MARATHON, Wis. (March 17, 2006) – As vast as their experience in the field was before, it expanded a bit more when concrete contractors and masons participated in a free concrete stamping seminar held Wednesday, March 15, at County Materials’ corporate headquarters in Marathon.

Stamping involves the application of stylized rubber mats to ready-mix concrete as it hardens, thus exacting the look of pavers, flagstone, wooden planks – virtually any look a homeowner or business owner would want. A vast array of sealers, release agents and colors can customize the look to an individual’s tastes.

“More people are starting to look at it,” said Jim Gerber of James Masonry in Rothschild. “But it’s like with anything trendy; Wausau is behind.”

Concrete stamping has been popular on the East and West coasts for years and has been creeping inward in recent years. More than 50 contractors attended a similar seminar at County Materials’ headquarters last year – several who work in the Twin Cities – so interest is growing.

“We’ve done it for about three years,” said Dale Schultz of Dale Schultz Masonry in Weston. “But coming to something like this gives us a few more ideas. It’s definitely out there for people who know about it.”

Dozens of contractors from around central Wisconsin on Wednesday watched as host and stamping guru Doug Lavell, of Concrete Impressions in Columbus, N.J., transformed sample slabs of concrete. In a matter of hours, Lavell had slabs that resembled random patterns, wooden planks, even a section that resembled a tiled kitchen floor.

“There’s a lot of movement toward acid-staining,” said Lavell, who gives about 40 such lectures a year and has done stamping projects in Europe. “We even did a high school in Boston, 17,000 square feet; all the hallways and everything because it was cheaper than tiling.”

County Materials operates 30 locations serving the Midwest. The family-owned, American-based company is an industry leader in the manufacture and distribution of concrete block, brick, ready-mix, hollowcore, pipe, pavers, retaining walls and Aggregate finish products for residential, commercial and municipal construction and landscaping.

For more information on stamped concrete, visit www.prolinestamps.com. For more information on County Materials, call 1-800-289-2569 and ask for a product guide.