The \'stone village\' created by members of Stone Federation Great Britain at the heart of the UK\'s international stone exhibition, the Natural Stone Show, will be bigger than ever at the 2006 event at ExCeL, London, 14-16 March.

This is the seventh in the two-yearly series of the Natural Stone Show that has grown along with the stone industry in the UK since its inception in the 1990s, thanks to the continued support of the home industry and its representative organisation, Stone Federation Great Britain.

The \'stone village\' houses stone suppliers such as Albion, Bath Stone and Marshalls, masons of the calibre of Rattee & Kett, Stonewest and Priest Restoration and consultancy firms including Harrison Goldman and Geoffrey Walton.

The Natural Stone Show has also always enjoyed the backing of the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM), who represent the memorial side of the industry and who are, once again, supporting the 7th Natural Stone Show in 2006.

Of course, the stone industry is international and once again the ExCeL exhibition has also attracted a record number of overseas exhibitors, giving visitors more to see than ever.

It has always been a strength of the Natural Stone Show that, like the other major stone exhibitions around the world, it attracts exhibitors from all sectors - marble and granite, limestone and sandstone, interiors and cladding, hard landscaping and memorials, new build and conservation, machinery and tools. It is that mix that attracts the trades and the professionals and gives the show such a high number of visitors.

Additional attractions for visitors include a new demonstration area, a conservation area and an associated CPD-accredited major conference, the Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference.

The conference was launched in association with the exhibition in 2004 with the backing of the Royal Institute of British Architects and English Heritage. It proved so successful, attracting 633 delegates, that a second is being staged next year.

Richard Bradbury, the show\'s director, says: "The stone industry in the UK is growing and improving all the time. There is always something new to see and there is no better place to see it than at the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL."