Will Torrent, pastry chef and chocolatier extraordinaire, will be at the Natural Stone Show on Stone Italiana's stand (I 26) for a tasty piece of culinary theatre in a demonstration to spell out the importance of fully certified quartz and composite slabs.

Will specified Stone Italiana for his own home and working kitchens a few years ago, impressed by the food safety and low VOC aspects of Stone Italiana quartz, especially as he tempers his chocolate directly on his worktops. His instagram feed is packed with images of delicious food photographed on his Stone Italiana worktops. 

Stone Italiana is sold in the UK by Italian Luxury Surfaces based in Langley, Berkshire.

Will Torrent is a best-selling author and one of the leading pastry and chocolate experts in the UK, with an award-winning patisserie background. At the Stone Show he is demonstrating why the right worksurface is critical to successful patisserie, chocolate making and food safety.

You can see Will create delicious treats live on the Stone Italiana stand in demonstrations from 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 3:30pm each day (6-8 June) and find out why the composition of quartz and composite slabs is so important for professional specifiers, fabricators and end-users who want to provide the best for chefs.

Stone Italiana will also be showing its new Venantis Cosmolite collection at the show for the first time in the UK.

This is a a delicately veined addition to Stone Italiana's recycled Cosmolite range, created for use as kitchen worktops, doors, countertops and cladding surfaces.

The new Venantis collection includes six veined colourways, from a soft white to deep black, via a warm beige and an innovative green.

The six colourways are (left to right):  Beige Igea, Black Juno, Green Artemis...

...and Grey Argo, Grey Titano and White Teti

Since 2020, Stone Italiana has focused on Cosmolite, which is made from inert recycled minerals other than quartz. Part of the polymeric binder originates from renewable vegetable sources obtained from non-genetically modified (non-GM) and identity-preserved (IP) plants.

Stone Italiana focuses on increasing the levels of recycled materials across all its products, creating materials that are low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and safe for food preparation. The company is also working to reduce its overall carbon footprint through the installation of photovoltaic cells and grid economisers at its factories.

The Stone Italiana Sustainability Report, environmental product declaration (EPD) and all brochures can be downloaded from: https://italianluxurysurfaces.co.uk/downloads/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_italianluxurysurfacesltd_

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/italian-luxury-surfaces

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ItalianLuxurySurfacesLtd

Independent stone consultant Robert Merry is looking forward to the Natural Stone Show and Hard Surfaces exhibitions in London.

It’s great to be returning to the Natural Stone Show and Hard Surfaces at ExCeL London. It’s good to see the diversity of organisations and companies spread across the natural stone and engineered surfaces divisions of our industry. I know mixing natural and man-made products in the same space is not to everyone’s liking, but it’s undeniable that our ever pragmatic wholesalers, fabricators and installers use all these products.

And why not? As is demonstrated by the conferences of both Shows at Excel, there is a lot to learn from each other. The Natural Stone Show conference has an Architects Day, Industry Day and a Conservation Day. The Hard Surfaces conference covers Design, Sustainability, a Fabricators Master Class and a discussion on large format slab installation.

The conferences are split into three chunks each day. I am particularly interested to hear how each section presents its environmental credentials. The Natural Stone conference has seminars ranging from explaining Environmental Product Directives on Tuesday morning to Thursday’s Conservation Day dedicated to Responsible Sourcing, Understanding Stone in relation to climate change and Sustainability. Hard Surfaces has Thursday afternoon dedicated to putting forward the environmental credentials in sessions entitled Environmental Edge and Sustainable Specifications.

The Natural Stone Industry Day on Wednesday sees the Stone Federation focus on its Women in Natural Stone (WINS) group, with a presentation by WINS co-Chair Becca Cranfield; the launch of the Federation’s Stone Academy in a new approach to training, presented by the President, Chris Kelsey; and the presentation of The Emerging Talent Awards, which follows a panel discussion on the challenges facing the next generation of stone industry leaders.

Separation within our industry, I discovered recently, is not new. The Worshipful Company of Masons, one of the  City of London’s Livery Companies, recently published a history of the Company. It is called Crafted in Stone. The Masons’ Company was founded by a Grant of Arms in 1472 and the book is in celebration of the 550th anniversary of that in 2022. It’s a beautifully bound and printed book and as a Liveryman I was lucky enough to receive a copy.

The writer, appropriately enough Dr Ian Stone, begins with one of  the earliest written references to stonemasonry in London. It sees a group of stonemasons appearing before the Mayor, Sheriff and Aldermen in the year 1356 to “account for quarrels and disputes which had broken out in the City between... mason hewers on the one hand and mason layers and setters on the other”.

In brief, hewers cut, shaped and worked the stone (banker masons) while the layers and setters fitted the stone (the installers). The dispute was over wages, with the hewers receiving more than the setters. The argument had broken out on a busy medieval construction site, where the layers and setters had started to work the stone as well as install it, reducing the amount of work available to the hewers. Maybe they were fixing faster than the hewers could produce and rather than stand around they got on with the job. Who knows?

The opposing sides were each represented by six masons. There was stalemate, so the Mayor ordered the 12 to provide “good and due information (as to) how their trade might be best ordered and ruled”. The 12 men came up with acts and articles under eight headings. I am sure this was not the end of the disputes between the two skill sets in the same industry, but it was a start.

I can’t help but reflect on the twin elements of our modern industry, represented at ExCeL by the two exhibitions with their separate conferences, discussing similar and complementary issues.

How much stronger might the industry be if we all joined together? It would certainly be worth exploring. It might even be of benefit to the members who pay the subscriptions that fund the organisations that represent us. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from the dispute resolution of our 14th century ancestors.

The Worktop Fabricators Federation (WFF) is holding its annual general meeting on Wednesday 7 June during the Natural Stone Show + Hard Surfaces exhibition taking place 6-8 June at ExCeL London.

WFF has a stand at Hard Surfaces (I 50), where, with all the present headlines about silica dust, it will be emphasising WFF Members’ commitment to good practice and worker safety, with the centrepiece of the stand being the WFF's newly-acquired Trolex silica dust measurement device.

WFF initial trials with the Trolex Air XS have proved encouraging and the organisation is looking forward to discussing with Members and prospective members how they could use the devise in their own production areas. 

WFF is also using the show to encourage interior designers to reference the WFF Guide to Engineered and Natural Stone when specifying interior surfaces. 

After the AGM, members and prospective members are invited to the Hoop & Grapes in Aldgate –  The Hoop and Grapes, 47 Aldgate High Street, EC3N 1AL.

The nearest tube station is Aldgate East on the District line and Hammersmith and City lines. The Pub is a five-minute walk from the underground station.

We hope to have as many of our members as possible and have the opportunity to chat in a  more relaxed environment.

David Coster, Director of Advanced Stone & Masonry Supplies, which sells Stain Proof and Tenax products, talks to Andy Phillips, Managing Director of Affordable Granite and a founding Director of the Worktop Fabricators Federation.

David: Natural Stone, quartz, porcelain / sintered stone?

Andy: In my house I’ve got natural stone. I prefer it all day long. It’s look more interesting; there’s more to it. And I know the energy costs are much better in terms of producing it, so I feel comfortable with it at an eco level.

However, what we are selling at the moment is mainly quartz because that’s what seems to be in demand in the marketplace.

We are starting to see an increase in porcelain and sintered stone and I think they’re going to be the future if the manufacturers can just get the levels and the longevity right on them. We have seen people moving away from quartz into natural stone more recently as well.

Straight off the CNC or hand finished?

Most of our work is straight off the CNC. We do hand finish, but mostly only if it wouldn’t be economical to put it on the CNC – short edges and that kind of thing. Also if we’re doing non-standard profiling.

Have you made any particular investments in the business lately?

I have made a lot of investments this past year. We’ve had an inspection by a Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector, so the investment was quite timely. I have invested in a Primus waterjet from Intermac, which has allowed me to take away a load of the hand finishing that we have been doing up to now. I have also invested in wet grinding technology and up-graded our air lines so we can use it properly. It’s been about dust control primarily, and also being able to handle softer marbles that are becoming more popular as well as ceramics.

The Worktop Fabricators Federation (WFF) has been very involved in dust matters. Did being one of the founder Directors of WFF influence your action on dust control?

I don’t think I would have done it without the WFF. The reason is that I have been speaking to a number of other business owners… We had a meeting at Brachot. There was a big discussion about how people have got their respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust under control and below the legal limits. I realised from this discussion what was actually best. I then spoke to a couple of other fabricators  who had bought waterjets about the machines they had chosen and how they were finding them. I was able to say: OK, four or five other companies have bought this exact same machine and they are saying it is good and does everything they want it to do.

So the WFF has been the lever that made me make the investment and I wass glad I had when we had the visit by the HSE Inspector. They were delighted to see I had proactively been taking action already.

How has it been, forming the WFF?

It’s been interesting. We have brought a new Director in to the WFF recently to strengthen the Board – Jamie Dowdall, the Managing Director of Mayflower Stone in Plymouth. He’s a very welcome addition.

The membership or the organisation is growing steadily now. WE are definitely well known out in the market place. I think everyone has heard of us and more people are now starting to come on board. They are saying: OK. How can I get some benefit out of this. Being a member is not onerous and the communication going on between members is so well valued. We help each other in all sorts of ways. We want members with the right attitude towards sharing information and making the right investments in their companies to bring in best practice.

Will you be visiting the Natural Stone Show and Hard Surfaces at ExCeL London 6-8 June?

Absolutely. The WFF is a sponsoring partner of the Hard Surfaces side. The WFF has bought a Trolex Air XS unit that uses lasers to measure the levels of RCS in the air specifically in real time. The units are quite expensive, so by buying one all our members can benefit from it. We will also be talking about training. And there will be some social events going on for members and prospective members. If any fabricators have been thinking about joining the WFF and would like to come along they would be most welcome. It’s an open door really if you’re a fabricator.

We also have sponsors from the major manufacturers. Well, you know: Tenax sponsors us. But we’re not there to support anyone’s particular product. We’re all about what issues fabricators are facing at the moment and how we can support each other.

So fabricators going to the Stone Show can pop along and see you guys?

Absolutely. We’re on stand I 50. Please come and see us.

Moving on from the WFF, what trends do you expect to see in the market? What do you anticipate a year down the line?

I’m optimistic that we’re going to a decrease in white marbly quartz. It’s been around a long time. It does work in kitchens, so I think it’s always going to be there, but there are so many variations on the theme that, personally, I don’t think they add much. I just hope we are going to see a move towards warmer colours, although you would have to ask the manufacturers what they are planning. I would very much like to see people trying something a bit more interesting – including natural stone.

This time of year we see an increase in the outdoor barbecue market – and it’s great! We are starting to see a lot more natural stone going into these outdoor areas. And we are seeing the advent of ceramics. There’s some great new colours coming from the sintered stone suppliers. Our customers are learning how to construct with them properly so they can use these materials successfully.

I think marble is on the increase as well. There’s been some interesting communications out there from the marble importers and people are starting to notice it.

The main thing I have noticed this year is it’s a lot more hand-to-mouth. We’ve had a lot of enquiries coming in but they are staying on the shelf longer. They are not converting at the same pace as they were. Projects have been delayed because of manpower as well, and the question is: are people going to run out of cash before their project reaches the top of the pile.

Is this a left over from Covid and Brexit?

Yes, I think it is. People have got into the habit of putting things off. It’s just been one thing after another, with the latest being the fall in Sterling, the cost of living crisis and the interest rate hikes. We just haven’t had any good news for a long time. I don’t think it’s politically based, but I certainly notice from my staff’s point of view – and I imagine everyone I speak to is in the same boat – that everyone has had enough. Everyone is really stressed.

The HSE has been talking about workplace stress being of concern and we are seeing it in all of our customers, suppliers and employees. Everyone has had enough and if they don’t have to do something right now they’re not doing it.

Do you think the next year or two are going to be worse, the same or better?

It’s really difficult to say. Margins for a fabricator are wafer thin and the material prices are pushing up and up and up and up.

The margins on porcelain and quartzite seem better, but lower down the market it’s harder on quartz?

Quartz is just becoming a race to the bottom. We all know the quality of quartz is variable, depending on what you’re buying, but many customers are just saying they want the cheapest because they can get something that looks similar for half the price. The margins on marble and porcelain are better, which is why I bought the waterjet.

It’s future-proofing you. Both in terms of manufacturing and health & safety.

Exactly. It meant we were able to cut a very high end job for a customer in Mayfair the other day using a fragile marble that I wouldn’t have touched without the waterjet. Let’s hope specifiers, architects and customers actually start to see the value in this rather than just going for the cheapest option.

It’s the Natural Stone Show, back at ExCeL with Hard Surfaces. And here are five great reasons to make sure these exhibitions are on your calendar:

• To check out the latest innovations
• To meet up with trusted suppliers
• To network with prospective customers
• To listen to great lectures
• To inspire fledgling staff

And without me even trying too hard to stretch matters, the truth is those five reasons are also examples of what it means to continuously develop our (and our businesses') professionalism.

How so? An awareness of new techniques and systems can inform our ability to do our job better.

Understanding our suppliers can enhance both the quality and best use of the resources going into our project.

Networking is where our qualifications and skills meet the market.

Learning from experts helps us grow our skills and showcase our major selling points to the market.

And investing in people is key to keeping the workforce qualified!

So make sure you have a plan when attending the Natural Stone Show and Hard Surfaces. Who among your staff are you going to take with you? Who do you want to meet? And what lectures will you schedule in?

A new cohort for the CITB Specialist Applied-Skills Programmes in Facade Preservation & Stone Fixing has started training.

The latest SAPs, as Specialist Applied Skills Programmes are known, kicked-off in April.

Many thanks to Michelle Turner of Stone Restoration Services, based in Ongar, Essex, for hosting the three days. All the trainees enjoyed hands on experience of working with stone.

The next cohort is planned to start in September, so please give me a shout (details below the picture above) if you would like enrolment details. The programme is fee-neutral for CITB registered firms, so long as the person being enrolled is an employee and has access to in-house mentoring on-site.

The programme includes assessment at NVQ level 2 in either stone fixing or facade preservation.

The Elizabeth Line's full peak timetable started on 22 May, making it even easier to visit the Natural Stone Show & Hard Surfaces exhibitions at ExCeL London on 6-8 June.

The updates marked the final milestone of the Crossrail project, opened as the Elizabeth Line a year ago almost to the day, and seen as a double purple line on underground maps to differentiate it from London Underground lines. It realises all the benefits that were promised by Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT) as joint sponsors of the new line, including higher frequencies, greater connectivity and faster journey times.

From 22 May this year train frequencies on the line have been increased to 24 an hour between Paddington and Whitechapel at peak times – that’s a train every two and a half minutes. There are 16 an hour off-peak. The peak period also now lasts longer, increasing capacity even further.

Transport Minister Richard Holen said on 22 May: "Almost a year to the day since the Elizabeth line was first launched, it has already supported more than 150million journeys and, from today, even more people will be able to benefit from it."

Benefits include:

• Customers from Shenfield and east London can now travel directly to Heathrow Airport for the first time, with more trains to the airport overall
• Reduced journey times in the west for customers travelling from Reading into central London
• The Elizabeth line has already become the one of the most used railways in the country as it continues to support new housing, jobs and economic growth.

In the east, more services at peak time run between Liverpool Street National Rail station and Gidea Park, providing a faster route for those using the Bishopsgate entrance, and in the west, there is an increase in peak services from Reading, with some trains that were previously operated by Great Western Railway transferring to the Elizabeth Line.

The removal of any significant pauses for trains outside Paddington will also bring reduced journey times for customers travelling from the west into central London. 

When the Elizabeth Line opened on 24 May 2022 there were more than 2.5million journeys made on it in the first week. Now, with journeys from the east and west running through central London, there are an average of around 3.5million Elizabeth line journeys each week.

This means that the transformational railway, which is on track to break even by the end of this financial year, has already become one of the most used railways in the country as it continues to support easier journeys and new jobs, homes and economic growth. 

TfL figures show the Elizabeth line has attracted around 140,000 additional journeys in London each weekday – and customer satisfaction is high, with the Elizabeth Line scoring 82% in TfL's latest Customer Satisfaction Survey (covering January–March this year).

It has transformed the accessibility of the transport network, with 41 step-free stations unlocking new journeys for disabled and older customers, parents with buggies and customers with luggage. 

An estimated 30% of Elizabeth Line journeys to and from Heathrow have come from those who might previously have used Heathrow Express to the airport. In the new timetable there are more frequent Elizabeth Line services to and from Heathrow with trains from Shenfield in the east now going all the way to Heathrow Terminal 5 all day.

The airport now receives six Elizabeth line trains per hour all day. All Heathrow trains stop at Terminal 2&3, with four trains per hour continuing to Terminal 4 and two per hour continuing to Terminal 5.

Tottenham Court Road has seen the largest growth in demand on the Elizabeth line since it opened, with more than 100,000 additional journeys passing through the station each day, doubling its usage. Farringdon, Whitechapel and Abbey Wood have also seen large rises in demand, again doubling or nearly doubling the number of journeys being made from these stations.

Sadiq Khan, The Mayor of London, said on 22 May: "A year since opening, the Elizabeth line has transformed travel across London and the South East and is now the most popular railway in the country. An incredible 3.5million journeys are made a week, as passengers enjoy the modern trains, beautiful step-free stations and reduced journey times. 

"The Elizabeth line is the most significant addition to our transport network in decades and has proven to be much more than just a new railway, providing a crucial economic boost to the whole country and playing a vital role in drawing people back on to London's public transport.

"The introduction of the final full timetable marks the completion of the Crossrail project, and I'm delighted that passengers will have even more frequent services to get them across the capital and beyond. The Elizabeth line is helping to build a better London… which is a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners."

• The full new timetable is available to view on the TfL website:  tfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/elizabeth-line-timetables
• More information about travelling between Heathrow's terminals is available here: www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/airport-maps/travel-between-terminals
• For more information about travelling to ExCeL by air, train, road, or cable car, visit www.excel.london/visitor/getting-here
• You can watch a video about the Elizabeth Line below.

Caesarstone has expanded its quartz and porcelain distribution with the opening of a new Irish warehouse and distribution centre in Dublin.

Caesarstone opened its first UK HQ, distribution centre and showroom in London in 2017, and its second in Manchester’s Trafford Park in 2018. Since then, it says business has continued to grow, with demand coming from all corners of the UK and Ireland. The growth has necessitated a third site near Dublin.

“This is another exciting move for our business and a key element in the next stage of our growth,” explains Amir Reske, MD of Caesarstone UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“We already enjoy strong relationships with many of the biggest players in the Irish kitchen & bathroom market. Our new distribution centre will allow us to better support them with improved stock holding and delivery times, as well as bringing us new business as we increase our presence in this important market.”

The new 3,500m2 site significantly increases Caesarstone’s Ireland stock holding and has seen more people recruited to man it. James Dignam has been appointed Manager, joining Caesarstone with almost 20 years of distribution management experience.

Established in 1987 making engineered quartz, Caesarstone now has an award-winning multi-material portfolio of over 100 colours, having expanded into porcelain and natural stone. It is present in more than 50 countries.

Caesarstone is made in Israel, where it holds ISO 14001 (environmental management standard), ISO 9001 (quality management standard), and NSF (public health & safety) certification. 

Caesarstone UK is headquartered in Enfield. The new Irish depot is at Unit 7, Horizon Logistics Park, Harristown, Co Dublin.

In a room that wouldn’t look out of place at the Kennedy Space Center, Steve Murphy, of Planet Granite (https://www.planetgranite.co.uk/), and his 17-year-old son, Stevie, look out of long windows on either side into workshops where three hefty ABB robots (that they have named Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo) are cutting stone.

The workshops that house the robots were put up by Steve and Stevie during the Covid restrictions. The control room houses the supercomputers that run the robots and isolates the computers and the operators from the work areas.

Steve Murphy is impressed with the way his son has mastered the programs that run the robots – so impressed that he has nominated him for an Emerging Talent Award at the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL London, 6-8 June. Planet Granite is exhibiting at the exhibition (on stand E57) to explain the capabilities of the robots. Terzago Robotics, the Italian company that supplied the machines initially, is also at the exhibition (on stand B17).

Both Steve and Stevie went to Terzago in Italy for instruction on how to program the robots, although they have had to hone the process of putting that knowledge into practice by learning as they go in the Planet Granite workshops.

Stevie started studying engineering at college in Coventry after leaving school but found the pace pedestrian after what he had learnt at Planet Granite, so he has quit to work full time in the family business. And a separate company, called Planet Sculpture, has been set up for the robots.

One of the first major stone projects they attempted was cutting a bigger than life-size Batman into a block of granite that had stood for years outside the Planet Granite showroom a few hundred metres from the workshops. A natural fissure in the stone has left Batman with a dramatic gaping wound in his arm.

The intention is to bring the finished Batman sculpture to the Natural Stone Show. Afterwards it will be put back in front of Planet Granite’s new showroom. More drama will be added by a 100,000 lumin torch shining the Bat sign into the sky at night in the same way as the authorities of Gotham City call Batman when they need his help.

Planet Granite has four robots all together. The fourth is a saw jet on a 10m run in a second workshop. It is called Scarlet after Steve’s daughter.

Asked now what his customer base is going to be Steve is frank: “I have no idea.” Which is why he is exhibiting at the Natural Stone Show in London and has also employed a company to make 15-minute podcasts for him to promote the business.

One possible area for the computers is a growing trend among avant-garde furnituremakers to use solid blocks of stone. French artist Arthur Vallin working in New York and Kelly Wearstler (https://www.kellywearstler.com/gallery-view-all), also in America, are among those making chairs, tables and other furniture in solid stone.

Cars, sculptures of people and animals, and many other solid, 3D objects that can be designed on computers or scanned from models can be produced by the robots.