Marble Institute of America: Press Room

Contact: Kelly Cooper
Hanley Wood Exhibitions
kcooper@hanleywood.com
972-536-6411

For Immediate Release

StonExpo East 2007 is THE East Coast Industry Event of the Year!

(Dallas, Texas) The inaugural StonExpo East, held March 22-24, 2007 in Atlanta, brought the No. 1 U.S. stone industry event to the East. With a void for a stone event in the East this year, StonExpo East undoubtedly filled the industry's need.

Fabricators, installers, architects, designers, distributors, builders, retailers and kitchen and bath specialists eagerly anticipated the opening of the show floor at the Georgia World Congress Center to get a glimpse of the latest stone products, machinery, tools and technologies. The show drew a total attendance of 3,688 stone professionals to see 216 exhibiting companies in over 83,000 net square feet of exhibit space.

Exhibitors saw quality buyers on the show floor who were there to do business.

"StonExpo East was a very good show for the Marble Institute," says Gary Distelhorst, Executive Director, Marble Institute of America. "We saw many members we had not seen in quite some time and also welcomed 37 new members to our association. That alone made this show well worth our time and effort."

"StonExpo East proved to be a very profitable show for us," says George Prystash, Operations Manager, Marmo Machinery USA. "Our sales force secured a substantial amount of qualified leads."

"We had a lot of good activity, and the leads we received were solid. We participated in the show for relationship-building, and we were able to do that," says Franklin Olin, Owner, Aqua Pro Systems.

"You go into a launch like this optimistic and hopeful for the best," says John Weise, President, Barkow. "For us, the second day of the show turned out to be great-we're very happy!"

Attendees had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with more than 200 stone machinery manufacturers and stone product suppliers, many that didn't participate in any other event this spring.

"I enjoyed seeing all the vendors we do business with all in one place," says Connie Holder, Classic Stone Works, Linville, NC. "It was great putting faces with the voices that we talk to every day."

"It was a great show for us to attend," says Paul Nelson, N2 Granite, Inc., Mooresville, NC. "We saw everything we were hoping to see and much more."

Demonstrating its commitment to superior education, StonExpo East offered the same quality, in-depth Conference Program the industry has become accustomed to at StonExpo events. Stone professionals received solid education on the latest products, market trends, installation techniques and services. More than 1,800 sessions were attended, proving that StonExpo East attendees value the importance of the education program and the positive impact it has on their businesses.

With 41 sessions in five targeted tracks, including Business Management, Design/Market Trends, Fabrication/Installation, Sales/Marketing and Care/Maintenance/Restoration, attendees took advantage of the most advanced information guaranteed to help their businesses succeed.

"I attended the conference session 'Secrets the IRS Does Not Want You to Know' and it provided information that was very beneficial to all small business owners as a good check-and-balance system," says Mollee Harper, Davide Custom Stone Fabricators, Atlantic Beach, FL.

"The conference program provided a great deal of new product and industry information beneficial to all businesses," adds Holder.

"The conference sessions were extremely educational and the speakers were very knowledgeable on the topics they presented," says Nelson. "We've been in the granite business for 10 years and I left there with more, new information than I could have imagined."

Stone LIVE!, which was sponsored by G & L Marble, provided attendees with a more hands-on approach to education. The live demonstrations, which took place on the show floor, offered an up-close look at the latest and more highly technical stone techniques such as setting seams and top polishing, countertop installation for undermount sinks and installing, cutting and notching decorative kitchen backsplashes.

"Many visitors to the MIA booth were pleased with the show and would like to see it return to the East Coast in the years to come," concludes Distelhorst.

StonExpo East took place March 22-24, 2007 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. For more information on the show, call 866.550.6808 or 972.536.6440 or visit www.StonExpoEast.com.

StonExpo East's Official Sponsors are the Marble Institute of America and Natural Stone Council.

The mission of the Marble Institute of America is to promote the use of natural stone and to be the world's most authoritative natural stone information resource. Membership in the association is worldwide and includes nearly 1,800 natural stone producers, exporters/importers, distributors/wholesalers, fabricators, finishers, installers and industry suppliers - all committed to the highest standards of workmanship and ethics.

The Natural Stone Council includes the American Monument Association, Canadian Stone Association, Elberton Granite Association, National Building Granite Quarries Association and Northwest Granite Manufacturers Association. Members of the Natural Stone Council are the leaders in the stone industry and represent the major associations who are committed to promotion and education of the industry and general public of the value and benefits of natural stone.

About Hanley Wood

Hanley Wood, LLC, is the premier media company serving housing and construction. Through five operating divisions, the company produces award-winning magazines and Web sites, marquee trade shows and events, rich data and custom marketing solutions. The company also is North America's leading publisher of home plans. Hanley Wood Exhibitions (Dallas) conducts 16 trade shows, including World of Concrete, one of the top 20 trade show events in the country.

Founded in 1976, Hanley Wood is a $240 million company owned by affiliates of JPMorgan Partners, LLC. CCMP Capital Advisors manages the Hanley Wood investment for JPMorgan Partners.

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