By the mid 1980’s, Maurizio Bertoli had been a successful independent contractor in the field of stone restoration for slightly less than 20 years (without counting his almost 20 years of field experience back in his native Italy). Through his work, he realized that the existing manufactures of stone and stone care products followed the easy to remember and easy to justify rule of sealing all stone, regardless of type and location, and then use a pH neutral cleaner for routine care. Drawing from his vast field experience, and his knowledge of Petrography and Chemistry applied to minerals, Maurizio knew all too well that this simplistic approach to stone care could never work. Frustrated by the fact that he could not offer his customers appropriate specialty products for the maintenance of the stones that he was refurbishing, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

     Out of frustration, in 1987 he approached Joe McEown, one of the most exceptional chemists in the field of specialty cleaning and preservation agents. The two men spent over a year on research and development, and in the end, Maurizio’s unparallel knowledge of rocks and minerals, combined with Joe’s singular expertise in chemistry, lead to the creation of a line of specialty products for end-users of natural stone that is still unmatched in quality and range. The original line of MB Stone care Products, launched in 1989, consisted of five essential products, which continue to be the backbone of the entire MB consumer product line.

     Not one to do things half way, Maurizio soon realized that his plan of having products just to offer his clients when he completed restoring their stone was not enough. Not only were the minimum quantities necessary to run a production line efficiently too large to be absorbed by his own limited distribution, but the wider world of stone consumers would be unable to access this exceptional new product line. Consequently, he decided to make a business out of it. In 1989, Maurizio Bertoli Stone Care System, Inc was established to launch his new line of consumer products. He continued to provide contracting and restoration to his steadily growing client base under a sole proprietorship company until he consolidated the two activities by incorporating under the current MB Stone Restoration & Supply, Inc in 1999.

     The MB family of specialty products continued to expand over these 18 years (as of 2007) to include 12 specialized products, all of which can be used by professional cleaning and restoration contractors as well as residential consumers of natural stone.

     Still not satisfied, Maurizio began to develop specialty products for stone restoration contractors in 2001. The first of such products, MB-12, Maurizio’s own formulation, quickly became recognized as the most comprehensive and effective polishing powder for marble. What made this product unique was its amazing ability to work on serpentinite and ophicalcite (green marble) often exceeding the results even of polishing compounds specifically designed for those very difficult stones.

     Soon after, Maurizio added MB-16 to the contactors line. This product, again representing Maurizio’s own formulation, polishes natural granite as well as just about every mercantile granite on the market. At the same time, Joe McKeon continued to collaborate with Maurizio, formulating two other industry breakthroughs, MB-8 and MB-10, which are currently the most sensible answer to the problem of preservation of high-traffic polished stone floors.

     Our cutting-edge chemistry and, most importantly, unparalleled understanding of the problems stemming from the use of natural stone products is what put the MB product line at the very top of the industry.

     More than 40 years in the stone industry taught Maurizio two basic truths; in the majority of instances, the problem perceived  by the consumer does not correspond to the actual problem, and, more often than not, the solution to the problem can’t be found inside a bottle. At MB Stone Restoration & supply, the principle of “Education Before Any Sale!” is more than a nice-sounding slogan. It is the core belief upon which the entire organization is built. At MB Stone, everything we do is designed to educate the stone consumer. Whether through literature, classes or our new Ask Maurizio section, at MB Stone, education is priority one.