HOLLIS, N.H. – It’s been a successful year for the National Stone Council (NSC), and there’s
plenty of optimism for efforts in 2008.
More than 35 companies contributed during the first full year of fundraising by
the NSC, a collaborative organization representing business and trade
associations promoting stone under the Genuine Stone™ brand.
BOWIE, Md. – The International Masonry Institute (IMI) gained a new home this fall – a large one.
The International Training Center, dedicated on Sept. 21, offers a 25-acre campus and state-of the-art facilities for skilled craft training in all the masonry trades, plus educational programs for building designers and contractors.
“We have made a significant commitment to invest in the future of the industry,” says John J. Flynn, IMI co-chair and International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) president. “Instead of talking about a workforce crisis, we are taking action.”
By Donny Taylor
It’s a challenge we all face – how do we find the time for our family, while trying to manage a business?
As an installer, there are two types of long days. The first is the long day planned in advance. Maybe you’ve got a large kitchen and bathrooms a considerable distance from home. It’s a big job, but doesn’t quite qualify for a stay overnight; you pick an install day, leave early, and stay until the job is done.
Maturity always sounds like a great thing … until you get there.
The U.S. dimensional-stone market may face that feeling in 2007, according to mid-year import statistics, with demand leveling off with either oh-so-slight growth or a small decline among various stone types.
LAS VEGAS – J. Vic Green, a veteran of more than five decades in the natural-stone industry, is the 2007 laureate of the Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Marble Institute of America (MIA).
Green, president and CEO of VIC International Corp. in Powell, Tenn., accepted the award at the annual MIA Awards Luncheon on Oct. 19 during StonExpo in Las Vegas.
GILBERT, Ariz. – The AZ School of Rock, a new independent hands-on learning source for the natural-stone trade, is now accepting students for its first set of classes.
“We give our students opportunities to learn new techniques, gather information and improve their skills as professionals in our industry,” says owner Kevin M. Padden. “By being an independent training institution, we can focus totally on helping our students gain confidence in their abilities – without a high-pressure sales pitch aimed at making them buy tools and equipment that they may not need.”
In western Colorado, there’s a large marble block for sale. Maybe you’d like to make a bid on it, if you happen to need something big enough to replace, say, the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.
By Tom McNall
If there’s one thing I’m constantly asked when teaching in the restoration business, it’s for hard-and-fast rules when it comes to polishing. Neophytes want to rely on constants that can help them feel confident and secure in this scary new world.
By Donny Taylor
You’ve seen all the new gadgets and technologies in stoneworking. You drooled over the new robots and CNC routers. So … now what?