At the age of 12, Alex Elzein accompanied his father on his first stone project. This sparked his interest in the stone world. Elzein went to college where he received his engineering degree and joined the corporate construction world. However, he kept thinking about the stone business.

The day fabricators could use just one saw blade or one core bit is mostly over. Because of the expansion of new and different materials to the market, CNC tooling companies and suppliers have to continuously update their tools.

Acme Brick Company was founded in 1891 to supply brick and other high-quality building products to architects and builders.

My favorite thing to say about us is: ‘We are not the best stone company in Chicago because we are the oldest. We are the oldest, because we are the best,’” said Tom Van Etten, when speaking about his family owned business Galloy & Van Etten, which was started in 1899.

It should be no surprise to anyone that our market is constantly changing and we, as fabricators and business owners, have to adjust our operating models to stay innovative and competitive, but most importantly, cater to an all-knowing, multi-generational customer audience.

Technology continually is evolving to keep up with customer demands. In addition to improving upon CNC tooling and accessories that are already available for cutting natural stone and quartz surfacing, manufacturers are now developing new products for cutting alternative hard surfaces such as compact sintered stone and porcelain slabs.

Living in the digital age with technology at the forefront, Marmomac 2019 is stepping it up to offer attendees a virtual experience. It will be debuting its new app at this year’s exhibition, which is slotted for September 25th to 28th in Verona, Italy.

Prodim has been supplying complete digital templating package solutions to stone templators and fabricators for over two decades now. The Proliner measuring device has always been at the center of each package, completed by dedicated digital templating software for the stone industry.

FlexiCAD software from Laser Template Inc. has been designed to simplify the measurement process and allow anyone to use the system for precision measurements regardless of their experience level. Measure lines, arcs, circles and even oval or odd shapes with ease and ability to complete the full drawing on site.

OSHA and NIOSH have identified exposure to silica as a health hazard to workers involved in finishing and installing natural and manufactured stone countertop products, both in fabrication shops and during in-home finishing/installation.