Fox - WDSI - Segment #1

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Chattanooga: Countertop maker's efficiencies put cash on table

Chattanooga Times Free Press, July 1, 2008

Staff Photos by Margaret Fenton -- Granite and other stone slabs are stacked at the Stone Services plant in Chattanooga that produces about 15 customized slabs a week, or about eight countertops.

Technology, efficiency, a new building and customer service are helping a Chattanooga countertop manufacturer grow, the owners say.

"This new space allow us to serve our customers faster and more efficiently," said Tony Allen, owner of Stone Services.

Mr. Allen and his partner, Keith Porter, opened the business in June 2004 with two workers, Mr. Allen said. Since then, the company has grown to 24 workers and outgrew its 6,400-square-foot building.

So, earlier this year, the partners renovated and moved to a 28,000-square-foot location at 2601 E. 34th St., a former boat building facility. Mr. Allen said his father-in-law, Bill Latham, owns the building and is in the process of selling it to him and Mr. Porter.

The company, building and equipment are a $2 million-plus investment, Mr. Allen said.

Stone Services is working more efficiently by using a new jet saw to fabricate custom-designed countertops, Mr. Allen said. The $300,000 saw is more efficient than older saws because Stone Services can download a countertop design into a computer that runs the saw, he said.

The saw creates 20 percent less waste, which saves a tremendous amount of money, Mr. Allen said, since leftover stone from a slab can’t be used for any other project. Also, countertops cut by the jet saw don’t have to be shaped by hand after the cutting, which saves labor costs, he said.

Stone Services has a showroom in Knoxville for finished products, Mr. Porter said, in addition to the fabrication shop and showroom in their new Chattanooga building. Mr. Porter said he and his partner encourage out-of-town customers to visit the Chattanooga site to pick out the exact slab of stone to use in their project.

Clients can get an idea of what a new countertop will look like by visiting Stone Services’ kitchen showroom. Slabs of various types of marble, granite, soapstone, travertine and other products are stacked in the warehouse for easy viewing in a climate-controlled atmosphere, Mr. Allen said.

Steve Jester of Bradley County, who visited Stone Services Friday, said he and his wife, Renee, wanted to remodel their home’s kitchen and plan on spending $4,000 to $5,000, including buying new countertops and cabinets. They had granite countertops in their former Florida house and are looking for the same to replace the laminated plastic countertops in their current residence.

Mr. Jester said he had received the best customer service from Stone Services out of the several shops he had visited.

In addition to customer service and technology, Stone Services is growing by investing in efficiency, Mr. Allen said. He recently bought a cistern with a 5,500 gallon tank to capture rainwater which can be used with his jet saw. The company already reuses the majority of water in the manufacturing process, he said, which saves money and is environmentally friendly.

“It helps the environment and it helps our pocketbook,” Mr. Allen said. “If you’re not capturing that water, it’s not smart business.”

Stone Services ~ Second to None

Everything West, June 2007

Being fair, doing quality work and doing it in a timely manner are three fundamental principals Stone Services LLC was founded on in June, 2004. That was their philosophy then and it remains their philosophy today. With their main fabrication shop in Chattanooga and a newly opened showroom just off Peters Road in Knoxville, Stone Services has made, and continues making, dreams come true for many a homeowner throughout southeast Tennessee.

Tony Allen formed Stone Services, LLC after working at another fabrication shop Allen often says, "We learned a lot about how not to do things. For me, it was very upsetting to see a working mom, children in diapers, with a kitchen that had been inoperable for three to six weeks; especially, when the job could have been completed in just one day. That’s right, one day.It was equally unnerving to see a contractor or new home owner miss his/her closing date due to poor planning and scheduling."

Allen understands scheduling. He has worked in the construction industry since 1979. He has spent the last twenty years scheduling commercial projects as a project manager and a general contractor and his experience has proven very beneficial. "For instance," Allen says, "after the kitchen is templated and fabricated, we have the ability to remove your existing countertops and install your new stone ones, including all related plumbing and electrical, in the same day. You can literally have breakfast on your existing countertops and have dinner on your new stone countertops." And, if it is new construction, Stone Services will be on time. Their reputation speaks for itself.

As to the quality of their work, Stone Services is second to none. They routinely do the little things other shops consider extra. "To the best of their ability, the craftsmen at the fabrication shop make sure the movement and grain of the stone flow through the seams," says Allen. "This process often means using more material but proper seams make the job. Depending on the kitchen layout installed, some stone shows seams more than others but our highly skilled workers do everything possible to blend those seams into the stone," he says. They cannot make the seams totally disappear so they make them look as though they belong.

Tony and his staff believe their job as a good contractor is to educate the client about what is expected from the client as well as what the client can expect from Stone Services and the stone chosen. "We try to eliminate any surprises before they occur," says Allen. It must be working because Stone Services LLC has grown steadily and is complaint free with the Better Business Bureau since its inception. Simply put, Stone Services remains committed to being fair and selling a quality product in a timely manner.

Reprinted with permission of Everything West