Counter Productive

Counter Productive

By Daina Darzin Manning

The old adage tells you to "do one thing, and do it well" but many companies these days are finding that multi-tasking is the better way to efficiency, increased profit and security in a turbulent economic environment. 

Some are small shops, some giant conglomerates. Some started out as manufacturers, some as showrooms. All had different reasons for expanding their businesses. However, a number of firms surveyed by K&BDN seemed uniformly pleased with their diversified operations, citing many advantages and few negatives. 

All of the fabricators/dealers interviewed have two things in common their focus is on countertops, and their companies have been around for a while. In these days of six-figure prices for computerized CNC-link woodworking and stone fabrication equipment, manufacturing requires a massive commitment and cash outlay, discouraging fly-by-night operations and instant start-ups. 

Measured Expansion
In business since 1975, Westwood Tile & Stone, in Cherry Hill, NJ, sells and installs ceramic tile, marble and granite, explains owner Linda Stelmaszyk. The firm has been fabricating granite and marble countertops since 1985. 

"We started fabricating initially because we were doing a lot of very high-end kitchens and bathrooms, and we were having a difficult time getting production as we needed it out of our local fabrication shop," she explains. "We bought a few pieces of equipment and began supplying our own jobs, plus a few of our dealers and contractors." 

Stelmaszyk soon noticed increased interest in granite countertops and expanded her operation to the point where granite fabrication now comprises 60% of the firm's business.

Other companies started out as fabricators and added a showroom, while others began both aspects simultaneously.

"Manufacturing came first," recalls Cheri Bucciarelli, president of Quality Custom Woodwork, Inc., in Pueblo, CO. A fabricator of solid surface and laminate, the company bought a building in a great location, and decided to sell a cabinetry line as well. 

One of the largest fabricators of Corian in the U.S., with 14 fabrication locations and six showrooms, Duracite also started out with fabrication, and added showrooms later, explains v.p. Stephen Crooks. Currently, it has different divisions that market to various segments: hotels, large contractors, Home Depot, retail and custom builders.

Western Tile and Marble has always combined being a dealer with fabrication. "We wanted to be able to control the quality of the product that we sell," explains Silestone sales manager, Stacia Early. The company has locations in Washington state, Las Vegas and San Francisco; it manufactures, fabricates, templates and installs granite, marble, tile and Silestone. The firm recently expanded its facility, adding a new slab yard for customers to look through to make their granite selection. 

Starrow Enterprises, in Auburn, WA, still doesn't sell its solid surface and cultured marble, granite and onyx products to the general public, though the firm has opened a "contractor's showcase" showroom, explains CEO Natalie Barnes. "The contractors need a little bit more service, and they're not getting it in the home centers," she explains. 

The showroom just features the firm's own products, and "it's been a very manufacturing-plant showroom." Now, its moved some of the active offices, so contractors can bring their customers in to select products. 

"Our showroom is [mostly] countertops," says Ed Vangura, president of Vangura Surfacing Products, in North Huntington, PA, adding that Vangura also features such accompanying products as sinks. "A showroom is a necessity with stone. You have to be able to show the customer."

Vangura has been in business for 30 years, and manufactures laminate countertops, solid surface, granite and engineered stone. It started out with laminates, picking up solid surface in 1984 and granite in 1995. The latter required a big investment in tools, but the firm was prompted to get into natural stone because of many requests from its dealer base, Vangura explains.