Check out the latest issue of ISFA's Countertops & Architectural Surfaces magazine

Check out the Latest Countertops & Architectural Surfaces Buyers' Guide issue

ISFA Solid Surface
Fabrication Training
Sponsored by
Regent Stone
April 16-18
San Antonio, Texas

Atlanta Industry Roundtable
Sponsored by
LG Hausys
Feb. 19-21
Las Vegas, Nev.

Interzum
May 21 - 24
Cologne, Germany

GEN 2 Leadership Gathering
Sponsored by
Moraware,
Cosentino &
GranQuartz
June 4 - 6
Detroit, Mich.

ISFA
PO Box 627 Ingomar, PA 15127

Phone
(888) 599-ISFA

Email
info@isfanow.org

The 2019 ISFA Annual Meeting & Conference is being held October 20 to 23 at the exclusive Mountain Shadows Resort in beautiful Scottsdale, Ariz., and event registration is now open.
Registration includes:

• Three Nights' Stay at the Mountain Shadows Resort in the Heart of Paradise Valley
• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Evening Cocktails
• Educational Sessions
• Welcome Reception
• Awards Reception
• Business Meeting
• Golf Scramble at The Short Course, Mountain Shadows

Conference Rates (Apr 1-Sept 15, 2019): $1699, Extra Guest Rate: $849
After Sept 15, 2019, room prices will be subject to availability and current resort rates.

CLICK HERE to register or learn more about  the event.

fabrication employers, the webinar will describe the dangers of silica exposure, outline employer requirements to comply with OSHA’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Rule and offer methods employers can use to protect workers. To register for this free webinar, contact occhealth@cdph.ca.gov or visit http://www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/NIOSH.

As has been widely reported, Cambria filed an anti-dumping petition in April 2018 citing dumping of Chinese quartz in the United States. Preliminary decisions issued by the government agreed with the petition and anti-dumping and countervailing duties were determined with the final ruling to come this spring (pushed back by the month-long shutdown of the federal government. The preliminary anti-dumping and countervailing duties were set in some cases in excess of 300 percent. It was also determined that some of these duties could be retroactive back to as far as August of 2018. Additionally, President Trump called for additional tariffs on quartz and a whole host of stone and machinery related to stone fabrication, which began at 10 percent and were set to rise to 25 percent.

A group of quartz importers and fabricators banded together into the Quartz Coalition to argue that the duties were unnecessary, and the Agglomerated Stone Association World Wide, made up of some very large manufacturers of quartz not being produced in China came out in favor of the tariffs.

Subsequently, the imports of Chinese quartz dropped significantly beginning in October and have continued to fall. In the subsequent vacuum, imports largely from India but also including a variety of other countries have increased rapidly. In the meantime, it seemed as though Chinese manufacturers were looking to alter the make-up of their products by replacing quartz with crushed glass in an effort to differentiate their surfacing materials enough to be outside of the scope of the duties, tariffs and fees.

However, in mid-February, Cambria filed a petition to have these glass-based materials added to their original petition. Cambria initially sought to include slabs with a “predominantly silica” and resin binder materials, but the USITC noted that definition would include products using recycled glass as part of green materials (such as products like IceStone and Vetrazzo, which are made in the United States). As such, the scope of the petition changed to consider predominantly quartz mixtures.

“It was never intended to exclude quartz surface products made from ground glass powder that are virtually indistinguishable,” stated Cambria’s latest request. Cambria asked the government to change the definition for excluded glass products to require that pieces of at least 1cm should be visible in the surface at least every 3 in. The Quartz Coalition quickly filed a response asking that the Commerce Department to reject Cambria’s claim for several reasons, including that Cambria had waited too long to alter the definitions. However, on February 26, the government ruled that Cambria’s definition change would be considered.

While no one is quite sure how the outcome will alter the U.S. quartz market, and opinions and speculation both pro and con have been made, by the end of spring, we should have a final ruling on the fees and what level they will be at, and many parties are expected to be affected by the forthcoming decisions.

On March 18, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced that it had confirmed reports of an an apparent cluster of multiple cases of silicosis among workers associated with occupational silica dust exposures that occurred during the manufacture, finishing and installation of stone countertops. Silicosis is an incurable, disabling, and often-fatal lung disease caused by inhalation of very fine particles of crystalline silica dust over a long period of time. DSHS is continuing to investigate the cases. There are no reported silica exposures to consumers. Since the first case of silicosis associated with U.S. engineered stone countertop manufacturing was reported in Texas in 2014, concern by regulatory agencies has been rising, and in response OSHA lowered the permissible exposure limit (PEL) to cryxtalline silica to 50 µg/m3, averaged over an 8-hour work day. Since then, in addition to these Texas cases, at least one other case has recently been reported in California. For more information CLICK HERE.

ISFA is now accepting registration for its second Industry Roundtable Event of 2019, which will take place in Adairsville, Ga. (near Atlanta). The event will include tours of both the HI-MACS solid surface and Viatera quartz surfacing production facilities of LG Hausys. In addition to the tours, attendees will hear from expert presenters and take part in networking events and group discussions designed to provide insight, information and best practices for the industry. Participants will be staying at the exclusive Barnsley Resort in Adairsville, and shuttles to and from the LG facilities will be provided. To register or for more information, Click Here or email info@isfanow.org.

In case you missed these informative articles:

• ISFA Fabricator Profile: The Countertop Factory Midwest
• In the Beginning: The Early History of ISFA

• A Deeper Look At Soapstone

• The Marketing Mix's Missing Link: The Fifth 'P'

Find many more useful articles in our Online Archive.

with the mission of providing that training in ways that are convenient for shop managers and equipment operators. Stoneworks Training Group offers a range of services tincluding: Remote & on-site training; remote support; consulting; and e-courses via University of EasySTONE.

The company works in cooperation with the DDX Group, who is the maker of EasySTONE, to provide  education, support and sales.

than 5,100 different potential color matches. The glue is suitable for seaming and edging solid surface, granite, quartz, and other engineered countertops and surfaces. It provides an even, consistent cure, is easy-to-apply and achieves aesthetically pleasing seams. It is Greenguard Certified low VOC, and usually ships the same day from eight strategically-located warehouses around the United States. Color matching charts and more information is available HERE.

These air-powered lifters designed specifically for stone fabricators are easily mountable, with simple features such as:  0 to 90-degree powered tilting able to block in horizontal/vertical position; anodized aluminum continuous vacuum pumps; stainless steel vacuum gauges; aluminum reserve vacuum tanks, high-limit yielding steel suction pads; grip and release control via anodized aluminum sliding valves; acoustic and luminous alarm systems; and vacuum filters.