No matter how many times I travel to Italy, it never gets old -- and not just because of the excellent food and wine I enjoy while I am there. As editor of Stone World Magazine, I am fortunate enough to travel to Italy at least two or three times each year, and every time I go, something new seems to be taking place in the stone industry.

The American Red Cross estimates that 275,000 homes have been destroyed by Katrina and the flooding that followed in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. More than 1 million people have been displaced, their homes unlivable and likely to be demolished. Rebuilding these homes and helping these families represents a staggering challenge, especially when you attach names and faces to the evacuees.

International Machine Corp. of Holbrook, NY, is offering machinery technology from Matec, and it has announced that it is the exclusive distributor of Matec equipment.

This Stone of the Month supplied by Tekmar, Istanbul, Turkey.

As soon as I approached the entrance to this month's “Re-Emerging U.S. Stone Industry” subject - Vangura Surfacing Products of North Huntingdon, PA - I knew this was not going to be a typical fabrication shop article. To begin with, the facilities of the company were quite imposing, with multiple large-scale buildings and its own private roadway leading from the highway. Driving past several loading bays and warehouse/manufacturing facilities, I ultimately reached the main lobby - an inviting, two-story space that showcases a broad range of finished stonework.

The Bremor Octagan double-head polisher is the only two-headed articulated polisher in the world, according to supplier Granite City Tool, providing a consistent polish and the ability to polish inside the “L.”

This Stone of the Month supplied by Pokarna Ltd., Andhra Pradesh, India. Technical details provide a frame of reference only.

Over the years, companies in the stone industry have developed a reputation as a bunch of “good old boys.” This has been particularly true of stone fabricators. Given this assessment, one might get the impression that the typical stone fabricator in North America sets about his daily business with a hammer and chisel - and perhaps a hat made of folded newspaper.

The patented EnviroSystem from Water Treatment Technologies has been engineered to produce water of the highest quality, according to the manufacturer.