Marble Institute of America: Press Room

Exhibitors and Attendees Call StonExpo 2004 Year's Best Business-Building Event

Columbus, OH, November 8, 2004 - StonExpo 2004 was a highly successful show, with strong attendance and huge volumes of business conducted between leading natural stone exhibitors and buyers, according to Pennie Sabel, Executive Director of the StonExpo Federation, the nonprofit organization that produced the event.

"We believe StonExpo's first-ever West coast location and expanded educational opportunities, combined with the growing market for natural stone, made this an outstanding event," Sabel said.

Thousands of stone and design professionals from around the world gathered in Los Angeles October 28-30 to explore the best in natural stone technology, products, and services; learn from leading stone experts at educational forums; and network and conduct business with the industry's best. The show was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Marble Institute of America (MIA), which sponsored the event's educational programming.

Among the exhibitors pleased with the show was Sal Banchitta of Bellinzoni/Akemi in New York. "We had a lot of foot traffic, even on opening day. We saw lots of people and lots of action. We met some pretty good prospects and got some new leads for distributors, too. We're looking forward to the show in Vegas next year."

Dan Devlin of Hard Rock Tool in Anaheim, CA was excited about StonExpo's first-ever West coast location "because building and construction is booming in the southwest U.S.," he explained. Devlin also credits StonExpo's educational seminars provided by the Marble Institute for attracting high-quality attendees to the event and his booth. "StonExpo is the best show when it comes to education and the participation of the industry."

Alex Sajkovic of ASN Natural Stone in San Francisco concurs: "The stone design seminar was the best I've ever attended – the information was comprehensive and the presenters were excellent. I'm looking forward to the next StonExpo."

StonExpo 2005, scheduled for October 19-22, 2005 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, will be produced by Hanley Wood Exhibitions, which has recently purchased the show event from the StonExpo Federation. Under the terms of the sale, the StonExpo Federation and the Marble Institute of America will enjoy 45-year sponsorship agreements, making the Federation and MIA the official sponsors of StonExpo.

Exhibitor Jean St. Onge of Polycor in Quebec was among those excited about StonExpo's new ownership: "It's a good move, and a way to make StonExpo bigger, better, and THE major show in the industry. We'll be there at StonExpo 2005!"

For more information on StonExpo, call (972) 536-5440 or (866) 550-6806.