Over the past 10 months the Stone Institute has collected a large number of marketing data concerning:

> the dynamics of the stone market,

> cutting technologies, in particular multi-wire technology,

> the number of machines in operation throughout the world (abrasive gangsaws vs multi-wire)

> comparative cutting costs

... and much more information that will be sent to you soon.

All these data will allow us to train and advise our customers, agents and in particular our teams:

> the Stone Institute is pleased to announce an initial technical training session from 2 to 4 March in Pognano (Italy). It  is intended for 15 agents from India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The 3-day session will focus on the granite market and will feature the technical aspects of abrasives and an introduction to multi-wire technology. The course is organised in complete synergy with the abrasives and diamond tools division.

> A future session will be organised in May for customers from the eastern Europe zone, again in Pognano, Italy.

Activities at the Stone Institute in 2010 are clearly geared to training customers for the stone-cutting markets and technologies. The full programme of training courses will be sent to you soon. It will be intended for anyone wishing to:

> gain a better understanding of the changes taking place in the stone market,

> get a better idea of the various stone-cutting technologies,

> improve productivity using either an abrasive gangsaw or a multi-wire machine.

We are of course continuing to cut blocks with the multi-wire machine in order to improve our experience curve and thus enable our customers to benefit from the best advice.

For further information on the courses, contact

Thierry PARAT

Office: +39 035809213

Cell: +33 (0)6 79 28 67 09

thierry.parat@wheelabratorallevard.com