Page 24 - April 2022 Slippery Rock Gazette

24|April 2022
Slippery rock GAzette
“I can’t stress enough the importance of his leadership on the sustainability initiative.We would not have accomplished all the things we were able to accomplish in 2021 without him.”
Sarah Gregg, Natural Stone Institute
“Mike is a great asset to the natural stone industry.”
Robert Zavango, Cleveland Marble Mosaic
2020 Natural Stone Institute Board President
Michael Picco Receives NSI 2021 Person of the Year
The Natural Stone Institute’s Person of the Year award is presented annually to an individual who has provided extensive support to the associ- ation’s executive team during the year. As a dedicated leader and tireless volunteer, Michael Picco of PICCO Group is recog- nized as the 2021 Person of the Year. Michael served as the 2021 Natural Stone Institute board president, guiding the association through the second year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Natural Stone Institute CEO Jim Hieb explains why Michael was this year’s choice. “It was remarkable to watch how he got involved and how he was engaged. There were committee meetings upon committee meet- ings that were conducted via vir- tual platforms, and he was the pillar of participation, contri- bution, and leadership. He was a tremendous influence on me and our staff this year.” Hieb described Michael’s leadership style as concise, direct, strategic, and spot on.
The Weha “PIG” Variable Speed Orbital Polisher is now available with surface honing and polishing packages for granite, quartz and quartzite, and marble
The Weha PIG Countertop Planetary Polisher was designed and built specifically for stone countertops. This isn’t a modified floor machine. The PIG Planetary Machine has been designed to re-polish, hone, and leather all stone countertops. If you have a scratch, you can re-polish. If you want to remove the polish and hone, no problem. If you need to leather granite, marble, quartzite, you can do it easily with the Pig Planetary Polisher.
The PIG Planetary Surface Machine has been designed for both in-shop use as well as for job site (in-home) use. For use
Michael Picco with last year’s recipient, Katie Jensen, at the NSI 2021 Awards ceremony.
Picco’s association contribu- tions in 2021 include much more than serving as the board pres- ident. Michael championed the industry’s sustainability initia- tive, helping give the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard rel- evance in the marketplace and positioning natural stone as a sus- tainable building material for the design community. He has the unique ability to simplify com- plex issues and his ability to
rally people around a concept is impressive. Specific to sus- tainability, he shared the mes- sage that this initiative is the “path to the future.” He added, “Sustainability is important to the design community and the natural
The PIG Planetary Polisher has three heads, each with a 5/8-11 thread mounts. It can accept four, five, or six-inch pads. With a full 14 inch clearance, the 6 inch pad is the recommended size, as it offers more diamond to surface contact.
The PIG is a dual-action plan- etary polisher, which means that the three heads spin as well as the entire body, giving dual plane- tary action for fast, clean, even, no-swirl finish to all material.
Using the PIG Planetary Polisher along with the Weha polishing systems available will give you best results, says the manufacturer, and a professional, factory-grade hone, polish, or leather finish.
Please turn to page 25
Weha PIG Variable Speed Orbital Polisher Kits Now Available for Surface Finishing
in the shop, there is a dedicated quick connect water port that connects to a standard garden hose for continuous water flow. This has an on/off valve to con- trol water flow. For on-the-job, or in the home, the machine fea- tures a half-gallon water reser- voir than can be filled off site, ahead of time. The user dispenses the water with two separate on/ off valves to control the exact amount of water needed. To help control the water spray from the pads, a removable rubber water skirt is provided.
stone industry has a big opportu- nity to leverage natural stone as the premier sustainable building product. We needed to seize this moment.”
His long list of 2021 industry involvement also includes serv- ing as a key contributor to the planned update of the Dimension Stone Design Manual, assisting in the development and launch of the “Achieving Green Building Goals with Natural Stone” CEU course, and leading the strategic effort to develop Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for cladding, flooring/paving, and countertops.
When asked to reflect on his year of volunteer leadership, he responded: “I’m very proud of the multifaceted initiatives that we’ve taken on at the same time — the ISO project, the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard, and updating the Dimension Stone Design Manual. We’re all really focused around the sus- tainability initiative and some of the pieces we need to put in place
around that. I’m proud of being part of that process and we’ll con- tinue to help in the future to drive that forward.”
Picco also guided the asso- ciation through a merger with the National Building Granite Quarriers Association, served as an advocate for the Natural Stone Pavilion at StonExpo/Marmomac at TISE, and gave multiple pre- sentations highlighting the global role and initiatives led by the Natural Stone Institute.
In his own words, Michael described what it was like serving during the pandemic. “Despite the challenges we had this year with restricted travel, connecting through webinars (as much as I don’tlikethem)wastheonlyway to do it. Whatever it took (phone calls, zoom meetings, go-to-meet- ings), I felt a commitment that I needed to do it for the industry.”
Congratulations to Michael Picco, Natural Stone Institute's 2021 Person of the Year.