BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:8d7166dceb96134b44f5ec7bf9118c44376 CATEGORIES:ISFA Events SUMMARY:ISFA at TISE DESCRIPTION:
4PM-5PM - Color Cues: A Fresh Approach to the Sales Process
After visiting hundreds of re tailers, countertop fabrication shops, kitchen and bath showrooms, and home centers, Nancy Busch, executive director of the International Surface Fabr icators Association (ISFA), uncovered what paralyzes a customer’s ability t o choose a material: a lack of emotional connection.
It all starts wi th one simple question: What’s your favorite color? The answer is the key t o understanding how you can relate to your customer on an emotional level, the level that closes a sale quickest. Salespeople spend way too much time selling from their own perspective and their own aesthetic. It’s not about what you think, it’s about what your customer thinks!
If you’re organ izing your showroom by material or crowding in as many display racks as you can, join Nancy as she presents a fresh approach to the sales process and showroom design.
Learn how to break the cycle and find a direct path to better understanding — and serving — your customers’ needs.
Locati on: Seminars - Islander I
9 AM-10AM - Ask an ISFA Expert: Joe Duszka
Struggling with pro cess issues in your shop? Got a question about automation? Ask ISFA preside nt, Joe Duszka! Joe is the owner and president of Carolina Custom Surfaces. With a degree in industrial engineering and an MBA, Joe’s strong interest in the relationship between machinery, people and processes has served him well in various positions, including plant engineer, production manager and plant manager for two manufacturing companies.
Location: ISFA booth #4564
11AM-12PM - Ask I SFA Experts: Steve Mast & Austin Maxwell
What does farmi ng have in common with running a fabrication business? Stop by and say hell o to Steve Mast and Austin Maxwell and Steve Mast to find out!
Steve Mast joined Precision Countertops in 2004, which has since become one of th e largest shops in the United States. In addition, Steve co-owns a remodeli ng company, a laminate edge manufacturer, and the software company behind t he popular SPEEDlabel solution. Passionate about the industry, he loves vis iting other fabrication shops, learning, and sharing ways to improve busine ss. He’s also the owner of a hobby farm.
Austin Maxwell is the presid ent and second-generation owner of Maxwell Counters, Inc. Since 1981, Maxwe ll Counters has provided central Illinois and surrounding areas with full-s ervice, custom surfacing for commercial and residential stone, solid surfac e and laminate countertops.
Location: ISFA booth #4564
12PM-1 PM - Ask an ISFA Expert: Augie Chavez
Want to learn m ore about commercial business or thermoforming solid surface? Meet Augie Ch avez, who is happy to share his experiences and expertise with you.
A ugie Chavez is the owner of GECKO Solid Surface Solutions (GECKO SSS) in Sa n Antonio, Texas, and he has over 35 years of experience in the surface fab rication industry.
Augie’s expertise i s primarily within the commercial space specializing in custom inlays and t hermoforming projects for recreational centers, hospitals and more. He is p assionate about safety, sustainability and creating a thriving company cult ure in which he treats his employees like family. He was named ISFA Fabrica tor of the Year in 2016, and he served as president of the association in 2 020.
Location: ISFA booth #4564
1PM-2PM - Under standing the Value of SOPs with Eric Tryon
Struggling to put out fires, let alone write standard operating procedures? Stop by the ISFA booth and learn about the value of SOPs for your business from industry ex pert and ISFA Director Eric Tryon.
Eric Tryon has started, grown and sold multiple businesses over 30 years. Most recently, Eric was the founder and CEO of Premier Surfaces. He parlayed the lessons he learned over two a nd a half decades of professional success as an entrepreneur and business o wner into shaping one of the nation’s largest and most profitable counterto p and specialty surfaces companies in North America. Eric sold Premier Surf aces in 2017 and retired in 2018. Eric has won many awards over the years i ncluding the city of Atlanta’s top entrepreneur in 2015; Stone World Magazi ne's 2016 Stone Fabricator of the Year; Top 20 Workplaces in Atlanta by the Wall Street Journal.
Location: ISFA booth #4564
3PM-4PM - Ask ISFA Experts: Jim Callaghan & amp; Paul “Max” Le Pera
What happens when a sustainability o bsessed New Jerseryan mixes with a sales guy from Detroit? Stop by the ISFA booth and find out!
Paul “Max” Le Pera is the president and founder of Proprietary Ventures, LLC, a boutique-style global firm devoted to resea rching, discovering and deploying disruptive and sustainably oriented propr ietary products and technologies. A member of ISFA since its inception, Max is fervent about sustainable manufacturing and helping the industry find a nd develop new products and processes that contribute to the health and saf ety of the environment.
Jim Callaghan is a sales director for GranQua rtz, the largest distributor of stone fabrication tools, equipment and supp lies in the United States. For over 20 years, Jim has specialized in consul ting with clients on how to pick the best capital equipment for their fabri cation business, as well as integrating automation. Throughout his career, he has helped hundreds of fabrication firms lower their operating costs and increase productivity.
Location: ISFA booth #4564
11AM- 2PM - Designer in the Spotlight: Mario Romano
Meet Mario Rom ano, founder and creator of M.R. Walls, an architectural product blending d esign and digital fabrication with installation assembly. M.R. Walls create s the most beautiful 3D textured surfaces in the world, nonrepeating design s of any size and infinitely customizable. Endless expressions, carved and textured like nature, capture the interplay of light and the complexity tha t emerges from nature’s simple rules.
Mario designs his building syst
ems using solid surface. His homes contain structures that undulate like oc
ean waves. His interior wall surfaces are carved with intricate gradient li
nes that evoke the desire to touch them. “It’s something like a second natu
re,” he says. “Nature never goes out of style.”
Stop by the IS
FA booth to meet Mario and see one of his exclusive designs on display.
Location: ISFA booth #4564
2PM-4PM - SPECIAL EVENT: Cheers with Beers!
Sponsored
by Corian Design
Skål! Kanpai! Salud! Prost! Santé! Raise a glass wi th ISFA and share some laughs during this happiest of happy hours. Drinks a re on ISFA and Corian Design. Stop by, grab a beer and network with your pe ers and industry experts in the ISFA booth!
Location: ISFA booth #456 4
9AM-11AM - ISFA Staff Meet & Greet: Sarah Peiper, editor of Countertops & Architectural Surfaces magazine
ISFA’s quarterly publication, Countertops & Architectural Surfaces, is the onl y trade publication devoted to the decorative surfacing industry. If you’ve got a story to tell – a new product, a new service or a completed project that deserves recognition — stop by and bend Sarah’s ear. You could get fea tured in ISFA’s magazine!
11AM -1PM - ISFA Staff Meet & Greet: Nancy Busch, ISFA’s executive di rector
Nancy Busch has worked in the building materials sect or for more than 15 years. She served previously as sales manager for Willi s, a North American distributor of premium design materials, as well as an independent kitchen and bath designer, earning NKBA’s Associate Kitchen and Bath Designer (AKBD) certification. Nancy studied fine art and design at P acific Lutheran University after earning an Associate of Arts and Science d egree at Pierce College. Got a question about using color to close sales qu icker in your showroom? Want to learn more about how you can join one of th e most powerful networks of surface fabricators in the world? Nancy has the answers to these questions and a whole lot more.
Location: ISFA boot h #4564
1PM-2PM - It’s a Wrap!
Close the show with us and we’ll make it worth your while with stickers, Yetis and any remaining swag. Plus, we’re just really nice people to hang out with! ;)
For more information about the International Surface Event, visit www.intlsurfaceevent.com< /a>.
CONTACT:Nancy Busch, 888-599-ISFA, ext 1 DTSTAMP:20240328T092438 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20220201 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20220204 SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR