A total of 4,710 people were on hand at the event, including 2,962 attendees and 1,748 exhibitor staff.
The exhibition featured over 210 companies exhibiting a broad range of natural stone, fabricating equipment and accessories, and installation and maintenance products. Of particular interest to fabricators, many of the machinery producers had large-scale equipment on display at the event, so they could see it in operation. Additionally, many of the hand tools were also being operated on the show floor, and attendees could actually get a hands-on feel for the equipment. As a result of the quality attendance and the effort by the exhibitors, StonExpo has routinely been a forum where equipment is sold on the spot.
Cornerstone Forum
Once again, the MIA presented its Cornerstone Forum series of seminars, including "Stone Design and Selection," which was sponsored by Stone World, and presented by Mark Chacon of Associated Imports ¿ who had served as an architect for Callison Architecture and is the author of Architectural Stone. Chacon's presentation, which was accredited by the American Institute of Architects, focused on the characteristics of building stone, stone selection, quarrying and fabrication techniques as well as their impact on the use of natural stone in architecture and design.Other seminars included:
Dealing With Movement Associated With Stone Flooring
How to Create a Stone Maintenance Program
Moisture Related Stone Flooring Failures ¿ Dispelling the Myths
U.S. Customs Classification of Building Stone
Designing a Stone Fabrication Shop
Should You Be On The Net?
Exterior Stone Failures ¿ A Case Study
Stone Tile Installation - Preventing Disasters
MIA Design Manual - How It Can Work For You
Stone Fabrication Solutions - Stone Countertop Fabrication and Installation
Ask The Experts - Stone Restoration Estimating Software
When Rocks Collide - Protecting Business and Family Assets
The "Inside Facts" on Sealers, Protectors and Impregnators
Technological Achievement Award
Since 1987, a committee of stone industry veterans has worked together to select the winners of the Stone World Magazine Technological Achievement Award. The award, which is given to a North American stone quarrier or fabricator, is based on the following criteria:** cooperativeness in sharing technology with the industry
** willingness to pioneer the use of new technology
** fostering educational programs for the training of stoneworkers in industry methods
** promoting technological progress through association work
This year's award went to Connie and Brenda Edwards of TexaStone Quarries in Garden City, TX. Since its formation in the early 1990s, TexaStone Quarries has invested heavily in its quarries and its fabrication plant. Moreover, the company has been very willing to share information with the stone industry, and it has hosted architects and other design professionals at its facilities. TexaStone Quarries' products have been used on a broad range of prominent architectural projects, including the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in San Angelo, TX (cover story, January 2000 Stone World); The Lucille "Lupe" Murchison Performing Arts Center at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX ("Utilizing Texas' natural resources," April 1999 Stone World, page 56); and the IMAX Theater, Science Place at Fair Park in Dallas, TX ("Texas tradition," March 1999 Stone World, page 166.)
The current roster of winners of the Stone World Technological Achievement Award is as follows:
2000 -- Connie and Brenda Edwards, TexaStone Quarries, Garden City, TX
1999 -- Walter Dusenbery of Johnson-Atelier School of Sculpture
1998 -- Harold Stobbe of Owen Sound Ledgerock
1996 -- Willard Vetter of Vetter Stone Co.
1995 -- Chuck Monson of Dakota Granite Co.
1994 -- Linus Dingman of Cold Spring Granite Co.
1993 -- David Teitelbaum of Cathedral Stoneworks
1991 -- Wilbur Bybee of Bybee Stone Co.
1989 -- Tony Ramos of New England Stone Industries
1988 -- Jim Stengel of Dakota Granite Co.
1987 -- David Elliott of Elliott Stone Co.
