The Natural Stone Show at ExCeL London this month once again saw the stone industry, its customers and suppliers gather for their now established

two-yearly presentation of what stone has on offer.

There were glowing reports from exhibitors about the quality of the enquiries they had received, and the visitors in their turn praised the quality of the exhibitors and the high standard of the exhibits.

Albion Stone, the company that quarries and mines Portland limestone, took a bigger stand this time and reported the first potential sale, worth £70,000, within the first 10 minutes of the shutters going up on the opening day of the Show. It was for a two-floor extension to a property in Kensington.

Johann Stiegler, of the German company that bears his name and sells Jura limestone, quickly took two orders for Mixed Jura from customers who did not want to miss out on the low price.

Many of the big names that supply machinery to the industry were represented – Breton, Intermac, Gisbert, Thibaut, Achilli, MarmoMeccanica, ScandInvent and more – and were encouraged to find processors ready to invest.

D Zambelis, the UK agent for Gisbert and Achilli, had even sold its first Achilli before the show opened. It was bought by another exhibitor.

Director Stella Zambelis had persuaded Achilli to make the saw with a longer table to cut more than 3m lengths and with a head that could be manually (rather than electronically) rotated to reduce the price. She said that was what the UK market wanted and she was clearly right, as before the Show was over she had sold two more. In the following week another two orders came in as a result of the Show and finance was being arranged on a third.

“I called Achilli and told them that their saw was a little star of the show,” says Stella. “We have a lot of new customers from the Show. I can honestly say it is the best Show we have ever been to.”

Many of the stands were real stunners, demonstrating the exhibitors’ commitment to the industry and the Show.

There are signs that business is picking up in the economy in general and the Stone Show reflected an air of optimism apparent in predictions of growth ahead. It produced the buzz of excitement that only exhibitions can when buyers and sellers not only meet face-to-face but are doing business.

Running in conjunction with the Show was the now well established Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference.

The Conference is growing in stature each time and this year there was standing room only for several of the sessions.

The conference was themed for each day of the exhibition. Monday was Architect & Designer Day, with more than 100 people from the professional community listening to the CPD-accredited presentations about the international sourcing of stone led by California-based stone consultant Vince Marazita.

The day included lunch for the visitors at Zero Sette, next to ExCeL, sponsored by surface care products company Fila.

The second day of the Show was Industry Day, which included an explanation of what CE marking will mean for stone companies when it becomes compulsory in July, which had the conference room full to overflowing.

The third day was Conservation Day, when the English Stone Forum led the discussion on protecting indigenous stone sources and selecting the correct stone for heritage projects, with particular reference to the Strategic Stone Study led by English Heritage.

Show Director Richard Bradbury said afterwards: “The Natural Stone Show was a triumph by the industry. It shows what it can achieve and how much it has to offer.

“The high quality of the stands ably demonstrates the level of commitment from the industry. And the high number of visitors from across the board – stone companies, contractors and a record number of architects – shows how significant stone remains to the built environment.

“The feedback I received from exhibitors and visitors reinforces the importance of this show to the commercial world of stone.”

There is a 14-page pictorial review of the Show in the printed edition of Natural Stone Specialist and you can see photographs from the Show and get more news about it at www.stoneshow.co.uk.