StonExpo Education 2008
To make things simple, the fiveeducational tracks from years past are slimmed down to four: Fabrication / Installation; Sales / Marketing; Building / Design; and Business Management.
FABRICATION / INSTALLATION
For the workshops on Oct. 15, fabricators get two opportunities. At 9 a.m., there’s Do Your Research Before You Buy Your Next Piece of Equipment, with Ron Hannah of Cadenza Granite and Marble in Concord, N.C., and Duane Naquin of Stone Interiors in Columbia, S.C. Then, at 1 p.m., there’s a special four-hour session of Improving Your Shop Layout – Operating a “Lean” Facility with Ed Hill and Ed Ligon of Synchronous Flow Solutions in Waxhaw, N.C., and Owen Kingman of Kingman & Associates Inc. in Grand Junction, Colo.
The seminars for fabricators on Oct. 16, boil down to one choice, but it’s the always-popular Countertop Fabricators Forum at 8 a.m., with Brian Briggs of Granite Guys in Fort Pierce, Fla.; Mark Blanda of Stone Interiors in Loxley, Ala.; and Scott Lardner of Rocky Mountain Stone in Albuquerque, N.M.
Gasper (GK) Naquin of Stone Interiors of Loxley and Tony Malisani of Malisani Inc. in Great Falls, Mont., start off Oct. 17 at 8 a.m. with A Comprehensive Review of the Relationship between Cost & Price, Part 1. Malasanti retuns at 4 p.m. to finish with Part 2 (as part of StonExpo’s Business Management track).
The Countertop Fabricators Forum returns for a second round at 8 a.m. on Oct. 17, with Hannah; Don Taylor of Circa Inc. in Taylors, S.C.; and Jason Nottestad of Countertops by MTS (and a Stone Business columnist) in Elkhorn, Wis. Also at 8 a.m., Kenny Laymons of Stone Supermart Inc. in N.E. Palm Bay, Fla., offers Maximization to Increase Profits.
At 4 p.m. on Oct. 17, Mark Lauzon of Stone Works of Oregon Inc. in Hubbard, Ore., offers How a Digital System Can Impact Your Business; and G. Naquin presents Avoid Countertop Installation Failures.
Oct. 18 starts out with Stone Maintenance & Problem Solving with Rod Sigman of Aqua Mix Inc. in Corona, Calif., at 8 a.m. At the same hour, there’s also the third Countertop Fabricators Forum with a panel headed by Duane Naquin; and Why Treating and Recycling Water is a Good Investment, with John Fallon of Water Treatment Technologies in Hampton, N.H.
SALES/MARKETING
Over Promise & Over Deliver – Building Your Competitive Edge, a three-hour workshop beginning at 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 with Lisbeth Calandrino of Peachtree Communications in Albany, N.Y., starts the sales track. The seminars begin the next day at 8 a.m. with Branding Your Business Locally – Five Ways to Stand Out in Your Own Market by Marty Gould of Paradigm Communications & Marketing Inc. in Hollywood, Fla.
At 4 p.m. on Oct. 16, Lauzon returns with Why Do People Buy? Successful Selling for Today's Stone Business. Also at 4 p.m., Dave Corey of Flooring Services Ltd. in Farmers Branch, Texas, and Allan Gowan of Stone Interiors in Gaston, S.C., present Grow Your Business Through Diversification.
There’s also a special two-hour seminar at 4 p.m.: Inventory Management – Controlling Your Cost, with Kingman, Hill and Ligon.
Oct. 17 starts off at 8 a.m. with The Power of Persuasion with Maura Schreier-Fleming of Best@selling in Dallas. Schreier-Fleming will return at 4 p.m. with The Art of Selling – Ways to Improve Your Bottom Line; also at 4 p.m., there’s Selling in a Leaner Economy with Sam Allman of Allman Consulting and Training in Kennesaw, Ga.
And, at 8 a.m. on Oct. 18, Keith Graves of Marva Marble and Granite in Midlothian, Va., presents Top Your Customers with Excellent Customer Service.
BUILDING/DESIGN
Fred Jackson of Estudio Group LLC in Austin, Texas, offers a three-hour workshop on Oct. 15 with From the Quarry to the Countertop. Later that day, at 1 p.m., it’s The Geology of Dimensional Stone with Chuck Muehlbauer, the MIA’s Technical Director.
The New Generation of a Stone Showroom kicks off the seminars on Oct. 16 at 8 a.m., with Mark Fernandes of Charles Luck Stone Center in Manakin, Va. At 9 a.m., it’s Avoid Design Disasters for Heavy Commercial Projects with Rodney Harvey of Curtain Wall Design & Consulting in Dallas.
At 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, Bernie Bishoff of Columbia Stone LLC in Tualatin, Ore., and Harvey present Joint and Application Treatment for Natural Stone. At 4 p.m., Mark Woodman of Beltsville, Md., offers A World of Color! Forecasting Trends for the Future.
Resin-Treated Slabs is at 4 p.m. on Oct. 17, with Filippo Emanuel of Tenax USA in Charlotte, N.C., and Keith Graves. Fred Jackson returns, along with Christine Jenkins of Estudio Group, on Oct. 18 at 8 a.m. for New Design Options for Stone.
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
The workshops start on Oct. 15 with Safety First! The Benefits of a Safety Program with Ted Huppert of Grazzini Brothers in Eagan, Minn. At 1 p.m., it’s Getting Serious About Profits, with Dr. Al Bates of The Profit Planning Group in Boulder, Colo.
Know What Your Business is Worth with Dr. Bart Basi of The Center for Financial, Legal & Tax Planning in Marion, Ill., starts the day early on Oct. 16 at 8 a.m. At 8 a.m., there’s Leaders Growing Leaders with Clay Nelson of Clay Nelson Life Balance in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Dr. Bates returns at 4 p.m. with Make More Money on Every Job – Profitability Drivers.
At 8 a.m. on Oct. 17, the track wraps up with Maintain a Valuable Workforce by John Cogswell of Cogswell Stone in Palmyra, Va., and Jim Hieb, the MIA’s special-projects director.
The easiest option for attending StonExpo Marmomacc Americas’s education events is the Conference Package 2, with admission to the Oct. 15 workshops and seminars on Oct. 16-18 (and the MIA Gala for MIA members only). It’s $300 per person for MIA members, and $330 for non-members. (All pricing is effective until Sept. 25, when the prices go to $370 and $410, respectively.)
StonExpo’s Conference Package 1 covers the seminars and the members-only gala; it’s $255 for MIA members and $285 for non-members ($325 and $360, respectively, after Sept. 27.)
Going ala carte with education is another option. Individual seminar tickets are $60 for MIA members and $70 for non-members; the Oct. 15 workshops are, per session per person, at $85 for MIA members and $95 for non-members. (Again, prices increase after Sept. 27.)
For more information, go to StonExpo Marmomacc America’s Website at www.stonexpo.com or call 972-536-6323.