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GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. Releases its Financial Results for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2024

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Q2 2024 revenue of $639 million, an increase of $30 million, or 5%, over Q2 2023. Q2 2024 Adjusted EBITDA* of $34 million, in line with Q2 2023.Q2 2024 net income of $2 million or $0.07 per share compared with $1 million or $0.04 per share for the second quarter of 2023.

LASALLE, QC, Aug. 7, 2024 /CNW/ – GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. (“GDI” or the “Company”) (TSX: GDI) is pleased to announce its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

For the second quarter of 2024:

Revenue reached $639 million, an increase of $30 million, or 5%, over the second quarter of 2023, comprised of 6% growth from acquisitions and partially offset by 1% organic decline coming from the Technical Services segment.Adjusted EBITDA* amounted to $34 million, in line with the second quarter of 2023.Net income was $2 million or $0.07 per share compared to $1 million or $0.04 per share in Q2 2023.

For the second quarters of 2024 and 2023, the business segments performed as follows:

(in millions of

Canadian dollars)

Business Services
Canada

Business Services
USA

Technical Services

Corporate and
Other

Consolidated

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

Revenue

145

144

221

180

259

264

14

21

639

609

Organic Growth (Decline)

1 %

(1 %)

1 %

0 %

(5 %)

31 %

14 %

11 %

(1 %)

12 %

Adjusted EBITDA*

12

13

14

13

14

12

(6)

(4)

34

34

Adjusted EBITDA Margin*

8 %

9 %

6 %

7 %

5 %

5 %

N/A

N/A

5 %

6 %

For the six-month period ended June 30, 2024:

Revenue reached $1.3 billion, an increase of $83 million, or 7%, over the corresponding period of 2022, comprised of 1% organic growth and 6% growth from acquisitions.Adjusted EBITDA* amounted to $61 million, a decrease of $6 million, or 9%, over the corresponding period of 2023.Net income was $2 million or $0.09 per share compared to $5 million or $0.19 per share over the corresponding period of 2023. The decrease in net income in the first six months of 2024 compared to 2023 is mainly due to lower operating income of $14 million, which is primarily attributable to an increase in amortization and depreciation expense of $9 million resulting from a significant reduction in the amortized value of a large customer contract in the quarter, which was partially offset by lower net finance expense of $10 million and lower income tax expense of $1 million.

For the first two quarters of 2024 and 2023, the business segments performed as follows:

(in millions of

Canadian dollars)

Business Services
Canada

Business Services
USA

Technical Services

Corporate and
Other

Consolidated

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

Revenue

290

286

446

356

511

516

36

42

1,283

1,200

Organic Growth (Decline)

1 %

(1 %)

6 %

(1 %)

(3 %)

36 %

10 %

14 %

1 %

13 %

Adjusted EBITDA*

23

27

27

25

22

23

(11)

(8)

61

67

Adjusted EBITDA Margin*

8 %

9 %

6 %

7 %

4 %

4 %

N/A

N/A

5 %

6 %

GDI’s Business Services Canada segment recorded $145 million in revenue in the second quarter while generating $12 million in Adjusted EBITDA*, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin* of 8%. GDI’s Business Services USA segment performed well in Q2 2024, recording revenue of $221 million and Adjusted EBITDA* of $14 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin* of 6%.

The Technical Services segment recorded revenue of $259 million and Adjusted EBITDA* of $14 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin* of 5%. Historically, the first half of the year in the Technical Services segment is seasonally slower and the business ramps up as the year progresses.

Finally, GDI’s Corporate and Other recorded revenue of $14 million compared to revenue of $21 million in Q2 2023, the decrease being attributable to the sale of its Superior cleaning and sanitation products distribution business on April 1, 2024, which was partially offset by organic growth generated by GDI’s chemical manufacturing business.

“I am pleased with GDI’s overall performance in Q2 2024, we were able to overcome specific challenges that affected our business in recent quarters and delivered solid results,” stated Claude Bigras, President & CEO of GDI. “Our Business Services Canada segment performed well with a sequential increase in Adjusted EBITDA* and Adjusted EBITDA* margin over the first quarter of 2024. Occupancy levels in the Class A office market in Canada are remaining stable and we continue to expect Adjusted EBITDA* margin in the segment to remain higher than pre-COVID levels for the near-to-mid term. Adjusted EBITDA* and Adjusted EBITDA Margin* were slightly lower than Q2 2023 due to COVID-related gains realized in the prior year’s quarter. Our Business Services USA segment performed well during the quarter to mitigate the revenue and Adjusted EBITDA* impact of the previously announced supplier realignment of one of the segment’s largest clients which became effective just prior to the start of Q2. In fact, the business delivered both positive organic revenue growth and an increase in Adjusted EBITDA* compared to Q2 2023 despite the revenue loss experienced during the quarter, which serves to demonstrate the resiliency of the business and the strength of our team. The integration of the Atalian acquisition has been progressing as planned and our margin improvement initiatives are progressively being realized. The previously announced Paramount Building Solutions acquisition, that closed on May 1, 2024, has been substantially integrated and has been performing in-line with expectations. Our Technical Services segment had a very good quarter with Adjusted EBITDA* growth of 75% over Q1 2024 and 17% over Q2 2023. The three projects in our U.S. business that negatively impacted the segment’s results in the past two quarters were successfully closed out in Q1, and enhanced procedures were put in place to augment project management in the region. The business delivered Adjusted EBITDA* margin of 5% which was in-line with historic levels in the segment’s seasonally weak second quarter. We are continuing to improve pricing and margins and still selling as much new contracts as in the past producing a near record backlog. Finally, Ainsworth completed the acquisition of RYCOM Corporation on June 1, 2024. RYCOM develops, deploys, and manages smart building solutions that enable the end-to-end transformation of real estate assets into smart buildings and is recognized as the leader in smart building solutions in Canada. This acquisition considerably strengthens Ainsworth’s Energy & Technology business unit and positions GDI as a leading player in the Canadian marketplace in building technologies, data analytics and advisory services for energy and greenhouse gas reduction,” continued Mr. Bigras.

“With the recent challenges behind us, the outlook for all of GDI’s business segments is positive for the remainder of 2024. Our initiatives to reduce working capital requirements during 2024 are continuing and we remain committed to deliver a total reduction in operating working capital in the second half of the year. Our balance sheet remains healthy and we have sufficient room on our existing credit facilities to continue to execute on our strategic growth plans. I look forward to GDI’s performance through the remainder of 2024,” concluded Mr. Bigras. 

ABOUT GDI

GDI is a leading integrated commercial facility services provider which offers a range of services in Canada and the United States to owners and managers of a variety of facility types including office buildings, educational facilities, distribution centers, industrial facilities, healthcare establishments, stadiums and event venues, hotels, shopping centres, airports and other transportation facilities. GDI’s commercial facility services capabilities include commercial janitorial and building maintenance, energy advisory and system optimization, the installation, maintenance and repair of HVAC-R, mechanical, electrical and building automation systems, as well as other complementary services such as janitorial products manufacturing and distribution. GDI’s subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: GDI). Additional information on GDI can be found on its website at www.gdi.com.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this MD&A may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Forward looking information may relate to GDI’s future outlook and anticipated events, business, operations, financial performance, financial condition or results and, in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as “may”; “will”; “should”; “expect”; “plan”; “anticipate”; “believe”; “intend”; “estimate”; “predict”; “potential”; “continue”; “foresee”; “ensure” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In particular, statements regarding GDI’s future operating results and economic performance, and its objectives and strategies are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain factors and assumptions including expected growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities, which GDI believes are reasonable as of the current date. While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company, they may prove to be incorrect. It is impossible for GDI to predict with certainty the impact that the current economic uncertainties may have on future results. Forward-looking information is also subject to certain factors, including risks and uncertainties (described in the “Risk Factors” section) that could cause actual results to differ materially from what GDI currently expects. Namely, these factors include risks pertaining to unsuccessful implementation of the business strategy, changes to business structure, inherent operating risks from acquisition activity, failure to integrate an acquired company, decline in commercial real estate occupancy levels, increase in costs which cannot be passed on to customers, labour shortages, disruption in information technology systems and execution issues with Strategic IT projects, increases in interest rates, exchange rate fluctuations, deterioration in economic conditions, increase in competition,  influence of the principal shareholders, loss of key or long-term customers, public procurement laws and regulations, legal proceedings, reputational damage, labour disputes, disputes with franchisees, environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations, goodwill and long-lived assets impairment charges, tax matters, key employees, participation in multi-employer pension plans, legislation or other governmental action, cybersecurity, data confidentiality and data protection, and public perception of our environmental footprint, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Therefore, future events and results may vary significantly from what management currently foresees. The reader should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While management may elect to, the Company is under no obligation and does not undertake to update or alter this information at any particular time, except as may be required by law.

Analyst Conference Call:

August 8, 2024 at 9:00 A.M. (ET)

Kindly note that Investors and Media representatives may attend as listeners only.

Please use the following dial-in numbers to have access to the conference call by dialing 10 minutes before the beginning of the conference:


North America Toll-Free: 1-888-664-6392

Local: 416-764-8659 (Toronto) or 514-225-6995 (Montreal)

Confirmation Code: 995327 #

RapidConnect URL: https://emportal.ink/40clg9j


A rebroadcast of the conference call will be available until August 15, 2024 by dialing:

North America Toll-Free: 1-888-390-0541

Local: 416-764-8677 (Toronto)

Confirmation Code: 995327 #

June 30, 2024 unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and accompanied Management & Discussion Analysis are filed on www.sedarplus.ca.

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars)

As at June 30,

2024

As at December 31,
2023

Assets

Current assets

Cash

29

17

Trade and other receivables and contract assets

600

571

Current tax assets

9

11

Inventories

37

42

Other financial assets

14

13

Prepaid expenses and other

16

11

Derivatives

1

Total current assets

705

666

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

125

127

Intangible assets

121

131

Goodwill

373

356

Other assets

15

12

Total non-current assets

634

626

Total assets

1,339

1,292

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

Current liabilities

  Bank indebtedness

6

14

Trade and other payables

303

298

Provisions

33

32

Contract liabilities

29

34

Current tax liabilities

6

2

Current portion of long-term debt

27

36

Total current liabilities

404

416

Non-current liabilities

  Long-term debt

444

384

Other payables

6

5

Deferred tax liabilities

27

32

Total non-current liabilities

477

421

Shareholders’ equity

  Share capital

381

380

Retained earnings

70

68

Contributed surplus

3

2

Accumulated other comprehensive income

4

5

Total shareholders’ equity

458

455

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

1,339

1,292

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Comprehensive Income
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars, except for earnings per share)

Three-month periods

ended June 30,

Six-month periods

ended June 30,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Revenues

639

609

1,283

1,200

Cost of services

526

497

1,063

979

Selling and administrative expenses

81

81

163

159

Transaction, reorganization and other costs

2

1

3

2

Strategic information technology projects configuration and customization costs

1

1

1

2

Amortization of intangible assets

5

6

17

11

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

14

13

28

25

Operating income

10

10

8

22

Net finance expense

5

8

4

14

Income before income taxes

5

2

4

8

Income tax expense

3

1

2

3

Net income

2

1

2

5

Other comprehensive income (loss)

Gains (losses) that are or may be reclassified to earnings:

Foreign currency translation differences for foreign operations

3

(7)

9

(7)

Hedge of net investments in foreign operations, net of tax

(3)

7

(9)

7

Cash flow hedges, effective portion of changes in fair value, net of tax

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

Total comprehensive income

2

1

1

4

Earnings per share:

Basic

0.07

0.04

0.09

0.19

Diluted

0.07

0.04

0.09

0.19

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Changes in Equity
Six-month periods ended June 30, 2024 and 2023
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars, except for number of shares)

Share capital

Retained
earnings

Contributed
surplus

Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income

Total

Number

(in thousands
of shares)

Amount

Balance, January 1, 2023

23,414

379

49

4

7

439

Net income

5

5

Other comprehensive loss

(1)

(1)

Total comprehensive income for the period

5

(1)

4

Transactions with owners of the Company:

Stock options exercised

66

1

1

Share-based compensation

1

1

Shares repurchased for cancellation

(98)

(1)

(3)

(4)

Balance, June 30, 2023

23,382

379

54

2

6

441

Balance, January 1, 2024

23,414

380

68

2

5

455

Net income

2

2

Other comprehensive loss

(1)

(1)

Total comprehensive income for the period

2

(1)

1

Transactions with owners of the Company:

Stock options exercised

66

1

1

Share-based compensation

1

1

Balance, June 30, 2024

23,480

381

70

3

4

458

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars)

Six-month periods ended June 30,

2024

2023

Cash flows from (used in) operating activities

Net income

2

5

Adjustments for:

Depreciation and amortization

45

36

Equity portion of share-based compensation

1

1

Net finance expense

4

14

Income tax expense

2

3

Income taxes paid

(2)

(11)

Net changes in non-cash operating assets and liabilities   

(24)

(49)

Net cash from (used in) operating activities

28

(1)

Cash flows from (used in) financing activities

  Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt                                                                 

201

177

  Repayment of long-term debt

(157)

(118)

  Payment of lease liabilities

(19)

(16)

  Interest paid

(15)

(10)

  Other

1

(4)

  Net cash from financing activities

11

29

Cash flows (used in) from investing activities

  Business acquisitions and disposal, net of cash acquired

(7)

(2)

  Additions to property, plant and equipment

(8)

(11)

  Additions to intangible assets

(1)

(3)

  Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment

2

1

  Net cash used in investing activities

(14)

(15)

  Foreign exchange (loss) gain on cash held in foreign currencies

(5)

2

  Net change in cash

20

15

  Cash (Bank indebtedness), beginning of period:

  Cash

17

7

  Bank indebtedness

(14)

(10)

3

(3)

  Cash, end of period:

  Cash

29

15

  Bank indebtedness

(6)

(3)

23

12

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Segmented information
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars)

Three-month period ended June 30, 2024

Business
Services
Canada

Business
Services

USA

Technical     
Services

Corporate
and Other 

     Total

Recurring/contractual services

127

200

32

4

363

On-call services

10

21

68

1

100

Project

159

159

Manufacturing and distribution

12

12

Other revenues

5

5

Total external revenues

142

221

259

17

639

Inter-segment revenues

3

(3)

Revenues

145

221

259

14

639

Income (loss) before income taxes

9

8

3

(15)

5

Net finance expense

1

2

2

5

Operating income (loss)

9

9

5

(13)

10

Depreciation and amortization

3

5

9

2

19

Transaction, reorganization, and other costs

2

2

Share-based compensation

2

2

Strategic information technology projects configuration and customization costs

1

1

Adjusted EBITDA

12

14

14

(6)

34

Total assets

271

409

560

99

1,339

Total liabilities

68

119

256

438

881

Additions to property, plant and equipment

1

5

8

2

16

Additions to intangible assets

1

3

4

Goodwill recorded on business acquisition

7

2

9

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Segmented information
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars)

Three-month period ended June 30, 2023

Business
Services
Canada

Business
Services

USA

Technical
Services

Corporate
and Other 

     Total

Recurring/contractual services

124

170

21

4

319

On-call services

11

10

73

2

96

Project

170

170

Manufacturing and distribution

18

18

Other revenues

6

6

Total external revenues

141

180

264

24

609

Inter-segment revenues

3

(3)

Revenues

144

180

264

21

609

Income (loss) before income taxes

10

8

2

(18)

2

Net finance expense

1

1

6

8

Operating income (loss)

10

9

3

(12)

10

Depreciation and amortization

3

4

9

3

19

Transaction, reorganization, and other costs

1

1

Share-based compensation

3

3

Strategic information technology projects configuration and customization costs

1

1

Adjusted EBITDA

13

13

12

(4)

34

Total assets

267

359

544

122

1,292

Total liabilities

69

109

253

406

837

Additions to property, plant and equipment

3

3

6

2

14

Additions to intangible assets

1

2

3

Goodwill recorded on business acquisition

2

2

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Segmented information (continued)
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars)

Six-month period ended June 30, 2024

Business
Services
Canada

Business
Services

USA

Technical
Services

Corporate
and Other 

     Total

Recurring/contractual services

253

403

62

10

728

On-call services

18

43

140

3

204

Project

309

309

Manufacturing and distribution

29

29

Other revenues

13

13

Total external revenues

284

446

511

42

1,283

Inter-segment revenues

6

(6)

Revenues

290

446

511

36

1,283

Income (loss) before income taxes

17

11

2

(26)

4

Net finance expense

1

1

2

4

Operating income (loss)

17

12

3

(24)

8

Depreciation and amortization

6

14

19

6

45

Transaction, reorganization, and other costs

1

2

3

Share-based compensation

4

4

Strategic information technology projects configuration and customization costs

1

1

Adjusted EBITDA

23

27

22

(11)

61

Total assets

271

409

560

99

1,339

Total liabilities

68

119

256

438

881

Additions to property, plant and equipment

3

6

16

3

28

Additions to intangible assets

1

3

1

5

Goodwill recorded on business acquisition

10

2

12

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Segmented information (continued)
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars)

Six-month period ended June 30, 2023

Business
Services
Canada

Business
Services

USA

Technical
Services

Corporate
and Other 

     Total

Recurring/contractual services

244

337

42

11

634

On-call services

23

19

147

3

192

Project

327

327

Manufacturing and distribution

33

33

Other revenues

13

1

14

Total external revenues

280

356

516

48

1,200

Inter-segment revenues

6

(6)

Revenues

286

356

516

42

1,200

Income (loss) before income taxes

22

16

3

(33)

8

Net finance expense

1

3

10

14

Operating income (loss)

22

17

6

(23)

22

Depreciation and amortization

5

8

16

7

36

Transaction, reorganization, and other costs

1

1

2

Share-based compensation

5

5

Strategic information technology projects configuration and customization costs

2

2

Adjusted EBITDA

27

25

23

(8)

67

Total assets

267

359

544

122

1,292

Total liabilities

69

109

253

406

837

Additions to property, plant and equipment

4

5

13

5

27

Additions to intangible assets

1

3

4

Goodwill recorded on business acquisition

2

2

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Business acquisitions

Acquisition
date

Company acquired

Location

Segment
reporting

Purchase price
allocation status

2024 Acquisitions

April 1, 2024

Hussmann Canada Inc.
(“Hussmann”)

Darthmouth, Nova
Scotia

Technical

Services

Preliminary

May 1, 2024

Jade Opco, LLC, doing business
as Paramount Building Solutions
(“Paramount”)

Phoenix, Arizona

Business

Services USA

Preliminary

June 1, 2024

RYCOM Corporation (“RYCOM”)

Toronto, Ontario

Technical

Services

Preliminary

2023 Acquisitions

June 1, 2023

React Technical, Inc. (“React”)

New York, New York

Technical

Services

Completed

November 1,
2023

La Financière Atalian (“Atalian”)

Multi-sites in USA

Business
Services USA

Preliminary

Business disposal 

On April 1, 2024, the Company completed the sale of its Superior cleaning and sanitation supplies distribution business and transferred some of its related liabilities.

GDI INTEGRATED FACILITY SERVICES INC.
Supplementary Quarterly Financial Information
Three-month periods
(Unaudited) (In millions of Canadian dollars, except per share data)

Three months ended

(in millions of Canadian dollars, except per share data) (1)

June

2024

March

2024

December

2023

September

2023

Revenue

639

644

622

615

Operating (loss) income

10

(2)

9

16

Depreciation and amortization

19

26

22

19

Transaction, reorganization and other costs

2

1

2

Share-based compensation

2

2

2

2

Strategic information technology projects        
configuration and customization costs

1

1

2

2

Adjusted EBITDA

34

28

37

39

Net income for the period

2

6

8

Earnings per share

   Basic

0.07

0.02

0.26

0.35

   Diluted

0.07

0.02

0.25

0.35

Three months ended

(in millions of Canadian dollars, except per share data) (1)

June

2023

March

2023

December

2022

September

2022

Revenue

609

591

588

563

Operating income

10

12

15

19

Depreciation and amortization

19

17

22

18

Transaction, reorganization and other costs

1

1

1

1

Share-based compensation

3

2

3

2

Strategic information technology projects
configuration and customization costs

1

1

1

2

Adjusted EBITDA

34

33

42

42

Net income for the period

1

4

10

11

Earnings per share

   Basic

0.04

0.15

0.41

0.45

   Diluted

0.04

0.15

0.40

0.44

______________________________

* The terms “Adjusted EBITDA” and “Adjusted EBITDA Margin” do not have standardized definitions prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards and therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. “Adjusted EBITDA” is defined as operating income before depreciation and amortization, transaction, reorganization and other costs, share-based compensation and strategic information technology projects configuration and customization costs. The Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by revenues. For more details and for a reconciliation of that measure to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, consult the “Segmented Information” tables at the end of this press release. 

SOURCE GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc.

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Technology

U.S. Quartz Workers: Strong Safeguard Remedies Needed to Save 100,000 American Manufacturing Jobs

Published

on

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WASHINGTON, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Quartz Manufacturers Alliance for America (QMAA) released a powerful video featuring quartz manufacturing workers from across the country calling for free and fair trade policies to save 100,000 American jobs. QMAA, a coalition of leading U.S.-based quartz slab manufacturers, are calling for strong safeguard remedies after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) found a huge flood of foreign imports had caused tremendous injury to the domestic quartz industry.

QMAA members are urging the Trump Administration to build on the ITC’s strong recommendation and address this major flood of quartz imports with a Tariff of 50% and a Reshoring Import Cap of 141 million square feet on imported quartz surface products. This will ensure a reshoring of the good-paying U.S. quartz manufacturing jobs stolen by companies who cheat U.S. trade law, distort competition and are decimating U.S. quartz manufacturing. Together, these trade remedies will provide the relief necessary to save the 100,000 jobs supported by the U.S. quartz industry.

The video features workers from LX Hausys, Guidoni USA and Cambria Company and is available here:
Save 100,000 American Quartz Jobs

Quotes from QMAA Quartz Manufacturing Workers
“This facility used to be a Husqvarna plant. Husqvarna closed down due to cheap foreign imports. There were over 1,000 people working here and all of a sudden…I’m worried I may see the same thing take place again.”
-Raymond Mack, Production Operator, Guidoni USA, Helena-McRae, GA

“Foreign countries, mainly China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, have been circumventing and cheating the American market. We believe in the industry. We believe in the American working power. We just want to level the playing field, make it fair for everyone and everyone will benefit.”
– Daniel Vas de Melo SA, Business Development Manager, Guidoni USA, McRae-Helena, GA

“In order for us to continue to compete, we need a strong Tariff and Import Cap on imported quartz surfaces. That will ensure we can play on an even playing field. That’s all we’re asking for. I would hate to see cheap, imported quartz have a negative impact on families such as mine and the other families that we employ here.”
– Mike Morici, Vice President – LX Hausys, Adairsville, GA

“The surge of foreign imports has shocked the U.S. economy, and the market for surfaces. It’s taken prices down to unsustainably low levels for any domestic supplier. The result of that is we’re not producing as much as we should, we can’t hire as many people as we would like to, and we can’t grow our business in the way that we and our peers in the U.S. want to grow.”
– Andrew Eich, President and Chief Operating Officer, Cambria

“As these foreign imports flood the market, we lose the ability to create and sustain jobs that ensure good paying conditions for manufacturing workers. There will be over 100,000 jobs that have the strong potential to go away.”
– Jack Sundry, SVP Core and Lexus – Cambria, Southern Minnesota

Background
In September 2025, QMAA filed a Global Safeguard petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) under Section 201 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974. The ITC’s thorough investigation found serious injury to the domestic industry caused by a massive import surge designed to undercut American businesses. Quartz imports have surged by 78.3% within the past five years, leading to a nearly 20% decline in domestic production, factory closures and major job reductions.

A final safeguard decision from the United States Trade Representative is expected by Aug. 1, 2026.

About the Quartz Manufacturing Alliance for America:
QMAA is a coalition of U.S.-based, American quartz slab manufacturing factories, united with other industry leaders to support and strengthen the American quartz industry. QMAA is committed to ensuring a free and fair, competitive marketplace born of free enterprise that provides the opportunity to compete on a level playing field for American quartz slab manufacturing factories and their valued workers. We also believe this effort will have a positive impact throughout the entire quartz surfacing industry, including to the strong benefit of American stone fabrication shops and upstream suppliers of quartz minerals and resin. Learn more at: https://www.qmaa.org/

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SOURCE Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America

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Databricks and Microsoft expand partnership to help enterprises bring business context to enterprise AI

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Databricks and Microsoft extend strategic partnership through the 2030s to scale enterprise AIDatabricks deepens its bet on Azure, growing its use of Azure Databricks to run its own core business operations and analytics, while both companies advance native integration across the Microsoft stack, including Databricks Genie and Microsoft 365Databricks increases its use of Microsoft Azure Cobalt to improve performance and efficiency

REDMOND, Wash. and SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Microsoft Corp. and Databricks on Wednesday announced an expansion of their decade-long strategic partnership, extending into the 2030s. Databricks will deepen its use of Azure Databricks to run core business operations and build its unified lakehouse, while leveraging Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency. Microsoft will also continue integrating Databricks Data and AI platform across its products, bringing capabilities like Genie, Databricks’ AI co-worker, directly into customer workflows. Together, the companies are helping enterprises build AI grounded in their own business context with the cost efficiency, control and choice needed to scale successfully.

Enterprises want AI that understands their customers, products, operations, metrics and business processes, all while running securely where work happens. Yet, most still struggle to connect AI to trusted business knowledge, govern models and agents consistently, and control costs. Microsoft and Databricks are helping customers close that gap: 

“For nearly a decade, Databricks and Microsoft have helped enterprises innovate with data and AI,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co‑Founder and CEO of Databricks. “Today, our partnership is stronger than ever. With Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway deeply integrated across Microsoft’s products, we’re helping enterprises unify their data and ground AI in business knowledge. This lets customers get the full benefits of agents and models while controlling costs and ensuring governance.”

“The next generation of AI will be defined by how effectively organizations turn their unique knowledge into intelligence,” said Judson Althoff, CEO, Microsoft Commercial Business. “Microsoft and Databricks are helping customers connect data, AI and business context to accelerate decision-making and drive measurable impact. With Databricks deepening its investment in Azure Databricks and Azure Cobalt-powered infrastructure, customers will benefit from greater performance, efficiency and scale for their most demanding workloads. Databricks’ decision to run its own core business operations on Azure Databricks also gives customers confidence in a platform proven at enterprise scale.”

Databricks runs core business operations on Azure Databricks 

As part of this latest deal, Databricks deepens its commitment to Azure, running its own core business operations and analytics on Azure Databricks, using the very platform it delivers to customers at scale.

Advancing performance with Azure Cobalt

Databricks will also expand its use of Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency for agentic and data-intensive workloads. Databricks currently uses Cobalt 100 and plans to adopt Cobalt 200, which delivers up to 50% better performance and includes memory encryption enabled by default.

Deep integrations for Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway with Microsoft product stack

By combining the Databricks Data + AI Platform with Azure’s global scale, customers can accelerate AI transformation while maintaining control and reliability. As a native Azure service, Azure Databricks makes its AI capabilities available directly within customers’ existing Microsoft environment, grounding and operating agents on enterprise data with Genie and Genie Ontology, and governing models, agents and cost through Unity AI Gateway. Deeply integrated across the Microsoft ecosystem spanning Microsoft Entra, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure security, Microsoft OneLake, Power BI, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Foundry, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Teams and Copilot, these capabilities bring governed, real-time data and AI into business workflows, giving organizations the context, control, choice and cost efficiency needed to drive impact.

Continued investment is evident from our recent announcements with Databricks at Data + AI Summit in June.

Customer impact with Azure Databricks

The deepened collaboration strengthens support for joint customers running data, analytics and AI workloads on Azure Databricks, delivering improved performance, security, AI governance and enterprise readiness. Thousands of customers, including Banco Bradesco, the Cincinnati Reds, Electrolux, SMBC and Unilever, already use Azure Databricks to run critical workloads and scale AI with confidence.

Read more on the proven business value of the Databricks and Microsoft partnership on the Microsoft Azure blog.

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including AT&T, Bayer, BMW Group, HSBC, T-Mobile, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

 

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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

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Harness and Kong Expand Strategic Partnership to Deliver Comprehensive API and AI Security

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Joint solution extends proven API gateway security to the AI era — with automated AI discovery and runtime AI protection

SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Harness, the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, and Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, today announced an expansion of their strategic partnership to address the growing security challenges posed by AI-driven architectures, autonomous agents, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) deployments.

According to The State of AI-Native Application Security 2025 report, as enterprises race to deploy AI at scale, 62% have no visibility into where LLMs are in use across their environment, and 74% say AI sprawl will outpace API sprawl when it comes to risk — making embedded, infrastructure-level security more critical than ever. And companies are now deploying agents into their operations at an exponentially increasing rate, making it a necessity to protect the agents themselves and the systems interacting with those agents.

The two companies are extending their joint solution from Kong API Gateway to also include Kong AI Gateway, bringing Harness’s AI security intelligence directly into the AI infrastructure layer and enabling enterprises to discover, monitor, and protect every agent, AI asset, LLM-powered service, and MCP-connected workflow that traverses it.

A Proven Foundation: Harness and Kong API Gateway

Harness and Kong have been jointly trusted by enterprises to deliver best-in-class API security for years. The existing Harness and Kong API Gateway integration provides:

Comprehensive API traffic visibility and behavioral analysis across all Kong-managed servicesReal-time detection and blocking of API threats, including OWASP API Security Top 10 risks, credential stuffing attacks, and business logic abuseContinuous sensitive data tracking to identify PII exposure and regulatory riskZero-friction deployment alongside existing Kong configurations

This new offering of the AI Gateway solution applies the same level of security depth to AI infrastructure, ensuring that security teams are not left behind as their organizations adopt AI and agentic operations.

“Our partnership with Harness has given joint customers production-grade API security that works with the way they build, not against it,” said Ken Kim, Senior Vice President, Business Development at Kong Inc. “Extending to include Kong AI Gateway is a natural next step. The same enterprises are now moving AI into production through our gateway and need the same depth of visibility and control they’ve come to rely on for their APIs for all AI traffic types including LLM, MCP, and A2A. That’s exactly what this delivers and is crucial for organizations scaling in the agentic era.”

The New Frontier: Kong AI Gateway and Harness AI Security

As enterprises accelerate AI adoption, the attack surface has fundamentally shifted. AI agents, LLM-powered microservices, and MCP-enabled integrations introduce new vectors that traditional security tools were not designed to address. Unlike traditional software, AI agents are non-deterministic — the same agent can behave differently on consecutive runs, making it impossible to secure them the way you’d secure a static API. The new Harness and Kong AI Gateway integration directly tackles these challenges across two critical domains: AI discovery and AI protection.

AI Discovery
Harness automatically inventories every AI asset, API, MCP server, tool, prompt, and resource routed through Kong AI Gateway — providing security teams with a continuously updated catalog of their AI attack surface. No manual documentation. No blind spots.

AI Protection
Harness applies behavioral analysis and anomaly detection to AI traffic in real time, identifying prompt injection attacks, data exfiltration through AI responses, jailbreaking, malicious code in prompts, and other AI-specific threats. Enterprises gain the same depth of observability and protection for their agents and AI workloads that they already rely on for traditional APIs, with full prompt and response details available for incident investigation and inline policy enforcement through Kong AI Gateway.

“Shadow AI has become the defining security blind spot for enterprises today. Traditional tools were built for static code and predictable systems, not for adaptive AI models, agent-to-agent communication, and MCP-connected workflows that evolve continuously,” said Rahul Sood, GM of Application Security at Harness. “This integration of Harness AI Security with Kong puts security intelligence directly into the connectivity layer where AI traffic flows. Joint customers now have the visibility and control they need to move fast without losing sight of what’s happening across their AI infrastructure.”

Availability

The Harness and Kong API Gateway integration is generally available today for all joint customers. The Kong AI Gateway integration, including AI Discovery and AI Protection, is also generally available now. Joint customers can contact their account team or request a demo.

About Harness
Harness is the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, enabling engineering teams to build, test, and deliver software faster and more securely. Powered by Harness AI and the Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, the platform brings intelligent automation to every stage of the software delivery lifecycle after code — removing toil and freeing developers from manual, repetitive work. Companies like United Airlines, Morningstar, and Choice Hotels use Harness to accelerate releases by up to 75%, cut cloud costs by 60%, and achieve 10x efficiency across DevOps. Based in San Francisco, Harness is backed by Goldman Sachs, Menlo Ventures, IVP, Unusual Ventures, and Citi Ventures.

About Kong

Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.

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SOURCE Harness

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