A Conversation with Our Georgia Study Tour Team
- PICCO
- Aug 1, 2025
- 3 min read
August 2025
Next month, we are sending Jeff Liedel, Paolo Piquinto, and Luca Uccello on the Natural Stone Institute's study tour in Georgia—a unique opportunity to explore local quarries, meet industry leaders, and deepen their understanding of natural stone applications. Before they embark on this exciting journey, we caught up with the trio to get their thoughts on what they’re looking forward to, what they hope to learn, and how this experience connects back to their work at PICCO.
Q: What part of the itinerary are you looking forward to the most and why?
Jeff: “While I am certainly looking forward to the quarry visits, I am most interested in the Wilson Industrial Equipment tour, as I am very curious about the various stone cutting tools used in the industry."
Paolo: "Personally, this is my first opportunity to experience a study tour in any industry. What piques my interest is I will get to meet representatives of some of the big players in this business. It's exciting to know that I'll have a chance to talk with these individuals, and hopefully, learn more about their day-to-day activities in their respective businesses. As someone who is relatively new to the industry, I'm always open to learning more about the different facets of stone cladding work. Being able to network with experienced people will, for sure, allow me to broaden my understanding of the work we do at PICCO."
Luca: "Among the many exciting events on the Georgia Study Tour, I’m especially looking forward to visiting the Sterling Gray Quarry. It will be my first time experiencing a quarry, and I’m eager to observe the intricate processes that go into extracting and preparing one of the world’s most valued natural materials. The experience will surely increase my appreciation for the craftsmanship and effort behind the scenes."
Q: What are your primary learning objectives for the tour?
Jeff: “My primary objective is to better understand the various processes involved in creating the fabricated stone components that we use every day in our work. But I am also hopeful to make some new industry contacts that might eventually be useful as technical resources, or potentially even clients or partners."
Paolo: "My goal is to have a deeper understanding of the methods followed and/or challenges undertaken by a quarry when extracting usable stone for fabrication. I would like to learn more about how blocks of stone are transformed into the pieces we draft through our tickets. I'm curious to experience first-hand how fabricators deal with challenges, especially when problems arise. I want to understand how Picco may help to mitigate these issues."
Luca: "Looking ahead to my primary learning objectives for the Georgia Study Tour, I’m looking forward to heightening my understanding of the various types of natural stone and how their applications differ depending on the project. I’m also looking forward to learning about the unique qualities and performance characteristics of natural stone. Beyond the technical knowledge, I’m excited to connect with industry professionals to broaden my perspective."
Q: How do you see this tour helping you grow professionally or contribute to the work we do at PICCO?
Jeff: “I am confident that this study tour will help me become a more knowledgeable stone industry professional, which I feel will allow me to provide better support to our clients at Picco."
Paolo: "Like in any aspect of life, continued learning will always be a way forward. Having an opportunity to know more today than I did yesterday will allow me to be a better engineer. That said, I believe being aware of challenges that fabricators experience will help improve my decision-making and analysis process. I believe the added knowledge of these constraints will allow me to aid in improving Picco's standard procedure of stone analysis and ticketing."
Luca: "As a BIM/CAD Technologist, this tour will help further my skillset in terms of technical and practical knowledge in the stone industry, as well as efficient processes to stone fabrication. The Georgia study tour will be my first travel experience with PICCO, and it will be integral to my development. By aligning PICCO standards with industry practices, my aim is to contribute to faster project timelines, reduced errors, and increased technical precision, ensuring superior project outcomes and client satisfaction. I am looking forward to the experience."