Riva Marble and Granite, Watsonville, Calif.

April 5, 2005

    It didn’t necessarily open on a happy note, as the northern California company got its start when DeBolske found himself out of a job. But, by the time another shop was ready to add him to the payroll, the young man had enough of his own clientele to say, “no thanks.”
    And, after 14 years, with the business grown to 17 employees, DeBolske is now importing slabs, and says a new facility may be his most-pressing need.
    What’s kept DeBolske and Riva Marble going and growing seems to be the owner’s genuine empathy for the people around him, whether it’s doing extra-quick turnarounds for clients, remembering the quirks of different contractors, or providing a full range of benefits to his employees.

MODEST START
    DeBolske’s career in the stone industry started out much like those of many others. He began by driving a truck for a fabrication shop in Santa Cruz, Calif., about 10 miles from his current location.
    DeBolske says it was good training for what’s happened to him since.
    “I’d work in the shop in the morning, and then later I’d deliver materials to the jobs,” he says. “I got to see the shop, and then I’d see the job, and then I’d go to San Francisco and pick up material. Most people either work on the job or in the shop; they don’t get to see the whole thing, but when I started my business I had a good idea of the whole picture.”
    Later, he moved into the Santa Cruz shop on a full-time basis, and started refining his skills using his employer’s saw and CNC machine. Then, in 1991, the shop went out of business. DeBolske says the closure was due to the economics; California was in the midst of a recession.
    Still, the young man’s skills were such that another fabrication company in Watsonville offered to take him on because they were adding some of the same equipment he’d been using.
    “They said I had a job, but I had to wait for them to get the machinery set up,” he explains. “In the meantime, I was doing little jobs here and there, and it just kept snowballing into more work. When they called me to come to work, I had already started to develop a clientele.”
    Although he admits it was a hard decision to make at the time, DeBolske decided to stick with his hand tools, his truck and his fledgling operation. When he’d get a big job, he’d sub out the fabrication and just do the templating and installation.
    Those experiences relying on other fabricators color how he conducts his business today.
    “It was only a short time that I had to do that, but it’s frustrating having your whole schedule relying on somebody else’s business,” DeBolske says. “We do a lot of work now for tile setters and different fabrication companies, and I really try to turn those jobs over quickly for them. If I give them a date, I stick to it.”
    Within a couple years, DeBolske says he was able to purchase an Achilli saw and – a little later – a surface polisher, both second-hand. Perhaps the biggest move of Riva’s early years came in 1996, when the company relocated from Santa Cruz to its current commercial/warehouse space in Watsonville.
    “Watsonville is just very centrally located,” says DeBolske. “It’s almost right between San Jose and Monterey, and we do work all over this area. Plus, Watsonville has a little more by way of commercial buildings, so it’s more-affordable, and it’s got a major freeway running through it.”

WINNING COMBINATION
    Riva Marble’s home for the past nine years features a 5,000 ft² shop, 500 ft² of office and a 10,000 ft² yard, and these days DeBolske admits it’s getting a little crowded.
    Although he describes the company’s growth as, “one person at a time,” the business currently employs 17 people, including two two-man installation crews, two people providing clerical support, and a shop crew of 10.
    DeBolske has also added a few pieces of equipment since picking up that first, used saw.
    “We have a Zonato bridge saw that we bought from Stone Boss,” he says. “That was our first substantial machinery purchase. We also have an Intermac Master Stone CNC from AGM. We bought from them because they have an office on the West Coast and because their service has been really good.”
    The shop also runs an eight-head inline edge machine from U.S. Granite Machinery and a Zambon surface polisher.
    DeBolske believes in the quality of craftsmanship his shop turns out, but he says his equipment allows him to offer quick turnaround at a competitive price.
    “Our clients get the best job possible at a good rate,” he says.
    That, in turn, is a good deal for everyone involved, he says. For instance, it’s allowed DeBolske to have low employee turnover, and it’s good for the employees, too.
    “We’re licensed, we carry workers’ comp and liability insurance,” he says. “We also have health insurance and vacations and other, real benefits for our employees. A lot of people we compete with aren’t licensed, but we’ve been a legitimate business the whole time, and we’re still able to compete.”
    While a lot of people might not tie in their automated equipment with offering benefits to their workers and more peace-of-mind to customers, DeBolske says it all works together.
    “People come in and say, ‘Wow, those machines are expensive; we’ll have to pay for that in our job,’” he says. “I tell them it’s just the opposite. I’ve lowered our payroll by $3,000 a week using this machinery. For one thing, we don’t work any overtime anymore, and we used to work a lot of overtime.”
    Of course, it doesn’t hurt, either, that DeBolske is still a very hands-on manager who spends a lot of time on the phone taking orders, giving estimates, and helping specify materials. While one of the women in the office also does estimating, many of his long-time clients still prefer to deal with the boss – and he understands their comfort level in doing that.
    “Each job is different, but I know the things each one likes,” DeBolske explains. “Each contractor does things a little differently, whether it’s with their raised bars or their overhangs or the materials they like. Some really like to get things done, some are more cost-motivated, and some want the best job possible. I know what they’re looking for.”

GIANT STEPS
    That emphasis on serving the individual is very important to DeBolske. While Riva has done some housing developments, the majority of the company’s work is higher-end single-family residential jobs.
    “We might only do five kitchens in a week, but they’re all ogee edges and radiuses,” he says. “We could do the commercial-type stuff, but that’s not our niche.”
    In a part of the country where even tract homes run well into six figures, DeBolske’s service area includes such exclusive communities as Carmel, Pebble Beach and Los Gatos. Often times the client has a designer, and customer service is a must.
    However, it’s not something DeBolske only realized yesterday. One of his first hires was someone to answer the phone, and he remains convinced it’s important to respond to customers’ inquiries as quickly as possible.
    “I like good service, so I like to provide good service,” he says. “After the first year, I had somebody answer the phone who was able to answer questions. We always get bids out right away, and we like to do a two-week turnaround on kitchen installs.”
    The reason for that: “By the time most of them get to us, they’ve experienced the whole remodel thing. We’re one of the last contractors to come through the house, and they’re a bit tired of it by then.”
    Being in one of the high-tech capitals of the United States, DeBolske says many of his customers like to do business electronically. Not only does he offer estimates that way, but the company’s Website has an extensive FAQ (frequently asked questions) area; while he says the Website is a work-in-progress, it does help sales.
    “If we’re talking to somebody on the phone and they don’t know what an undermount sink is, they’ll get on the Web and take a look at it and we can keep talking; it’s the same when we discuss edge details,” he says.
    Customer service is definitely behind DeBolske’s latest move to start carrying his own granite slabs. He notes that when he started in the industry, companies either sold or fabricated slabs. Not only have the lines begun to blur, but there really isn’t a nearby wholesaler where his clients can conveniently shop.
    “You have to drive to San Francisco, Oakland or San Jose,” he says. “It’s probably at least a 40-minute drive in traffic. We’re trying to make it more-convenient by stocking basic colors of granite. We’ve got four containers coming now, and we’re making arrangements for that.”
    DeBolske has already rented some additional yard space across the street. For now, he plans to store his slabs in his yard, and have what he calls a remnant yard in the rented space.
    Given his clientele, he’s trying for a mix of industry standards, plus some high-end stones, as well.
    “For instance, we’re getting Norwegian material, both Blue Pearl and Emerald Pearl,” he says. “We’re also taking on some Tropical Brown and Silver Sea Green from Saudi Arabia. And, we’re getting material from Brazil and India.”
    While he’s confident his customers will like the selection, DeBolske says for him it’s also a matter of saving time.
    “Until you know what the material is, you can’t sign a contract, and that puts a wrench in the works,” he explains. “We have to wait for them to schedule time to go and find what they’re looking for, and sometimes that takes two or three trips. Then, we have to get the size and the price and put it back into the estimate, so it takes a little longer when we don’t have the material here in the yard.”
    Adding that material has DeBolske already thinking in two other directions: the possibility of then adding other stones, natural quartz and even tile to his inventory, and then finding a place to put it.
    The company already works in limestone, marble and natural quartz, and DeBolske understands the appeal of the latter product because of its color range. “I prefer granite myself,” he says.
    Finding that additional space is another matter entirely, since Riva Marble’s founder admits he likes his current space very much because of the visible location and good traffic flow past his door.
    “However, I’m thinking of one day buying a lot and building a building specifically for fabrication,” DeBolske says. “Then, I’d make this a slab-and-tile showroom. Everyone knows where we’re at, and the fabrication shop doesn’t have to be on a main road. That’s probably not that far off, either.”
    Of course, it’s a big step, but DeBolske has been taking plenty of big steps since he decided to work for himself rather than for someone else, and he says that will continue.
    “Our greatest success is that we’re still in business,” he concludes. “And, we’ll keep doing the best job possible and keep giving extraordinary customer service, one custom job at a time.”