MIA Receives Macael Award in Spain from the Asociación de Empresarios del Mármol de Andalucía (AEMA)

The Marble Institute of America (MIA) president, Tony Malisani (Malisani, Inc. of Great Falls, Mont.) accepted the “Institution Award” at the 28th edition of the Macael Awards in Macael Spain. This award was one of nine awards given by the Asociación de Empresarios del Mármol de Andalucía (AEMA), a natural stone association in the Almeria region of Spain.

“It is my honor and great privilege to receive this award on behalf of the members of the MI,” said Malisani. “The Marble Institute of America (MIA) has 1,700 members that are located in 56 counties around the world. It is our belief that one way to strengthen the stone industry in the United States is to strengthen our ties with international natural stone community. We are hoping to continue our outreach and increase cooperation, communication and education with the Asociación de Empresarios del Mármol de Andalucía.”

During the event AEME President Antonio Martinez highlighted that a strong global stone market demands that collaboration occur between stone associations. He acknowledged that the MIA’s standing in the natural stone industry for developing technical standards, safety initiatives and current development of an international import/export handbook were factors that caused the AEME to recognize the MIA with this special award for stone trade associations.

AEME’s first vice president and MIA member Eduardo Cosentino hosted the MIA delegation which included Malisani, MIA Secretary David Castellucci (Kenneth Castellucci and Associates of Lincoln, R.I.), and MIA Executive Vice President Jim Hieb. The MIA also had the opportunity to meet with AEME officials to present several key industry initiatives including the newly adopted ANSI approved sustainability standard championed by the Natural Stone Council (NSC). In the upcoming months, the MIA and AEME will also be collaborating on a translation of the MIA’s Dimension Stone Design Manual (DSDM) into Spanish to further expand the use and understanding of technical standards.