For those who see challenging economic times as an opportunity to gain market share from competitors who don’t, the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL London 15-17 March is the ideal place to start new associations with like-minded suppliers

As well as all the stone you will be able to see when the Natural Stone Show opens in ExCeL London on 15 March, the Show offers stone masons and processors the chance to make sure they have the latest cost-cutting tools and machinery with the most up-to-date systems for a competitive edge and better margins.

The stone industry is truly international and the stone on show at ExCeL comes from all over the world. Most of the machinery still comes from Europe, but tools and consumables are increasingly making their way to the UK from the Far East.

Low cost stone from India and China has certainly contributed significantly to the increased popularity of stone since the turn of the millennium and there will be plenty of stone on show from the Far East at ExCeL once again this year. Companies such as Jetboat China on stand G50, who exhibit in their own right and are regulars at the Show, have enjoyed considerable success in the UK. There is also a Chinese pavilion under the auspices of Minmetals Yantai, where a whole variety of Chinese stones will be shown.

From India there are companies like Bathla Minerals (C39), Eagle Stone Export (P11), Krishna Stone (E20) and Jangirh Exports (P32).

But other parts of the world are also looking for sales in the UK. The Natural Stone Show this time sees exhibitors from Egypt and Iran for the first time. From Iran come Saltani Quarries (C25), and from Egypt there are Eco Egypt (J9) and Superior (P57).

There is a good showing of Italian companies, of course – Italy being the largest of Europe’s stone producing, processing and trading nations – as well as exhibitors from France, Germany, Portugal, South Africa and Spain.

It is not only exporters from around the world who are exhibiting stone from overseas, though. UK suppliers also import stone from all corners of the world that they will be showing. Newcomers Dundas Barnes (E50) will exhibit the range of Indian stone exclusively from Rajendra Stones that they have recently started importing for the UK market. Natural Paving (G40), have a wide range of imported hard landscaping products, and companies such as B-Stone (G25) Levantina (F6) and Beltrami (F36) offer polished slabs sourced from quarries on every continent.

Importers can take the headaches out of the logistics of going directly to overseas suppliers by dealing with the risks and complexities associated with currency fluctuations and freight.

While imports have had a massive impact on the stone industry in the UK, slashing prices and vastly increasing choice, it is not only imported stone that is used in projects. There are also plenty of indigenous stones making their way into both public realm and private projects, in interiors as flooring, linings and worktops, and outside as walling, cladding and hard landscaping for domestic and commercial projects, and as roofing.

And you will be able to see more stone from the British Isles than ever before at this year’s Natural Stone Show.

Local stones have always been appreciated for being uniquely appropriate to particular locations, but as carbon footprints and other environmental issues move up the hierarchy of specification considerations, local stone comes into its own.

There is now an increasing body of evidence showing just how environmentally friendly stone is – such as Historic Scotland’s Embodied Carbon in Natural Building Stone in Scotland report published last year

(www.sistech.co.uk/sistechonlinedocs.htm), the University of Bath’s Inventory of Carbon & Energy (ICE) that is even now being up-dated (www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/sert/embodied) and the BRE Green Guide, which is on their website (www.thegreenguide.org.uk).

The stone being exhibited at ExCeL includes the great names of British stone – limestones such as Portland (on producers Albion Stone’s stand, E19), Purbeck (Lovell Purbeck, G15) and Bath (Bath Stone Group, E35), sandstones such as Peakmoor and Beestone (on the Realstone stand, D19), Forest of Dean Pennant (Forest of Dean Stone Firms, G20), Clashach (Tennants Elgin, C50) and Welsh slate (Welsh Slate, C35).

Other indigenous stones on show include Guiting Gold and Cotswolds Cream from Johnston Quarry Group’s recently acquired Oathill quarry (stand D36), award-winning Ancaster Weatherbed and Scotch Buff from Realstone (D19), and Ancaster Hard White and Clipsham from Goldholme Stone (E30).

Cresswell Buff is one of the 14 indigenous stones being shown by new company Historic Stone (D56). Another new company, Churchfield Stone, have taken over production of one of the country’s most resilient limestones from Churchfield Quarry. They say they might also have the stone from another quarry to exhibit by the time the Stone Show opens. You can see them on stand C30 with Professor Geoffrey Walton, the consultant who surveyed the resource and secured planning permission for the stone’s extraction.

There are English limestone flagstones from the Metheringham Quarry of Centurian Dimensional Stone (F9) and specialist Morayshire cobbles, as well as the Clashach, from Tennants Elgin (C50).

According to the quarriers, British stone is ever more likely to be specified for the public domain and, when houses are being built, as walling, maintaining the essential characters of areas through the use of unarguably appropriate natural materials.

The stone industry in the UK today is a well-equipped, efficient supplier of building stone for cladding, walling, paving, roofing, floor and wall tiles, shower trays, worktops, furniture and just about any other hard surface required by the construction industry. The subtle hues of British limestone, sandstone and slate have always attracted the discerning architect, interior designer and landscaper.

But Britain does not produce the highly figurative granites, limestones, marbles and exotic stones that are such a hit in the avant garde interiors market, plenty of which will also be exhibited at the Natural Stone Show.

Beltrami (on stand F36) are showing their Beltralinea concept, a range of calibrated natural stone strips for wall cladding and flooring that contributes hugely to the overall value of kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms, as well as retail decoration.

Levantina (F6), one of the world’s largest stone producers, will display their vast palette of materials including their Crema Marfil marble used recently in London at Lancaster’s and One Hyde Park.

Antolini Luigi (D1) will promote their semiprecious, gemstone and shellstone luxury collections. Renowned for supplying stunning interior concepts to the rich and famous, Antolini offer access to some of the world’s rarest and most spectacular natural stones.

EDM (F30) and Cristofoli (G57) will be on hand to offer their expertise. EDM pride themselves on supplying and fixing natural stones to prestigious interiors throughout the world. Commissions include the Ritz and George V hotels in Paris and the Louis Vuitton boutique, London.

The latest in quartz engineered stone will also be on show from companies that include Compac (F10), Caesarstone (on the CRL stand, F1), Quartzform (J50), Technistone (G25), Diresco (B-Stone G25), Cimstone (G30) and Interfloor (J50).

Stone tiling will also be well represented with a versatile range of different finishes and sizes. Stoneworld (F20), Stonecrest Marble (F26), AGM (F25), Jerusalem Stone (J6), Stone Republic (C46) and Ardosia Slate (C49) are just some of them. For many, the Stone Show will be the first opportunity to meet the suppliers of the stones from which so many tiles are made these days.

But, as we said, the show is not only about stone. It is also about all the machinery and accessories used in processing it and the biggest stand at the Show (F60) is occupied by Andy Bell’s machinery and tools & consumables companies, National Masonry and Stone Machinery UK.

National Masonry have just joined forces with the massive German wholesalers Weha to offer exclusively in the UK the 21,000 products across 17 product ranges that Weha supply, many made by or especially for Weha.

Stone Machinery UK were established when Andy Bell gained exclusivity on the sale of MarmoMeccanica edge polishers in the UK at the end of 2009 (you can read more about that on page 30).

Another of the machinery suppliers who have continued to forge ahead are D Zambelis, based in Essex, who have enjoyed considerable success with the Spanish Gisbert range of bridge saws, monoblocks, workcentres and edge polishers they introduced at the Natural Stone Show last time. You can see them this time on stand B20.

Zambelis have also now taken on distribution of the Italian Marmoelettromeccanica Master 2800 and Master 3500 worktop miller-routers and original tooling, and the Achilli range of workshop machines and handling equipment.

The Waters Group and the French manufacturers of their main range of machinery, Thibaut, have three stands at the Natural Stone Show this year, A1, B1 and P1.

Newcomers to the machinery supply sector exhibiting at the Natural Stone Show for the first time are Finnish manufacturers Kasins (stand A25). They supply off-the-shelf, value-for-money machines that have all been given the names of animals – such as the £20,000 Monkey saw.

Their latest launch is the Lion 1900, a compact face polishing machine with a work area up to 1900mm x 3500mm. And because it has been developed in conjunction with stone workers in Finland, Kasins say it is particularly user friendly and easy to operate.

Another first time exhibitor is Breton UK on stand A40. Breton machinery has been seen at the Natural Stone Show in ExCeL London before, of course, but previously it was being shown by Ebor. With Ebor having been bought by the American glass product giants CR Laurence, Italian company Breton decided to form their own distribution company in the UK in association with Carl Sharkey, who has been establishing an American laser templating device in Europe as Laser Products Europe for the past few years.

Carl continues to run Laser Products Europe and the latest developments of the lasers will also be on show on the stand.

CR Lawrence of Europe, meanwhile, remain committed to the stone sector and have established CRL Stone to supply it with a wide range of tools and consumables. You will be able to see some of the products on their stand (F1) at ExCeL.

They will, incidentally, also be showing the CaesarStone quartz surfaces they sell in the UK.

Also new to the stone machinery supply sector since the last Natural Stone Show are Roccia Machinery, formed by Pisani’s former machinery sales manager, Derrick Fretwell. He has taken over most of the major brands formerly sold by Pisani, including GMM saws and Cemar edge polishers (Cemar having been bought by GMM in 2008). Roccia will be on stand (B40).

Roccia were formed with the backing of venture capital from Paul Coggins and Matthew Gilbert of City Business Finance, although City Business Finance continue to provide finance for stone companies wherever they buy their machinery and will be happy to talk to anyone looking for finance at the Stone Show.

As well as GMM, Roccia also sell Bideseimpianti wire saws, Helios CNC workcentres, TechnoSplit guillotines, Socomac materials handling equipment and small saws, and Manzelli Lifestyle vacuum lifts and cranes.

CNC machinery companies CMS Brembana on stand A50, Intermac on B50 and Prussiani on B56 will be hoping to stimulate the recent increase in interest they have seen in the market for their machines, while Harbro Supplies hope to have concluded negotiations that will enable them to introduce some exciting new products to the UK stone processing sector on stand B60.

And all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. A whole array of companies exhibiting at ExCeL are introducing a vast number of products to make processing stone faster, cleaner, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

Apex Grange, based inside the M25 at Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, will show their newly extended range on stand J20 that includes the Coor & Kleever floor crystallising system, Abrasivos Aguila diamond products, and the Montolit range that includes block cutters and guillotines. From the beginning of January, Apex Grange also became main UK distributors for Fila surface care products and they have taken on Wedi building boards, Tenax resin and chemical products, Sia abrasives (as a second range to run in line with their Sait abrasives) and Fein Power Tools, including polishers, grinders and dust extraction systems.

Bellinzoni’s chemicals have been added to the Waters Group inventory. Waters already sell Akemi sealers, polishers and other chemicals but say taking over the Bellinzoni products provides continuity of service to those stone processors who prefer them.

Latest products from Flex (stand A1 and P1) and Makita power tools (on Stone Tools’ stand, P65) will be on show, as will a new cleaning system from Hodge Clemco (stand D39). And more tooling, stone treatments, finishes, adhesives and accessories will be shown by companies such as Technical Diamond Products (P30), Fila (G60), LTP (G56), Dry-Treat (E49), Nu-Life Stone Care (E46), Encore Diamond Products (B30), Chemspec (A29), Mapei (B26), Lantania (G9), Tabularasa (F16), Stone Clear (A60), BASF (G26), Universal Sealants (F40) and others.

It adds up to everything you need to succeed, all under one roof in three days at the Natural Stone Show, ExCeL London.

Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference

In association with the Natural Stone Show is the now established and highly respected Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference.

The conference includes seminars covering issues relating to the use of stone in both new build and conservation. It is held in the South Gallery Rooms of ExCeL overlooking the Royal Victoria Dock on the floor above the exhibition halls, well away from the noise and bustle of the exhibition itself.

Admission is free. There are necessarily physical limitations on the number of people who can fit into the room, but those who have pre-registered their visit to the Show will be given priority.

Offering accredited CPD for delegates, the Conference brings together all of those who have an interest in the design and use of stone as a building material.

There are themes for each day of the exhibition. You can view details of the speakers and their presentation subjects on the Stone Show website (www.stoneshow.co.uk). There follows a brief outline of the theme for each day.

Day 1: Sustainability

Environmentally and ethically responsible sourcing of stone has become a major issue for both designers and suppliers. Chemicals used for treating and cleaning stone also increasingly come under the environmental spotlight. But the industry is responding to satisfy the demand not only for a sustainable product but also evidence of that sustainability.

Day 2: New Build

Stone Federation Great Britain will present their RIBA CPD-accredited seminar on the selection and use of stone in the morning, while in the afternoon there will be presentations by architects and stone professionals involved in some of the winning projects in the 2010 Natural Stone Awards.

Day 3: Conservation

The final day is overseen by English Heritage and the English Stone Forum. Speakers include Tarnia McAlester from English Heritage and Don Cameron of the British Geological Survey who will talk about their collaboration on the Strategic Stone Study.

Italian Design set in stone

The Natural Stone Show in London has a co-operation agreement with Marmomacc, the world’s largest international exhibition of stone and machinery held annually in Verona, Italy. Marmomacc are bringing some of the innovative designs created for the Marmomacc Meets Design feature of their exhibition to the London Show.

Marmomacc has always led the way in the search for innovation in stone and four years ago it started bringing together internationally famous designers and production companies in order to push forward the frontiers.

Marmomacc Meets Design is the result. It forms a special feature at Marmomacc intended to inspire the design world to imaginative new uses of stone that modern processing power makes possible in timescales relevant to fast-track construction and at realistic prices.

The theme of the first Marmomacc Meets Design was ‘The Lightness of Marble’. That was followed by ‘Skin, Texture’ in 2008 and ‘Hybrid & Flexible’ in 2009. The theme at the latest Marmomacc was ‘Irregular Exceptional’.

More than 33 architects and designers have unleashed their creativity in the Marmomacc Meets Design feature so far. A list of their names reads like a who’s who of architecture. They include Kengo Kuma, Claudio Silvestrin, Alberto Campo Baeza, Manuel Aires Mateus, Patricia Urquiola, Tobia Scarpa, Marco Piva, James Irvine, Tomas Alonso, Aldo Cibic, Thomas Sandell, Michele De Lucchi. The list goes on and on.

Their ideas have been set in stone by 28 processing companies no less famous in their own field – Budri, Marsotto, Pibamarmi, MGM Furnari, Il Casone, Testi Fratelli, Grassi Pietre…

And, of course, there will be various Italian companies exhibiting at the Natural Stone Show in their own right, including regular exhibitors Antolini Luigi (stand D1) who will be showing some of the most exotic of the world’s stones. If you are looking for stones to make statements their stand is well worth a visit.

Stone Federation to present first Sustainability Award

In recognition of the growing importance of ecological and ethical issues surrounding the use of all building materials, Stone Federation Great Britain will present for the first time a new Stone Sustainability Award at the Natural Stone Show.

It will be awarded in recognition of the efforts of a company in the industry to improve the environment.

The winner will be announced and presented with their trophy at the end of the Tuesday morning session of the Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference, being held in the South Gallery Rooms on the floor above the exhibition, accessed from the back of the exhibition halls (see page 15).

Throughout the Natural Stone Show the Federation are at the heart of the exhibition in the Stone Village, where they man a help desk with experts to answer visitors’ questions on stone selection, fixing and maintenance.

Within the Village, Stone Federation members exhibit their goods and services. Federation members in the village include Albion Stone (Stand E19), Bath Stone Group (E35), BRE (C24), Geiger Stein und Schotterwerke (C36), Group Monument (C26), Harrison Goldman (C28), Johnsons Wellfield Quarries (C20), Johnston Quarry Group (D36), Professor Geoffrey Walton & Associates Llp (C30), Realstone (D19), Sandberg (E29), Solnhofen Stone Group (D20), Stonewest (D30), and Thomann-Hanry (E25).

Conservation area

As well as having an important role in new build, hard landscaping and interior design, stone also plays an important role in the £3.5billion conservation sector that has a thriving community of specialists committed to safeguarding the UK's built heritage.

This side of the stone industry is represented at the show through a dedicated conservation area co-ordinated by English Heritage and other organisations including Historic Scotland, the Institute of Conservation, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, English Stone Forum and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.

Visitors can seek advice from experts in this area as well as attending the conservation session of the Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference.