Fabricator Q & A: 5 How Five Fabricators

Are Dealing with the Impact of COVID-19

Sometimes the best way to understand and deal with unforeseeable problems such as the

COVID-19 pandemic, is to learn from peers and find out how others are responding. As such, ISFA reached out to several fabricator members to find out how they have been impacted and what they are doing to work through it. The following are responses from five of them:

1Brad Pierce of Front Range Stone Inc. in Englewood (Denver), Co. What surfaces do you fabricate and what

markets do you serve? We fabricate laminate, solid surface, quartz, granite, marble and compact surfaces. We serve all markets from big box stores and residential to commercial work and new construction.

How has your business been affected by

COVID-19? Initially we were most impacted on the big box retail front. I expect new construction to fall off (hopefully temporarily) as we move through summer, and most commercial work to be in a down trend through 2021. I think retail will improve as we enter the summer, and anticipate residential construction improving in the fourth quarter.

What actions have you taken to “survive &

thrive” through the pandemic? We evaluated all positions within the organization to ensure they add value to the business, and made several adjustments. We also eliminated all overtime, which has been beneficial to our margins and bottom line. Additionally, we are updating our website to increase our online and retail presence.

2Scott Byers of Majestic Kitchen & Bath Creations with locations in Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte and Wilmington, N.C., and Greenville and Charleston, S.C.

What surfaces do you fabricate and what markets do you serve? We fabricate granite, quartz, porcelain, solid surface and laminate.

We work within the residential home builder, commercial, rehabilitation and some big box store markets. COVID-19? It has been a challenge. Business has dipped, but we are working through it.

What actions have you taken to “survive &

thrive” through the pandemic? We have taken some improvement steps to ensure we are lean

3in both our processes and our team.

Kevin Maxwell of Maxwell Counters Inc. in Central Illinois What surfaces do you fabricate and what

markets do you serve? We fabricate laminate, solid surface, quartz, sintered stone and natural stone. The residential market is the biggest part of our business, with sales driven from a wholesale model to dealers and direct sales from our selection center. We also sell direct to builders, provide millworkers commercial work and have some direct general contractor sales.

How has your business been affected by

COVID-19? The immediate impact was that many of our wholesale customers were shut down, so our sales were dramatically affected. We had recently hired on several employees who were training for what we expected to be a busy summer that we had to release. Commercial work deliveries were suspended until mid-May. Managers shifted attention to PPP loan applications and staff management with remote workers.

What actions have you taken to “survive &

thrive” through the pandemic? We created split shifts in each work area with three- to fourpeople crews working 12-hour days Monday through Wednesday, and a second group Thursday through Saturday (paying them for 40 hours). We designated an area for installers only, and stagger shifts so only one crew is loading up at a time. It’s inefficient, but necessary to try to prevent one positive test from shutting down the entire business. It was survival mode in production, trying to keep money flowing in while keeping everyone as safe as possible. Administratively we worked to have equipment available for our office staff to work from home. This worked well and more efficiently than expected. Our selection center is “by appointment,” which also works well. everyone wants to remain safe. We created scripts for our staff member who sets up all field appointments as well as our crews who call ahead to ensure everyone is on the same page before arriving at the jobsite. Commercial business appears to be the most affected. We were pressed to maintain delivery schedules early on, then were told to cancel deliveries until further notice. We’ve restarted shipments on current projects, but are concerned with longterm issues within education and healthcare business that have been our consistent commercial segments.

We strive to communicate consistently with business partners, customers and suppliers.

We’re diligent in following up on all proposals/ quotes and candid with customers – their projects are important to us and we need their business. The biggest challenge is communicating with staff working different shifts or from home. We provide email updates, sharing what our sales trends look like, our key benchmarks for returning to normal schedule and policy regarding cleaning, social distancing and mask use. We are evaluating new opportunities, realizing there are going to be lasting economic impacts to work through for some time. There is a tremendous effort being put forth by many professionals to help all businesses increase their odds of surviving this mess. We take advantage of these learning opportunities that might help us during this crucial time. Most importantly, we try to remember the old adage — when a door closes, a window opens, and keep looking for the

4window!

Laura Grandlienard, Owner of ROCKin’teriors in Raleigh, N.C. What surfaces do you fabricate and what

markets do you serve? We fabricate granite, marble, soapstone, onyx, limestone, quartzite, and semi-precious stones, as well as Dekton,

Neolith and Lapitec compact surfaces. We provide fabrication and installation for residential and commercial building, with a focus on sustainability, eco-friendly technologies and a dust-free workplace.

continuously look at the impact it might have impact, we are continuously monitoring and on our clients, team members and industry, making adjustments to our operating plan, as covering everything from how the virus affects appropriate. We are surviving and being cautious. jobs to what the future outlook is among We made the following decisions: We trust homeowners and contractors. Our team science, not politics; we put employee health serves in subcontractor roles to many area first – no one is safe until we are all safe; we general contractors whose work is considered work to strengthen trust – team members need “essential” under our state and local government to trust leaders, so we show them empathy and restrictions. The health and safety of our clients engage them in the decision process; we are and staff is top priority. Some of the areas we equitable, treating everyone equally with fairness; have been confronted with are homeowners concerned about money/finances; homeowners we redesigned the workplace to practice who do not feel comfortable for contractors to be social distancing and require anyone ill to stay in their homes; and contractor’s ability to pay for home; and we mandated protective equipment, services rendered. providing masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, along with encouraging frequent hand washing What actions have you taken to “survive and giving each individual a zone in the shop & thrive” through the pandemic? We established protocols to ensure team members in our showroom, workshop and on jobsites are healthy. We immediately enforced daily temperature monitoring. We created a COVID-19 Safety Precaution Certification for 5 they are responsible to keep clean. Chris Kennedy, president and CEO of Hartson-Kennedy Cabinet Top Co., Inc. with headquarters in Marion, Ind., and plants in Gulfport, Miss., and Macon, Ga. our teams regarding entry into jobsites. Name What surfaces do you fabricate and what and signatures of our team members and markets do you serve? We fabricate laminate a short questionnaire are submitted to our and Thinscape. We serve the commercial, general contractor clients. With the situation residential, big box store, builder and multifamily still developing and having local and global residence markets.

How has your business been affected by

COVID-19? Although we have been impacted like much of the rest of the country with decreased sales, they have been coming back and we feel very fortunate to have been an essential business and allowed to keep running throughout this time period. We have been consistently following our governor’s orders and CDC guidelines to keep employees healthy and safe.

What actions have you taken to “survive &

thrive” through the pandemic? We frequently update our employees and customers as to best practices for health and safety, the positive flow of our raw materials and consistent delivery of our products. We have also distributed a plan in response to our governor’s orders to keep employees, customers and suppliers healthy and safe.

We’re all in this together, and ISFA is here to help. Check out both our Maker Meeting Mondays online conferencing to discuss ideas with your peers every Monday at 2 p.m. EST and the COVID-19 resources page on our website at www.isfanow.org.