Oct. 20-22 for SFA Mega Workshop

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. – With a month-and-a-half until the doors open, it’s a good time to make plans to be here on Oct. 20-22 for  the Second Annual Mega Workshop from the Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA).

The second edition of the fabricator-friendly event, set for the Gateway Convention Center, will feature more educational seminars and a larger floor for exhibits in this easy-to-access location and the only national stone/countertop event east of Nevada in 2011.

And, like last year, it’s all free.

While unique is a overworked term, it’s an apt description for the SFA’s flagship event. Organized by a volunteer group of fabricators, the three-day experience avoids the usual trade-show presentation of shiny, display-only machinery and tools in massive halls frequently located in expensive resort areas.

As with last year’s inaugural event, the Mega Workshop features – as part of the exhibition area – a selection of CNC stone production centers, edging machines and waterjets cutting and shaping slabs into ready-to-install countertop pieces. A temporary wastewater system and custom-installed overhead cranes allow the machines to operate in a shop-production setting.

This year’s Mega Workshop also includes the return of “The Cage,” a demo area within the exhibits that’s surrounded with a chain-link fence. Event attendees are welcome to enter the area (with proper eye and ear protection) to watch and go hands-on for real-time use of tooling and techniques – including products offered by vendors at the workshop.

Educational seminars return for this year’s Mega Workshop with an expanded lineup, including:

• Importing (Oct. 20, 10 a.m./Oct. 21, 1 p.m.);
• New Revenue Ideas (Oct. 20, 10 a.m.);
• Digital Integration (Oct. 20, 10 a.m.);
• Glues (Oct. 20, 11 a.m./Oct. 21, 10 a.m.);
• Social Media (Oct. 20, noon/Oct. 21, 3 p.m.);
• Enhancing the Buying Experience (Oct. 20, noon and 4 p.m.);
• Digital Information Flow (Oct. 20, noon);
• Photography (Oct. 20, 2 p.m./Oct. 21, noon);
• Texturing (Oct. 20, 2 p.m.)
• Sealers (Oct. 20, 2 p.m./Oct. 21, 3 p.m.)
• Merchandising (Oct. 20, 4 p.m.)
• Industry Trends (Oct 21, 10 a.m.)
• Business Plan (Oct. 21, 11 a.m.)
• Branding, Marketing & Sales (Oct. 21, noon)
• Green Options (Oct. 21, 1 p.m.)
• Websites (Oct. 21, 2 p.m.)
• Roundtables for Alpha Cam, Easy Stone (Oct. 21, 4 p.m.)

The exhibits/demo area for the Mega Workshop will be open from 8 a.m. -5 p.m. on Oct. 20-21 (Thursday and Friday), and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 22 (Saturday).

All Mega Workshop events and exhibits are located at the Gateway Convention Center, located just off I-70 in Collinsville, which is 12 miles northeast of St. Louis and an easy driving distance from plenty of Midwest U.S. locations. Parking is plentiful and, like the Mega Workshop, free.
 
Several lodging chains have outlets in Collinsville; the SFA is making a limited number of rooms at $99 per night (plus tax) available at the Doubletree by Hilton adjoining the Gateway Convention Center. To get the room and the SFA rate, it’s necessary to call 866-235-4657, follow the voice-mail trail to new reservations, and then ask for rooms under the Stone Fabricators Alliance block. (Trying to book online through the Doubletree or any other travel website results in a message that there are no rooms available at the hotel for the dates of the event.)

For more information on the SFA Mega Workshop, go here. To fill out the form for free registration to the event, go here.