Page 20 - Demo

20 | March 2024
2023 Pinnacle Awards Announced
Slippery Rock Gazette
Manu Shah of MSI Receives 2023 Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement
Continued from page 12
United States Capitol South Exterior Stone Restoration
Washington, DC
Lorton Stone, LLC
Springfield, Virginia
Residential-Single Family
Colorado Residence
Aspen, Colorado
Gallegos Corporation
Vail, Colorado
The Sequoia
Lakeville, Minnesota
Stonwerk Inc.
Watertown, Minnesota
South Louisiana Estate
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Triton Stone Group of New Orleans
Harahan, Louisiana
The 2023 Pinnacle Awards are sponsored by Marmomac (Grande Pinnacle Award), Cactus Stone & Tile, Coldspring, GMR Quality Stone Products, GranQuartz, MSI, and Triton Stone Group. To learn more about each project, visit naturalstoneinstitute. org/pinnaclewinners.
The Slippery Rock Gazette will publish photos and more details on these special projects in coming editions of the SRG.
The Natural Stone Institute is a trade asso- ciation representing every aspect of the nat- ural stone industry. The current membership exceeds 2,000 members in over 50 nations. The association offers a wide array of tech- nical and training resources, professional
Commercial Exterior – Taylorsville Temple
Commercial Interior – 2100 Penn
development opportunities, regulatory advocacy, and networking events. Two prominent publications—the Dimension Stone Design Manual and Building Stone Magazine — raise awareness within the natural stone industry and in the design community for best practices and uses of natural stone. Learn more at www.natural stoneinstitute.org.
Manu Shah (MSI) has received the 2023 Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Manu and Rika Shah started MS International (MSI) in 1975, in the base- ment of their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The original idea behind the business was for Mrs. Shah to work at home during her pregnancy and still generate addi- tional income for the family. Manu had originally come to the United States to get his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, which he accomplished in 1968.
From 1974-1981, while getting MSI off the ground, Manu continued to work full-time as a mechanical engineer at International Harvester, a manufacturer of trucks and farming equipment. During these years, he also worked as a broker sell- ing blocks of granite to U.S. manufactur- ers, primarily in the monuments industry. In 1981, while still operating MSI out of their basement, the Shahs secured the contract to supply black granite for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. With their entire sav- ings invested in this project, they spent endless nights making sure that the proj- ect was executed perfectly—and it was.
Manu Shah, 2023 Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement
Building on this success, the Shahs decided to develop and grow MSI full- time, and moved the company to Southern California. Until 1987, the business pri- marily served as a distributor of granite for monuments and tombstones. The Shahs soon realized that natural stone for resi- dential and commercial usage had even higher market potential and redirected their efforts toward developing this sector of the industry. By 2008, MSI was among the top importers of natural stone in the world, with materials from virtually every major stone sourcing country across the globe, includ- ing India, Brazil, China, Turkey, Italy, Spain, and Mexico.
Please turn to page 21
“You cannot defeat, by appeals to truth, someone who does not acknowledge truth as the ultimate arbiter. You cannot defeat, by appeals to proper procedure, someone who ditches procedure whenever it is convenient.”
–Anthony Esolen