate Province

By Cid Chiodi

   The world production of slates is estimated at 4 million tons per year, with 1.1 million tons per year being transacted in the international market. Brazil, through its Minas Gerais State, already occupies the second place in both production (Spain is first) and consumption (France is first), and is the second-largest exporter (after Spain).

Straight from the Shop

… And Then We Decided To Automate, Part III

By Mark Lauzon
 
  (Editor’s note: When Mark Lauzon began writing for Stone Business earlier this year, he was well into the process of buying and installing a CNC production center in his shop. In the past two months, he explained how he decided to purchase a CNC, how he learned how to operate it, and the experience of seeing the machine arrive at the shop. This month, he reflects on the whole experience.)