Stone Industry Trade Shows 2026: TISE, Coverings, Stone+Tec
Last January at TISE in Las Vegas, Mike Ferrara, who runs a seven-person fabrication shop outside Denver doing about $1.4 million a year, sat down at the Park Industries booth to watch a CNC demo he almost skipped. "I was going to grab lunch," he told me afterward. "Instead I spent 40 minutes watching the Titan series run a full edge profile I'd been farming out. I wrote the PO at show pricing that afternoon, saved eleven grand off list, and had it installed by March." That one decision cut his outsourcing costs by roughly $3,200 a month. His total trip cost was about $2,800.
That's the trade show math in miniature. And it's the reason I keep telling shop owners: if you've never walked a real stone industry trade show, you're making equipment, sourcing, and software decisions with one eye closed.
This guide covers the 2026 calendar, what each show actually delivers, who should go where, and how to squeeze real dollars out of every day on the floor.
This article sits in the Stoneworks Industry Knowledge cluster of the Complete Guide to Countertop Fabrication.
The Big Four for 2026
Dozens of stone and surfacing events run worldwide each year. For US fabricators, four are worth planning around. Here's what separates them.
TISE (The International Surface Event)
When: January 27 to 30, 2026 Where: Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas Attendance: 17,000+ industry professionals across surfaces (tile, stone, flooring) Cost: Free expo pass if registered early, $99 to $199 at the door. Education sessions $295 to $1,295.
TISE bundles Surfaces (flooring), StonExpo, and TileExpo onto one floor. Roughly 35 to 45 percent of the exhibits are directly stone-relevant.
Who should go: Every US stoneworks shop owner, at minimum every other year. The density of slab distributors, equipment vendors, and shop management software companies under one roof compresses months of vendor research into three days. Nothing else in North America comes close.
What to prioritize:
- The slab distributor booths (MSI, Daltile, Arizona Tile, Cosentino, Caesarstone)
- CNC and bridge saw demos (Park Industries, Northwood, GMM, Breton)
- Templating tools (Prodim, Laser Products, ETemplate)
- Two or three education sessions on shop business, marketing, or compliance
- The StonExpo Awards reception. This is where actual relationships start.
Coverings
When: April 21 to 24, 2026 Where: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando Attendance: 23,000+ across stone, tile, and adjacent categories Cost: Free expo pass with early registration, conference sessions $50 to $895.
Coverings skews tile, but the stone presence is real. The international quarry exhibitors are stronger here than at TISE. If you import natural stone directly (or want to), Coverings is your show.
Who should go: Shops sourcing premium natural stone from quarries, shops looking to add unique slab lines, and anyone who wants the global supply chain in one room. Brazilian, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, and Indian stone exhibitors are all heavily represented.
What to prioritize:
- A full day with the Brazilian and Italian quarry pavilions
- Meetings with importers to explore direct container relationships
- The Coverings Rock Stars program (under-40 industry awards, good for spotting rising talent)
- Design-focused tile booths for edge profile and finish inspiration
Stone+Tec Nuremberg
When: Late June 2026 (dates to confirm with Nuremberg Messe) Where: Messe Nuremberg, Germany Attendance: 20,000+ international Cost: EUR 32 day pass, EUR 76 multi-day, plus travel.
Stone+Tec is biennial. The 2024 edition drew exhibitors from 50-plus countries. Italian and German equipment manufacturers frequently debut new lines here before anything reaches the US market.
Who should go: Owners considering European equipment or European slab sourcing, and any shop owner who wants to see where the global technology curve is heading. Plan 4 to 5 days. If you can swing a day trip to a Carrara or German quarry while you're there, do it.
What to prioritize:
- Hands-on demos with Breton, GMM, Donatoni, Pedrini, and Intermac equipment
- Italian Carrara marble exhibitors
- World Stone Congress sessions on industry trends
Marmomac Verona
When: Late September 2026 (dates to confirm) Where: Verona Exhibition Centre, Italy Attendance: 50,000+ across 60-plus countries Cost: EUR 25 to 50 day pass plus travel.
Marmomac is the world's largest stone-only trade fair. Held annually in Verona. If you only ever go to one European show in your career, this is it. Nothing else touches it for sheer concentration of quarry exhibitors, equipment, hand tools, design, and architectural installations.
What to prioritize:
- The Italian quarry pavilions. Almost every major Italian quarry exhibits.
- Design and architecture installations (genuinely inspiring, not just marketing fluff)
- The Plus Theatre sessions on design trends
- A day trip to Carrara, about two hours by car
The Smaller Shows (and Which Ones Are Worth Your Time)
KBIS (Kitchen and Bath Industry Show). February 17 to 19, 2026, Las Vegas. Not stone-specific, but the kitchen and bath designers who specify your countertops are all there. Worth a day if you sell direct to designers.
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Natural Stone Institute Regional Workshops. The NSI runs regional education events throughout the year. Smaller, more practical, and honestly sometimes more useful for the working shop owner than the giant shows.
Architectural Digest Design Show, NYC. Spring event. Designer-focused. Worth attending for shops courting high-end designers in the Northeast.
Cersaie Bologna. September 2026. Tile-heavy with a stone component. Skip unless tile is a meaningful part of your revenue.
Full 2026 Calendar at a Glance
- January 27-30: TISE, Las Vegas
- February 17-19: KBIS and IBS, Las Vegas (co-located)
- April 21-24: Coverings, Orlando
- Late June: Stone+Tec, Nuremberg, Germany
- Late September: Marmomac, Verona, Italy
- September: Cersaie, Bologna, Italy (tile-leaning)
- Quarterly: NSI regional workshops, locations vary
- Quarterly: ISFA chapter meetings, locations vary
A shop owner serious about staying current hits 2 to 4 of these annually. The right mix depends on whether you're residential, commercial, designer-direct, or builder-direct.
How to Actually Get ROI from a Trade Show
Here's the thing: most shop owners who attend trade shows walk away with a tote bag and a hangover. The ones who pull $50,000 to $500,000 in real value from the trip do specific, boring things.
Before you go.
- Map the floor plan. Identify 8 to 15 booths you must visit.
- Set 4 to 6 concrete objectives (not vague "see what's new" goals, real decisions you need to make).
- Schedule meetings with 2 to 4 vendors in advance.
- Block 1 to 2 dinners with peers you already know in the industry.
On the floor.
- Carry a notebook, not just a phone. Write down booth numbers, pricing, and yes/no decisions.
- Spend 20 minutes minimum at the booths that matter. Quick walk-throughs waste the trip.
- Attend at least one education session targeting a problem you're dealing with right now.
- Ask every vendor for show pricing. It's almost always 5 to 15 percent below list. They expect you to ask.
The week after.
- Follow up with every vendor inside 7 days. The vendor who follows up first usually wins your business, so beat them to it.
- Debrief your team. Share what you saw, decide what changes you're making.
- Block a 30-day implementation window for one specific change. Not three changes. One.
The shops that treat trade shows like strategic events (rather than paid vacations) tend to run 20 to 35 percent ahead of shops that don't on the decisions that actually move the needle.
What a Trade Show Trip Actually Costs
Real numbers for a US owner attending TISE, standard three-day stretch:
- Registration: free to $295 for expo plus 2 education sessions
- Flight: $250 to $700 depending on origin
- Hotel: $200 to $400 per night, 4 nights
- Meals and incidentals: $400 to $800
- Total: $1,800 to $3,500 for one owner
Add a second person and you're looking at $3,500 to $6,500. A healthy shop's annual trade show line item runs $4,000 to $15,000 depending on how many shows the team attends.
The ROI math is straightforward. One equipment decision a year that costs 8 percent less because of show pricing covers the trip. One software switch that saves 10 hours of admin per week covers it several times over. (Mike Ferrara's CNC purchase paid for roughly four years of TISE trips in a single afternoon.)
Associations That Keep You Connected Between Shows
Trade shows are where you meet people. Associations are how you stay connected the other 50 weeks of the year.
Natural Stone Institute (NSI). Membership $400 to $2,500 a year. The most active US stone industry association. Safety training, technical bulletins, the Marble Institute accreditation program, and regional events.
International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA). Membership tiered, $300 to $1,800. Fabricator-specific. Strong technical content, industry magazine, regional chapters.
Stone Federation Great Britain. UK-focused but useful for owners doing premium architectural work.
Combined membership costs are modest. The relationships and continuing education are not something you can replicate on YouTube.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TISE worth going to every year?
For most US shop owners, every other year is sufficient. Larger shops with multiple decision makers tend to send someone annually. Smaller shops alternate between TISE and Coverings.
What is the best trade show for a brand new shop?
TISE. The combination of equipment, slab vendors, and software in one room is the most efficient introduction to the industry for a new owner.
Do I need to attend international shows?
Not required, but Marmomac and Stone+Tec are worth at least one trip in any owner's career. The exposure to global equipment and slab sourcing is difficult to replicate domestically.
How do I justify the trade show budget to my partner or accountant?
Frame it as equipment depreciation research, training, and customer relationship building. Most accountants will treat the trip as a legitimate business expense. Consult your CPA on state-specific treatment.
Are virtual stone industry events worth it?
The 2020 to 2022 wave of virtual events mostly underperformed. As of 2026, virtual sessions work for education content, but the relationship-building that makes trade shows worthwhile only happens in person.
Which show has the best slab selection on display?
Marmomac in Verona, by a wide margin. Coverings in Orlando is second for international stone. TISE wins for North American distributor presence.
What's the one show I should never skip?
If you're a US-based fabricator doing under $3 million a year, TISE. If you're sourcing internationally or running a larger operation, Marmomac. Pick one and commit to it.
Related Reading
The cluster hub on Stoneworks Industry Knowledge anchors the broader industry view. The Complete Guide to Countertop Fabrication connects every cluster.
Inside this cluster:
- What Is Stoneworks? The Stone Fabrication Industry Explained
- Stoneworks Career Path: How Shop Owners Build Million-Dollar Businesses
From adjacent clusters:
Stone fabrication generates respirable crystalline silica dust. Shops must follow OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153 standards, which set a permissible exposure limit of 50 μg/m³ over an 8-hour shift. Wet-cutting methods, ventilation, and respiratory protection are not optional.