Once again, the stone industry looked to the Marmomacc exhibition in Verona, Italy, and StonExpo/Marmomacc Americasin Las Vegas, NV, for the latest introductions in stone products, stoneworking equipment and supplies and installation and maintenance products. The following is a look at some of the items that were on display at these two important trade shows (note: photos of several of these stone materials can be found at www.stoneworld.com):

STONE SUPPLIERS

Antolini Luigi & C. - showcased a range of exotic materials from around the world, including its Shellstone collection, which includes 12 different varieties such as Black Mother of Pearl, White Mother of Pearl (Rainbow) and Green Abalonewww.antolini.it

Best Cheer - featured its prefabricated vanity tops; tops are available in sizes of 110 x 26 inches and 98 x 26 inches with a 1 ½-inch bullnose on the front edge and one side. Large islands are also available with a 1 ½-inch bullnose on four sides and mesurements of 98 x 36/42 inches and 110 x 36/42 incheswww.bestcheer.com

Bramagran - AJ Brown granite, which has interweaving waves of brown and gold; Roma Imperiale quartzite, which has a tan background with distinctive dark brown patterningwww.bramagran.com.br

Bresciana Graniti - offered a range of stone material, including Duetto granite from Brazil - featuring wavy shades of brown with white veining running through itwww.bsgraniti.it

CaesarStone - presented Motivo™, a new technology that enables the company’s customers and end-users to create pattern-designed finishes from its range of quartz surfaces - developing an embossed, textured look and feelwww.CaesarStoneUS.com

Cajugram - Ipanema Beige granite, which has a beige/peach tone with accents of black and light graywww.cajugram.com

Cosentino - presented an extensive selection of stones from around the world; also promoted its new Eco™ Collection - a revolutionary new line of countertop and surfacing material composed of 75% post-industrial and post-consumer recycled raw materialwww.cosentinonorthamerica.com

Decolores - Amarula, which has waves of light and dark brown as well as maroon, with white accentswww.decolores.com.br

Dimpomar - showcased an assortment of limestone varieties from the company’s own quarries in Portugal, including Crème Regina limestone that is ideal for both residential and commercial applicationswww.dimpomar.com

Franchi Umberto Marmi - showcased classic white marble from Italy, including Calacatta marblewww.franchigroup.it

Gramil - Malibu granite, which has tones of light and dark gold with green accents

Graniti Indústria Comércio e Exportação Ltda. - Supreme granite, which has a rich golden tone with lighter gold and black accents; Yellow River granite, which features a distinctive combination of yellow and gold with waves of black, gray and maroon www.graniti.com.br

HanStone - offered its new Ruscello Collection of quartz surfaces, consisting of 36 rich stylish colors and patterns, including Ruscello Teslin - a field of light tan with swirls of darker beige; and Ruscello Aspen - a white-colored material with hints of gray running throughout itwww.hanstoneusa.com

Indiana Limestone Co. - promoted its Illinois Network, a national network with a robust list of limestone fabricators; the network allows the company to send leads out to fabricators across the U.S.www.IndianaLimestoneCompany.com

JMS - showcased a selection of Jura Beige and Jura Grey stone from German stone producers; promoted that the stone can be used in heavy-traffic areas, is frost resistant and can be used for wall cladding and flooring in all climate conditionswww.juramarble.com

Levantina - the Mediterraneo Collection of natural stone products, which includes materials such as Blanco Tabarca, which has a white and gray pattern, and Blanco Altea, which has a bone-colored tone with subtle brown accentswww.levantina.es

Magnitos - Cygnus, a silvery-gray quartzite which also has schist in the matrix to give it extra characterwww.magnitos.com.br

Maq Stone - Brazilian soapstone, including traditional varieties as well as materials such as “Smoke,” which has a darker tone with more pronounced white accentswww.maqstone.com.br

Marbrasa - Via Lactea, which is characterized by a black background with waves of whitewww.marbrasa.com.br

Marcolini Marmi - showcased a range of onyx products from around the world, including Sheffield onyx, which has a rich golden tonewww.marcolini.it

Marmi Bruno Zanet - introduced StonExperience, a 3D display that allows users to see the architecture and interior design before, during and after a project is built; assists the company in helping customers see and understand how stones can be used in a specific space such as a kitchen, living room, etc.; StonExperience - created by Zanet and Ludson Zampirolli’s Zidea Company - can simulate interiors with 30 types of natural stone in 16 3D scenes, changing the layout of the floor and the colors of the walls and the furnishingswww.brunozanet.com

Meshoppen Stone, Inc. - has added thin veneer products to its collection, which were displayed in a full range at the showwww.meshoppenstone.com

MS International - showcased Q natural quartz - a material consisting of 93% quartz that is scratch resistant, stain resistant and offered in a variety of colors; also promoted its travertine pavers and new glass tile that can be combined with stone to create innovative design patternswww.msistone.com

Pemagran - Giallo Fiesta granite, which has a light golden color with black and white accents; Ibere Black Bird, which has a charcoal gray field with unique black and gold patterning, available with a leather finishwww.pemagran.com.br

Pokarna Limited - showcased its new quartz surfacing line, Quantra, which can be outfitted with UV-resistant qualities; also displayed slabs of Tan Brown granite, which is now being quarried in a new site developed by Pokarnawww.pokarna.com

Primestone Inc. - displayed a wide selection of exotic stones, including White onyx and Jade onyx from the company’s own quarries in Persia; all material is processed in Italywww.primestone.ca

Rock of Ages Corp. - announced that its Salisberry Pink granite quarry in North Carolina has converted to a mobile wire operation, including 10 new quarry wire saws; making it able to maximize efficiency, minimal recovery and keep costs at a minimumwww.rockofages.com

Santamargherita - “Second Life” a new line of engineered stone that is manufactured with up to 95% recycled content, named because it offers “second life” for discarded materials; the line meets several criteria for LEED certification and contributes to the achievement of certification for sustainable building according to U.S. Green Building Council standardswww.santamargherita.net

Tab India - A wide selection of stone from its own quarries in India, including Supreme Black, a pure black granite quarried in India; gangsaw-sized blocks on a commercial scale are availablewww.tabindia.com

Tekmar - displayed a selection of blocks that represents its collection of Turkish stone, including Crema Nuova, Mersin Beige and Bianco Rosawww.tekmarble.com

V.M. Kaldorf - showcased Jura limestone from the heart of Germany’s stoneworking region; material was shown in a range of surface finishes that are available for all products, including polished, bushhammered, brushed, sandblasted, slightly sandblasted, “tooth chiseled” and combinations of the various textureswww.vm-kaldorf.de

World Wide Stone Corp. - promoted its full line of Durango Stone, including Durango Ancient Zacatecus Peach™, Durango Ancient Dorado™ and Durango Ancient Veracruz™ - all featuring shades of Autumn. The stone is available in tiles, columns, hand-carved pieces and slabs, among other formats.www.durangostone.com

FABRICATING EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

Alpha Professional Tools - introduced Ceramica TF, which is designed to eliminate the manual task of abrasive brushing to achieve a textured finish look; the Alpha AIR-300, which is designed for unique applications that are difficult to accomplish using conventional polishers; and the Profiler EQ-Series, which creates a beveled edge and recessed ledge for sink installationwww.alpha-tools.com

Barranca Diamond Products - showcased its BD-2321WR 5-inch pneumatic rear exhaust wet polisher, which is cast from aircraft aluminum and has a rear air vent that removes exhaust through a hose protector, away from operator’s hands; also, the BD-5000 5-inch wet air grinder, which is designed to accommodate 4- or 5-inch diamond cupwheelswww.barrancadiamond.com

Beckart - featured its water recycling system for fabricators that have CNC equipment; the system can allow fabricators to recycle and reuse water, which can lead to a reduced water bill, the manufacturer reportswww.beckart.com

Blick Industries - offered strip clamps for odd-shaped stone material - such as arches - that is not too wide, comes with adjustable vertical supports; also promoted sink rail clamps for sink cutoutswww.blickindustries.com

Breton - a new attachment for CNC stoneworking centers that allows for polishing square sink cut-outs with zero-radius corners; pads of varying grits are stored in a magazine and are automatically changedwww.breton.it

Cee-Jay Tool - introduced its Rock Magazine for the thin veneer industry; it provides a safe and effective means to produce thin veneer cornerswww.ceejaytool.com

CMS/Brembana - the Falcon, a fully interpolated 5-axis bridge saw with a built-in “A.R.M.” (Auto Robotic Manipulator) for loading, unloading and manipulation of pieces within the nested slabswww.cmsna.com

Comandulli - announced that it is striving to offer quality machinery at an affordable price; during 2010, Comandulli will be introducing a new inline edge-polishing machine capable of producing a bullnose profile on material up to 6-cm thick at an affordable pricewww.comandulli.it

Continental Diamond Products - introduced pads for line polishing seams, which can be used on flat and radius polishing - providing one tool for two applications; high-speed CNC line of tooling; and knock-out line polishing pads, finger bits and turbo bladeswww.continentaldia.com

Dan Roc Corp. - promoted its sample and display boards for stone and tile products, which can feature the user company’s logowww.danroc.com

Dellas - offered a host of diamond blades for cutting granite, marble and ceramic as well as diamond wire and tools for special useswww.dellas.it

Diamut - promoted its new high-speed products and its new line of hand tools for manual router machines with a color-coded bearing system, a new metal position to eliminate lines and “flash polish” technologywww.diamut.com

DS Diaflx - is now offering custom-made router bits and CNC tools through Hoffman Diamond Products, which has a U.S. factorywww.diaflx.com

ECS Eich - a compact water purification and sludge-drying unit that can be used in combination with a range of stoneworking machinery; the installation is fully fitted with all necessary hydraulic structures and comprises four elements - a water purification unit, a drying unit, a pressure-increasing unit and a fresh water reservoirwww.ecswatertreatment.com

ETemplate System - offered the ETemplate 3D digital measuring and templating system that the company reports is accurate to a typical tolerance of 1/32 inch and designed for both CNC automated and non-automated shops; promoted the system’s “green” benefits such as reusable markers and that the system requires no sticks, cardboard or other measuring materialwww.etemplatesystem.com

Fabricator’s Choice - introduced LaserTop™, a digital template laser projection system that rotates with a table; multiple projector networking is available in large-scale shops and projectswww.fabchoice.com

GMM - offered the Toro Series of bullnose polishers, featuring a body with an electro-welded structure that was machined using CNC technology; the Costa Series automatic straight edge polisher, featuring many of the same benefits as the Toro Series such as the body and spindle advantages as well as the same user-friendly configuration and multiple working modeswww.gmm.it

Granite City Tool - demonstrated the Ebbco Inc. stoneworking filtration and water delivery systems that can be used with the Denver Solution, which allows fabricators to put a texture on stone and re-polish granite; considered “green” because it is a closed loop system that recycles waterwww.granitecitytool.com

GranQuartz - an exclusive distributor of ADI® Tooling, the company offered ADI’s Eraser System with UHS® (Ultra High Speed) technology that it reported can achieve up to three times production speed and two times tool life of comparable CNC tooling; also exclusively offered Manzelli vacuum lifters with 0- to 90-degree pneumatic tilt and audio/visual vacuum loss alarm with AC adaptor and charge indicatorwww.granquartz.com

Groves Inc. - introduced its universal storage system for storing finished pieces, cut-downs, remnants, etc; also showcased its slab picking cart, which can safely move up to five pieces of slabs from storage rack to fabrication areawww.groves.com

Intermac - presented a live link-up with its headquarters in Charlotte, NC, where a demonstration of the Master 45 CNC stoneworking center was given; visitors to the booth were able to request specific machine functions that the operator at the shop could illustratewww.intermac.com

KMT - introduced the new Streamline Pro® 125 pump, an ultra high (UHP) 90,000 PSI/6.200 bar pump available in 60 hp and 125 hp; the company reports a reduction in operating costs and increase in production with the use of this new pumpwww.kmtgroup.com

Laser Products - featured its 15-year anniversary LT-55 XL, which features a custom tripod and a full screen instead of tablet PCwww.laserproductsus.com

Marmo Meccanica - promoted a complete line of edge polishing machines, including the LCV that does flat edges and chamfering up to 6 cm thickness in vertical, the LCT for round and flat edges up to 5 cm thickness in vertical and the LTT for round and flat edges up to 6 cm thickness in horizontalwww.marmomeccanica.com

Marmo Meccanica S.p.A. - introduced a new CNC bridgesaw, the HTO-XALOC-R with turning head and stationary bench; and two new bridge saws, the LTV and the LCRwww.marmomeccanica.com

Marmoelettromeccanica - offered the Master 3500 router, a two-speed machine that provides optimum polishing and profiling parameters and has a capability of profiling slabs with thicknesses of 2 to 10 cm; a hydroplaning base plate is also available to prevent scratching of slabswww.marmoeletrromeccanica.it

MEM USA - promoted its diamond tools with patented technology; also showcased a new polish system and its line of diamond blades, core bits, etc.www.memusainc.com

Monument Toolworks - featured its Gorilla Grip, which utilizes an electric vacuum pump that provides an extremely powerful and consistent attachment to stone, releasing only when the user needs it towww.monumenttoolworks.com

Moraware - promoted its basic edition of JobTracker, a scheduling and job management software, designed for businesses that want to avoid time spent looking through paperworkwww.moraware.com

Omag - introduced the Blade 5, a 5-axis machine featuring new technology; the machine can take diamond blades that measure up to a maximum of 1,600 mm in diameter, which can be tilted up to 140 degrees and rotated up to 360 degreeswww.omagspa.it

Park Industries - displayed a full line-up of stone fabrication machinery, including the Titan 1016 CNC Countertop Stone Center with 96- x 192-inch worktable that allows for multiple parts to be set up so that many parts (even an entire kitchen) can be processed with unattended cycle timewww.parkindustries.com

Pearl Abrasive - introduced the Tuscan Leveling System™, a two-piece system that virtually eliminates lippage during tile installation, that is recommended for gauged tiles 12 inches or larger; also showcased the Reactor Pro™ silent core blades - available in full 25 mm segment height as well as 18 mm segment heightwww.pearlabrasive.com

Pedrini - the new Multiwire Jupiter GS200, a revolutionary multi-wire saw that was engineered to combine quality and flexibility, including models with 8, 16, 32 and 40 wires; the machine was developed as a solution for diamond-wire cutting of granite blocks, engineered for different thickness slabs with a simultaneous cut, ranging from 2 to 10 cmwww.pedrini.it

Pellegrini - Polywire 34, a stationary multiple wire saw that provides the same amount of production as three gangsaws, reports the company; the Waterstorm - Master, an automatic system for rustic surface treatment of stone using water at high pressurewww.pellegrini.net

Prodim - demonstrated the Proliner, a digital measuring device used to digitize countertops as well as other stone pieces except monuments; a new component to the 8 series is a built-in hardware that shows in CAD drawing what is level - exported in a DXF filewww.prodim.eu

Salem Stone - is now a distributor for GMM’s Sirio, a new-to-the-market slab polisher that applies different surface finishes, including leather antiquing and can apply three different treatments for slabswww.salemstone.com

SassoAmerica - presented an array of machinery, including the Flying Cut bridge saw: a bridge cutter with a large-sized bridge that is treated with special anti-vibration and soundproofing expanded material; the Flying Flat flat edge polishing machine: a compact vertical side polishing machine - only measuring 1.8 x 1.8 x 4.9 meters; and the Flying Bull horizontal edge polisher: designed to meet the strictest requirements in straight, tilted and rounded edge processingwww.sassoamerica.com

Scandinvent - C3 CNC stoneworking center, which is designed to make accurate cut sink cut-outs and cooktops in granite, marble and engineered stone; the principal behind the compact sink CNC machinery is the same as a hole punch, where the machine only needs to be slightly wider than the distance between the holeswww.scandinvent.com

Slabsmith - designed by Northwood Designs, Inc. of Antwerp, NY, the Slabsmith system was designed as both a manufacturing aid and sales tool; its Perfect Match™ module is for optimized nesting, and allows the user to quickly and easily manipulate the nest for the best results; users can watch the results in real time as the nest changes, and a picture of the finished countertop can be created for customer approval; Upon approval, a DXF file of the nest for manufacturing can be exportedwww.slabsmith.com

Stone Boss/IMC - promoted its service of any type of machinery, shop relocation, auctions, etc and additionally introduced a full line of Omni-Cubed products and a full range of Panther products and adhesiveswww.stoneboss.comwww.internationalmachinecorp.com

Thibaut - demonstrated the T812 V2 multipurpose 3 or 4 axes CNC machine centerwww.thibaut.fr

USG Robotics introduced its 6-axis Robocut waterjet/saw combination cutting system with the software that goes along with it, including virtual inventory management and VeinMatch softwarewww.usgrobotics.com

Vic International - announced its new Optima™ restoration and maintenance product line of chemicals, diamond tooling and equipment for natural stone, ceramic tile, terrazzo and concretewww.vicintl.com

Vytek - presented the new L-Star, a high-performance large-format laser system designed for fast job turnaround time, reduced cost of labor and flexibility on large- and small-volume projects; two models are available: the LS and LST (with lifting table)www.vy-tek.com

Windy Ridge Corp. - featured its Jet Stik for surfacing, carving, edging, sculpting and texturing stonewww.jetstik.com

Wood’s Powr-Grip - introduced a new audible alarm on its hand cups - making for better shop safetywww.powrgrip.com

INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE SUPPLIES

Bellinzoni - demonstrated the benefits of Mangiaruggine, a rust remover that can be used on marble because it doesn’t contain acid - rust is gone in approximately five minutes after application and it won’t remove the polish from the stone; Rapido, a new flowing epoxy that is completely clear and dries within 45 to 60 minuteswww.bellinzoni.com

Fila - showcased its line of Green Care products that are water based and VOC freewww.filachim.com

Tenax - Glaxs, a two-part resin product for white and light-colored marbles, which is guaranteed now to yellow for 15 years; the company also developed an anti-bacterial epoxy resin coatingwww.tenaxusa.comwww.tenax.it

SINKS

Amerisink - introduced the AS132, AS135 and AS134 model sinks that have a tiny radius corner and are 30% of the price of its zero radius sinks, but look about the same, the company reports; additionally the AS129 was introduced, which has a one-piece constructionwww.amerisink.com

Artisan - promoted its zero radius 16-gauge sinks, which have the same type of brush as an 18-gauge, but provide a more solid, better quality product, according to the companywww.artisansinks.com

Chemcore Industries Inc. - presented its 18-guage stainless sink in three configurationswww.chemcore.com

Domain Industries - promoted its Omni sink line, with optional sets of protective stainless sink grids (sold separately); the sinks feature full 18-gauge construction; certified 304 stainless steel; brush-finished bowls and sink decks; and a full limited-lifetime warrantywww.domainindustries.com