MIA+BSI has introduced a new resource for importers and exporters of natural stone: the Natural Stone Supplier-to-Buyer Manual. 

The purpose of this manual is to establish industry standards and best practices for domestic and international suppliers and buyers of natural stone. The manual suggests rules and provides guidelines for the complicated and sometimes confusing process of purchasing from—or selling to—overseas clients. Primary author Jeffrey Matthews (Trade International) remarked: “Our purpose was to provide a resource to streamline communications and offer expectations for the buying and selling process. The manual also provides definitions of industry-specific terms intended to avoid misunderstanding among those engaged in stone transactions.” David Carnevale (Carnevale & Lohr), who assisted in the creation of this manual, commented: “This is a companion to the Dimension Stone Design Manual that will provide readers with a greater understanding of how to accomplish smooth sales transactions by minimizing common misunderstandings and problems.”

The Natural Stone Supplier-to-Buyer Manual includes 54 pages of text, 29 pages of descriptive photos and examples of international documents, and 18 downloadable and editable documents. A 20-page compendium of over 600 stone terms in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Mandarin is also included.

MIA+BSI would like to thank the following individuals for their work on this project: Jeffrey Matthews, David Carnevale, David Castellucci (Kenneth Castellucci & Associates), Claus Larsen (DANSK Srl), and Arik Grebelsky (A. Grebelsky & Son).

The Natural Stone Supplier-to-Buyer Manual is available for purchase online at naturalstoneinstitute.org/bookstore.