New products and innovations highlight Coverings in Atlanta

Coverings moved to Atlanta, GA, for its 2013 edition, and it featured a range of stone products as well as technology innovations

Coverings 2013 — This year’s edition of Coverings attracted 22,000 visitors to the George World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA.

Tenax Pro-Poxy extra-thick, knife-grade adhesive — Tenax showcased its Pro-Poxy extra-thick, knife-grade adhesive, which is designed for gluing, laminating and joining seams of marble, granite and quartz surfaces. The product is extremely translucent and well suited for 45-degree applications and vertical seams.

Coverings the cage — Fabricators were able to view hands-on demonstrations and check out tools in The Cage, which is run by the Stone Fabricators Alliance.

fabricator forum coverings 2013 — An extensive conference program included many stone-specific sessions, including an open “Fabricator Forum” that discussed labor issues and other business topics.

MIA reception at coverings — The Marble Institute of America drew quite a crowd at its reception during the event.

Coverings also hosted a number of awards programs, including the Coverings Installation & Design Competition. The grand prize in the residential category was awarded to Phoenix-based installer Alpentile and designer Wendy Lesueur of Mesa, AZ, for a pool and deck in Scottsdale, AZ, that used hand-textured porcelain tile, glass mosaic tile and natural stone.

Stone could be found in all sizes, textures and formats at Coverings 2013. Pictured are slabs of Lennon at Levantina.

Stone Zone at coverings 2013 — In the “Stone Zone,” attendees could find the full range of stoneworking technology.

GMM/Salem Stone showcased the Intra 5-axis automatic bridge sawing/molding machine with manual head tilt from 0 to 90 degrees and head rotation from 0 to 370 degrees.

stone machinery at coverings 2013 — In a very positive sign for the economy, a number of the machines on display at Coverings had “sold” stickers on them — some with more than one sticker.

GranQuartz booth — GranQuartz showcased their products with an innovative booth design that allowed visitors to easily and efficiently peruse the full spectrum of its machinery, tools and accessories — covering all stages of stone production.

Blick Industries The Leatherhead — Innovations in stone tooling and accessories could also be found at Blick Industries, including the Leatherhead, which allows fabricators to use their CNC Router or CNC bridge saw to apply a leather or honed finish to the stone surface. The product can accommodate a range of brush styles and formats.

Fila Green Line products — Fila, a manufacturer of stone care and maintenance products celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, promoted its eco-friendly practices.

Coverings 2013 barbecue — Cosentino, GranQuartz and the Stone Fabricators Alliance jointly hosted a gathering of Coverings attendees for a barbecue at Cosentino’s facility in Norcross, GA.

Cosentino stone and quartz materials — In addition to enjoying the barbecue, attendees could also check out Cosentino’s collection of stone and quartz materials.

The barbecue was prepared by Brian Briggs of GranQuartz and the SFA, who personally drove his commercial-grade smoker from his home in Florida to Cosentino’s facility in Georgia.

Coveringstook place at the George World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, from April 29 to May 2, and it drew more than 22,000 attendees. In addition to a broad range of stone materials from around the world, the event offered a variety of stoneworking technology — from equipment to tools and accessories.

Stone could be found in all formats at Coverings, including slabs, tiles, architectural pieces and mosaics. Many of these suppliers were showcasing materials not seen before in the marketplace.

Additionally, stoneworking machinery and accessories were being exhibited on the show floor, with an emphasis on the equipment and technology used for countertop processing. In addition, stone care and maintenance products were represented at the event.

Also of interest for the stone fabrication sector, an extensive conference program included many stone-specific sessions, including an open “Fabricator Forum” that discussed labor issues and other business topics. In all, Coverings 2013 provided an extensive educational program — with more than 70 free sessions, many of which offered CEUs.

According to National Trade Productions (NTP), the show management company, this year’s exhibition attracted an increased number of architects, designers and other specifiers than in previous years. The audience segment grew by 3%, and attendees had the opportunity to see the latest stone and tile innovations by more than 950 exhibitors from over 35 countries.

“Coverings has engaged with the robust community of architects and designers in the Southeast for the past 12 months, and we are pleased that they took advantage of all the show has to offer,” said Karin Fendrich of NTP, Coverings Show Director. “We know our exhibitors appreciate the added opportunity of reaching the growing specifier audience. At the same time, all our audience segments enjoyed robust programming and educational opportunities.”

One of the many ways Coverings built support among the local design community was by sponsoring for the first time a special “Best Use of Tile or Stone” category in the ASID Georgia Chapter annual design competition. “Our ASID chapter greatly appreciated Coverings’ support of our design contest,” said Janie K. Hirsch, ASID, of J. Hirsch Interior Design in Johns Creek, GA. “The special category drew attention to the rich and varied design possibilities of tile and stone. We, of course, went to the Coverings show and it was fantastic — so many amazing new products to see.”

Awards and recognitions

In addition to the exhibits and conference program, Coverings once again presented its PROJECT: Green — recognizing sustainable new and remodeled commercial, institutional and residential projects featuring tile and stone — and the Coverings Installation & Design (CID) Awards — celebrating creativity and technical know-how in the use of tile and stone in residential and commercial projects.

Fifteen outstanding tile and stone projects from across the country and around the world were recognized in the second annual CID Awards. The grand prize in the residential category was awarded to Phoenix-based installer Alpentile and designer Wendy Lesueur of Mesa, AZ, for a pool and deck in Scottsdale, AZ. Lesueur and Alpentile’s project at a ranch in Scottsdale involved replacing a sun-damaged pool and deck with an all-tile spa, an elegantly shaped swimming pool with a 25-foot-long raised water feature and an expansive stone deck for entertaining. Materials included hand-textured porcelain tile, glass mosaic tile and natural stone. The sparkling, iridescent finishes of the pool and spa tiling are brought to life at night with a single LED spotlight positioned so that the undulating surface of the water feature can be viewed from the patio.

“With these two programs, Coverings is proud to recognize excellence in the entire tile and stone community by saluting professionals for their design creativity, craftsmanship and environmental stewardship,” said Fendrich. “Recognition of the projects selected for PROJECT: Green and winners for CID Awards has become a much-anticipated highlight of the show.”

The next edition of Coverings will take place from April 29 to May 2, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV.

SIDEBAR

Organizations collaborate to host a first-class BBQ

At the close of the second day of Coverings, a large gathering of attendees took part in a barbecue that was jointly hosted by Cosentino, GranQuartz and the Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA).

The event was held at Cosentino’s facility in Norcross, GA, and it featured a top-notch barbecue buffet prepared by Brian Briggs of GranQuartz and the SFA, who personally drove his commercial-grade smoker from his home in Florida to Cosentino’s facility in Georgia.

PICTURES ARE IN SLIDESHOW