Briefs – August 2004

• IWT Tesoro Corp. of Westport, Conn., recorded 1Q 2004 revenue of $9.6 million, showing a 42-percent increase from the same period last year, IWT is the parent company of International Wholesale Tile Inc., a Palm City, Fla.-based distributor of ceramic, porcelain and natural-stone products.
• Marva Stone & Design Inc., a Beltsville, Md., distributor of natural stone, recently added Cambria quartz surfaces. Marva, with a territory including Washington, Richmond, Va.,and Virginia Beach, Va., previously offered only granite, marble, travertine and other stones.
• Wishstone Chisel & Mallet Inc. of Gainesville, Ga., will provide hand-carved stone medallions for the new baseball stadium in St. Louis. Stone artist and carver Gabe Drueke will put 11 original designs into Indiana limestone for the structure, which will open for the 2006 season.
• ETemplate Systems reaches agreement with Roger Shaw & Associates Inc. of Dallas to represent ETemplate Photo™ Millwork Version for the commercial architectural millwork market in North America. The new version of the electronic-templating software is geared for field measuring at building-construction sites.
• Miami-based China Granite Corp. announces the acquisition of a quarry with estimated reserves of more than 400,000 m² of green crystal stone near Li Rui Ming, China. The company operates two quarries and processing facilities in Shandong province, with products sold in China, Korea and Japan; the company is now seeking U.S. distributors.