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Hi, Russ, and glad to have you on this side of the posts.
I can tell you right off the bat that I would be skeptical about promoting a product that may well likely end up in a home center.
I would put a great effort into promoting it, only to have it sold cheaper down the road. They had Silestone before me, so I can’t whine about that, but why risk it?
What do you estimate a lead time from arrival of the CAD to delivery? I’m in Ct, so I don’t think I would be in your range anyway, but if I were closer?
Tom
Russ,
Put me on the list for updates on your progress. While I find it unlikely that it would be cost effective for you guys to get finished goods to me in S. Georgia in a timely manner, Maybe you can.
The service/quality/price all need to be top notch to move people away from the fabricators people currently work with. Usually only two of those variables can be moved in the right direction at the right time.
Interested,
Chris
sanitychaser at aol.com
Tom / Chris,
Thanks for the responses.
Tom – we’re not going with a private label quartz. We will fabricate and promote the established brands. We’ll carry heavy inventory in the most popular items. Much of our laminate business is in the home centers now. We very much want to establish revenue from outside the home centers with quartz. Since we don’t intend to install, the TMI (template, measure, installer) decides who the customer is. I don’t think service from Rome, GA to CT will be cost effective for anything less than truck load quantities. That will probably require a commercial project. We have a laminate facility in Montreal, Belanger, we likely won’t build a stone plant there for another 2 or 3 years.
Tom – I live in Suffolk County on Long Island – just a ferry ride from you. At one time I managed Wilsonart’s Boston warehouse. I supplied Connecticut Plywood. Fred Bennett was one of my reps. Bill D. hired me in 1994. Anyway – I moved back to NY to manage Wilsonart’s Metro location. I had a VT cutting station there. I received tops from Indiana twice a week. Minimum is 300′. Lead-time was 7 to 10 days and sometimes less than that. That would be our lead-time for stone. We’ll deliver product on the same trucks that deliver laminate. We run 130 curtain-side 18 wheelers everyday.
Chris – we can move laminate effectively. VT has been doing that for 50 years. We cover 8 states from Rome. If there is a Depot or Lowes near you, then we come right by your door already. Quality and service – of course we’re shooting to best in class. We’re spending money on the best technology available. Price – maybe not the lowest, but competitive.
Thanks for the interest.
Russ,
I’ve known Fred since his days at Spear-Newman. If you hail back that far then you certainly must know Dave Isaacs. One of the best in the business, in my opinion. I had Bill D. over to an ISSFA dinner with Kurt Haffner a few years back. It was an outstanding evening. The guys did not shirk the questions and were very upfront about the processes.
Can you say which of the brands you will be fabricating?
Sure I know David. I just saw him at a trade show. I interviewed with him before Bill D. When they closed David’s NY warehouse – he took over Al Petschaur’s sales territory in NY. ( I started in adhesive claims after selling Nevamar for 8 years on LI) I took over the sales territory in NY when David went to Rugby. I moved to Mass in 2000 when Bill Underhill retired and then back to NY when Wilsonart purchased the Meyer branches. (I lived right down the road from Jon at Sterling Surfaces. ) A beautiful area that we didn’t want to leave.
Brands – not yet finalized but I can tell you that it won’t be Cambria. Give me a couple of weeks and I can answer that
I don’t know, Russ. Suffolk County has Greenport, Shelter Island, Sag harbor (I think), heck I might boat out there this weekend. I had a boat sink out from under me at Plum Gut once (landed on Plum Island – there’s a story for you).
North Reading area has – well, Jon, really.
I’d go into it more, but I’ve already derailed this thread.
I concur. Thread is derailed.
I spent yesterday in Montauk on a friend’s boat and had dinner in Greenport Friday night.. Suffolk is nice yes, but I lived in Sterling and worked in North Reading. Sterling was a great town and New England was close enough to home to allow us to enjoy our family like without spending every weekend at a family birthday. Still easy to get home for the holidays.
Last question Tom. Do you know Wayne Overton of Gilway? He and I are good friends. He just moved to a water front property in Southold.
Since you guys derailed it I must say I am convinced now that Tom M knows where Jimmy Hoffs is buried.
Reuben
Do you know Wayne Overton of Gilway?
Not personally, no, but if he has waterfront in Southold, I sure would like to.
Andy,
I have thought, and am still thinking about your question, and I’m having a tough time justifying the move when I have the best fabricator I know making all my granite, and two of the estone brands we sell. He can do a better job than I can, so I let him do it.
Reuben brings the Freudian funny with the Hoff/Hoffa bit. Don’t think I didn’t catch that.
And I’ll never tell.
Tom,
As the thread takes another twist…
I could arrange an introduction to Gilway. We could make that alot easier if you told me that you have a need for semi-custom solid surface vanities in a box. Wayne has the best program I’ve seen and I belive he services several other fabricators. 4 edge proviles, in between sizes, sink center by spec and a box suitable for common carrier. Of course, you’d want to see the shop before doing business. Why drive around when you can dock in his yard – space permitting?
In the not too distant past he serviced several hundred Home Depots with the Smart Tops vanity program. He does the same thing with Corian now, but not for Depot.
RC
Now you’re telling me he has a waterfront fabrication shop?
I’m green GREEN, I tell you.
With envy. Not the enviro kind.
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