The second edition of the very-hands-on event, free to stone fabricators, is set again for Collinsville, Ill.

The second edition of the fabricator-friendly event, set for the Gateway Convention Center, will feature more educational seminars and a larger floor for exhibits in this easy-to-access location and the only national stone/countertop event east of Nevada in 2011.

Click on photo to enlargeAnd, like last year, it’s all free.

While unique is a overworked term, it’s an apt description for the SFA’s flagship event. Organized by a volunteer group of fabricators, the three-day experience avoids the usual trade-show presentation of shiny, display-only machinery and tools in massive halls frequently located in expensive resort areas.

As with last year’s inaugural event, the Mega Workshop features – as part of the exhibition area – a selection of CNC stone production centers, edging machines and waterjets cutting and shaping slabs into ready-to-install countertop pieces. A temporary wastewater system and custom-installed overhead cranes allow the machines to operate in a shop-production setting.

This year’s Mega Workshop also includes the return of “The Cage,” a demo area within the exhibits that’s surrounded with a chain-link fence. Event attendees are welcome to enter the area (with proper eye and ear protection) to watch and go hands-on for real-time use of tooling and techniques – including products offered by vendors at the workshop.

Educational seminars return for this year’s Mega Workshop with an expanded lineup, including:

• Importing (Oct. 20, 10 a.m./Oct. 21, 1 p.m.);
• New Revenue Ideas (Oct. 20, 10 a.m.);
• Digital Integration (Oct. 20, 10 a.m.);
• Glues (Oct. 20, 11 a.m./Oct. 21, 10 a.m.);
• Social Media (Oct. 20, noon/Oct. 21, 3 p.m.);
• Enhancing the Buying Experience (Oct. 20, noon and 4 p.m.);
• Digital Information Flow (Oct. 20, noon);
• Photography (Oct. 20, 2 p.m./Oct. 21, noon);
• Texturing (Oct. 20, 2 p.m.);
• Sealers (Oct. 20, 2 p.m./Oct. 21, 3 p.m.);
• Merchandising (Oct. 20, 4 p.m.);
• Industry Trends (Oct 21, 10 a.m.);
• Business Plan (Oct. 21, 11 a.m.);
• Branding, Marketing & Sales (Oct. 21, noon);
• Green Options (Oct. 21, 1 p.m.);
• Websites (Oct. 21, 2 p.m.); and
• Roundtables for Alpha Cam, Easy Stone (Oct. 21, 4 p.m.).