Coverings 2015: A Stone Study Session

 

250 covedALEXANDRIA, Va. – Coverings 2015 offers more than 75 free sessions with its conference program in Orlando next month – and there’s plenty for stone fabricators.

The educational program on April 14-17 at the Orange County Convention Center is free to all attendees, and focuses on fabricator needs in a series of presentations for good shop-to-shop swaps of tips and information. There’s also help on the sales side, including dealing with specifies and the green-building movement.

The biggest change at Coverings for fabricators this year is the addition of three lunchtime roundtable sessions to provide smaller, more interactive learning opportunities. The topics this time are:

  • CEU Immersion Class: Providing CEUs to Architects & Interior Designers Using MIA’s Turn-Key Program with Robert Bacon of Daltile and Sarah Kelly of the Marble Institute of America (MIA) on April 15 from noon-2 p.m.
  • Perspectives in Benchmarking with Peter de Kok of Granite Mountain Enterprises and Duane Naquin of Stone Interiors East LLC on April 16 from noon-1 p.m.
  • How to Handle Wastewater in a Fabrication Setting with Jim Callaghan of GranQuartz and Jon Traczuk of Moscone Tile and Marble, also on April 16 from noon-1 p.m.

Also of general interest is Stone Trends 2015 on April 14 from 1:30-3:30 p.m., including the 17th annual “State of the Industry” presentation on the U.S. dimensional-stone market by Vince Marazita, president and owner of Marazita & Associates. The session will cover information, sourcing, marketing and application trends in the stone industry over the last year, with examples of award-winning projects that have been recognized for their use of natural stone.

And, with State of the Stone Industry on April 15 from 8-9 a.m., leaders of the stone trade – including David Castellucci of Kenneth Castellucci & Associates Inc., the MIA’s Jim Hieb, John Lancto of Surface Products, Tony Malisani of Malisani Inc. and Dan Rea of Coldspring – will cover first-hand matters ranging from government regulation, competing product challenges and forecasting of market growth are being addressed. The session is focused on questions, answers and plenty of.

Coverings also deals with the specifics of the business, including sessions with particular appeal to certain industry segments.

Fabrication

Always a Coverings favorite, Fabricators Forum gives residential countertop fabricators is an excellent opportunity for collaborative discussion about the challenges that exist in the fabrication market, including fabrication methods, equipment needs and materials, customer expectations, personnel and sale strategies. Moderated by Eric Tyson from Premier Surfaces, the panel includes Marco Duran from Atlas Marble & Granite LCC, Karen Rothenberg of Natural Stone Motif Inc. and Buddy Ontra of Ontra Stone Concepts. April 13, 2:15-4:15 p.m.

OSHA On-Site Consultation, moderated by G.K. Naquin of Stone Interiors, provides insight into the benefits of inviting OSHA into facilities directly from companies that took the challenge. David Catellucci of Kenneth Castellucci & Associates Inc., Jonathan Mitnick of CCS Stone, Jim Nikolopoulous of Walker Zanger, and William Tomlin of OSHA-Department of Labor will outline guidelines for employees that ensure a safe, OSHA-friendly atmosphere at any facility. April 13, 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

Practical Application of Stone Standards & Tests includes Robert Bacon of Dal-Tile and Chuck Muehlbauer of the MIA in an interactive session about the relevance of the most widely used test procedures for stone products, insight on applications that should be used, and tips on how to explain the technical aspects of stone testing in everyday common terms. April 16, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Defining Countertop Materials Available in Today’s Market shows how fabricators are adapting tooling and material-handling practices to adjust to the changing materials available in the countertop mix. The panel includes Stone Interiors’ G.K. Naquin, Patrick Fisher of Renaissance Granite and Marble, John Traczuk of Moscone Tile and Marble and Karen Rothenberg of Natural Stone Motif. April 16, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Installation & Maintenance

The Care and Maintenance Forum, facilitated by Rod Sigman of Custom Building Products, offers an understanding of important and essential products to use for maintenance of tile and stone installations. David Bonasera of Better Bio Solution, Keith Graves of Arc, Lorne Greenberg of Fabra-Cleen and Rawi Tabbah of International Stonework Inc. will demonstrate the difference between alkalines, acids and solvents and where each should be used.  April 16, 2:45-3:45 p.m.

Anchoring and Backup Systems for Interior Light Commercial Projects includes Rodney Harvey of Curtain Wall Design and Consulting Inc. on the many decisions to address after deciding to use a mechanically anchored stone veneer. He’ll share insights to recognizing whether preassembly will provide a cost advantage or whether it will produce unnecessary engineering complications, and offer basics of selecting and specifying anchorage systems appropriate for particular projects. April 14, 8-9 a.m.

Selecting the Appropriate Thinset for Tile or Stone Installation, hosted by William White of Custom Building Products, focuses on the different types of cement and epoxy mortars for ceramic and natural stone installation, and provides an overview the ANSI and TCNA standards for the various tile and stone bonding mortars. Other topics include a review the physical properties of the mortars and what is important to the installation, as well as discuss the areas of use and any limitations that should be observed with installations. April 16, 9:15-10:15 a.m.

Steve Taylor of Custom Building Products presents Selecting and Installing the Appropriate Membrane to identify the different types of membranes for ceramic and natural stone installation and review the physical properties of all types of membranes. Standards from ANSI and TCNA for various membranes, the areas of use, and any limitations to the use of a type of membrane will also be discussed. April 15, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Stone & Tile Care Strategies – Issues & Opportunities again includes Rod Sigman to address the issues that come with incorporating sealers and cleaners into normal installation methods. April 14, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Sales and Specifiers

Wholesale/Slab Distributors Forum, moderated by Jonathan Zanger of Walker Zanger, offers an in-depth discussion of strategic issues critical to running successful wholesale/slab distribution companies. Panelists Evan Cohen of Quality Marble, Josh Levinson of Artistic Tile and Roy Viana from Dal-Tile will also focus on problems and solutions to common operational issues. April 15, 1:30-3 p.m.

Understanding How Natural Stone Fits Into the Green Movement brings together Robert Bacon of Dal-Tile, Jamie Bush of NSF, Brenda Edwards of TexaStone Quarries and Artistic Tile’s Levinson of Artistic Tile to provide a study of the steps taken by companies to certify to NSC/ANSI 373 Sustainability Assessment for Natural Dimension Stone. Topics include the steps necessary for meeting the challenges of certification, and spreading awareness and demand for sustainable stone products. It will also analyze how distributors can qualify for and adhere to standards, and what those standards mean for specifiers and retailers. April 14, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

How to Sell to Interior Designers & Architects, moderated by Christopher Ramey of Affluent Insights and The Home Trust, will address how to best serve the specifier community to increase sales. Panelists Lauren Cherkas of Artistic Tile and Barbie Kennedy of Barbie Kennedy Designs will help offer an understanding of what really matters to interior designers and architects, and what not to do when selling or marketing products and services. April 14, 8-9:30 a.m.

Image is Everything! How Houzz and Pinterest Steer Clients to Your Tile/Stone Business: A Case Study and Guide for Visual Online And Social Success. Presented by Arpi Nalbandian of Tileometry and Christine Whittemore of Simple Marketing Now LLC, the sessions addresses how to offer potential customers with visual inspiration online as they begin the buying process. Learn the processes and systems for making the most of visual social networks, like Pinterest and Houzz, and how to evaluate ongoing activity to help with planning next steps. April 15, 1-2 p.m.

Survivor’s Guide to Eco-Technical for Ceramic Stone includes Levinson, Dan Marvin of MAPEI Americas and Paula Hesch of Paula Hesch Designs to how ceramic and stone fit into green projects by providing an introduction to the products and their applications within LEED v4, as well as newer green initiatives. April 15, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

With Residential Estimating and Sales Strategies, Buck and Dana Collins from Collins Tile and Stone share a unique approach to working with building professionals and consumers. The NTCA Five Star Contractor, Buck, will share insight into his detailed sales strategy and industry knowledge. April 14, 10:45-11:45 a.m.

To learn more about conferences, programs, exhibitors and special events planned for Coverings 2015, visit coverings.com.

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