The purpose of the event was to showcase Northwood’s manufacturing and fabrication capabilities, and to provide the necessary knowledge for prospective customers to make a fully informed machine purchase decision. To that end, a series of presentations was given by stone fabricators, who own both Northwood and other brands of equipment, about the principles and concepts of being successful in the stone industry. One of the key points made was the benefit of using cutting-edge technology to increase production, process complex jobs and reduce material waste.

There were also presentations by vendors representing critical areas for business owners contemplating investing in new equipment for their shops. The goal was to ensure that fabricators were completely aware of everything needed for optimal machine performance. Some of the topics covered included: water treatment, tooling, material handling, leasing and job software. The following vendors participated:

• AlphaCAM/Planit Solutions

• Blick Industries

• Braxton Bragg

• Granite City Tools

• GranQuartz

• KMT Waterjet

• Laser Products

• Magellan Capital

• Moraware

• Quail Leasing

• Template Technologies

• Tyrolit Vincent

• Water Treatment Technologies

Participants attended sessions with Northwood’s engineers and saw live demonstrations of the SawJET™ and CNC stone machine. Attendees also enjoyed a barbecue lunch prepared by Mike Yates, owner of Counter Solutions in Jackson, TN, and a Northwood customer for many years. The group set sail on a dinner cruise on the Ohio River, and had a private tour and dinner at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum.

On the last day of the event, attendees participated in a roundtable discussion to provide feedback on how Northwood could make its line of stone machining centers even better. Northwood has always listened to its customers and responded by developing state-of-the-art technology custom-designed to meet the unique needs of the stone industry, reports the company.