Montana Tile and Stone, Bozeman, Mont.

July 5, 2004

   The practicalities of housing a growing family and starting a business at that financial altitude prompted Wills to relocate to Bozeman, Mont., in 1997; shortly after that, Montana Tile and Stone opened its doors.
   Over the years, Wills says he developed what he believes is a prototype for the 21st-century shop, right down to a building configuration that offers high-end tile to the trade on one end and a custom stone fabrication shop on the other.
   Not only has the concept allowed him to focus on the design work he enjoys so much, but within the next 18 months he expects to open a second outlet that mirrors his current operation.

DESIGNING SUCCESS
   Certainly one word to describe Wills is unconventional. Rather than receiving any formal schooling in design, he spent his college days studying English, and then moved to Aspen in 1986.
   “I’ve always been innately involved in this type of business through construction jobs and what not,” he explains. “In Aspen, I made an acquaintance, and the next thing I knew, I was in the design field.”
   Wills admits the rarified air of the trendy ski community was a great training ground for an apprentice designer.
   “Most of the work we were involved with didn’t have strict budgets,” he says. “We were allowed a lot of creative freedom and time to put things together. It was a tremendous place to get an education and learn the proper way of handling materials.”
   While most of his work went into high-end single-family residential projects, he also became involved in renovating and restoring a condominium complex.
   Aspen may have provided plenty of fodder for professional development, but after a decade there, Wills began to butt up against some financial realities. With a spouse and two children (the couple now has four), he knew he would never make the income to buy even an average-priced home, nor afford to start his own tile and stone business.
   After an extensive search, Wills opted to relocate to Bozeman. While he says the foremost reason for the decision was that its demographics fit his family’s needs, the south-central Montana city also offered what he saw as a solid business opportunity.
   “I felt it fit for the tile business because nobody – in my opinion – was covering high-end residential work at that point,” he says. “There was not a trade-only facility in the state. And, the type of building we could see coming in the future were all solid indicators.”
   Even before leaving Colorado, Wills also began laying his groundwork for his new venture, lining up certain stone and tile lines and getting geographic protection with them.
   “I have great relationships, long-standing relationships, with a wide range of suppliers, and they were ready for me to move and open a facility,” he says. “And, I wanted my showroom to be well-balanced.”
   Wills’ other move was to secure a 10,000-ft² building to house his new business.
   “The idea was to have roughly a 3,000-ft² showroom on one end that showcased different lines of distribution, and then, on the other end of the building, in equal space, a stone fabrication shop,” he says. “In the middle would be a warehouse so as a customer came in we’d be able to pull items out of the warehouse to match any tile or stonework with the inventory we have.”

ECLECTIC MIX
   Not surprisingly, given that mix, Montana Tile and Stone developed several distinct groups of clientele that often overlap.
   As a trade-only tile facility, the main purchasing customers include contractors, tile-setters and others related directly to the tile business. That can also include designers, architects and developers who tap into Wills’ design background.
   “A lot of times, a designer or contractor will refer a client to us,” he explains. “At that point, we will often take an architectural plan and start to dissect it to see what is needed. We look at what the architect’s vision is, and put together a document that will explain what items we’re using and why we’re using them and where we’re using them in what thicknesses and patterns.”
   If the need goes beyond tile, at the other end of the building is Montana Tile and Stone Fabricators, which also sells direct to the public.
   “Of course, we do kitchen countertops and things of that nature, but it’s very much a custom granite and marble facility because of the type of work we do for high-end residential customers,” Wills says.
   The stone-fabrication shop was the last part of Wills’ equation to fall into place. While it’s been in operation only a couple years, Wills feels that having stone-fabrication capabilities is an important part of his business.
   “I think the new prototype for a successful tile facility is one that’s set up with its own fabrication shop or has an outsourcing agreement with somebody who will work intimately with them and be able to have a showroom and a supply line that will work effectively with what they’re doing,” he says.
   In Wills’ case, he also believes that part of the business’ success has come because he bought first-rate equipment from Park Industries – including a CNC machine – then found skilled and experienced people to run it for him.
   As with Wills himself, John and Jeff Banta were looking to relocate to Montana. Jeff Banta first contacted Wills about six years ago after reading about Montana Tile in a magazine.
   “They’re second-generation stone fabricators who recently sold the family business in Pennsylvania,” Wills explains. “When the timing was right, I believe a perfect partnership came together. Quality people are always in search of quality people.”
   The Bantas manage a seven-person shop and an installation crew. Rather than search for experienced stone fabricators, the company has trained its own in-house with assistance from Park.
   Perhaps ironically, due to the nature of Montana Tile’s business, Wills doesn’t have his own crews doing tile installations.
   “We refer all our tile installations out to independent tile setters who then contact the contractors,” he explains. “Once we know the degree of difficulty with an installation, the referral list shortens up. It’s imperative in our eyes to link our work with as good an installer as we can find; when you buy the finest material you can, backed up by a design that hopefully forward-thinking and then have it installed in a marginal way, it’s a waste of everybody’s time.”

BEYOND TILE AND STONE
   With a staff that’s grown to four full-time designers, a warehouse manager to build mock-ups and two office managers, Montana Tile and Stone’s real emphasis isn’t on simply turning out an end product. The aesthetics of the product and how it fits with the rest of a project are as critical as the actual fabrication.
   One of Wills’ big challenges – given his location – is simply managing his inventory and keeping it up to date. At any given time, he will have 150-200 slabs on hand, with marbles and travertines stored in the warehouse and the remainder of the stone in the yard.
   “We try to look at everything we buy, and we do a certain amount of speculation based on what we see and also based on the tile and stone we’re selling on the other side of the building,” he explains. “When I go to buy a container, I have a predisposed idea of what I’m looking for both in terms of colors and textures.”
   Making it still more challenging is Wills’ decision not to stock an extraordinary amount of tile because of the invariable changes in tile lines. If he needs a stone to match something, common practice is to take photos, which are then blown up to 9 ½” X 11” and sent out.
   “I always find the stone we’re seeking,” he says. “If need be, we’ll have a sample of an actual slab sent to us by Federal Express. The combinations and qualities of the products we offer are essential for what we do.”
   While saying his efforts to keep on top of what’s available in terms of stone and tile is, “literally an every day search,” Wills adds that his geographic location has also allowed him to create his own unique style.
   “Style is something that’s innate,” he says. “As much as it’s helpful to travel and see other work, to me it’s equally nice not to.”
   Not that he doesn’t appreciate the travel. His reputation is such that Montana Tile and Stone is doing homes all over the state of Montana and beyond.
   “We enjoy that because it allows us to travel a little bit and to meet new people,” he says. “However, tile is a thing where you really need somebody on site and somebody easy to get a hold of so you can react to situations that come up. A lot of out-of-state work wouldn’t permit us to do that.”
   With approximately 90 percent of his business coming from word-of-mouth, Wills says that’s a particular concern.
   “When you work by reputation, every job matters more and more,” he observes. “We try to do what we do the best we can.”
   Rather than cloning himself to cover those more-distant jobs, Wills is directing his sights to establishing a second outlet in Kalispell, a northwestern Montana city, in either 2005 or 2006. The facility would be almost identical to the Bozeman operation, which would initially share distribution.
   “The staffing and the type of work we do would be equal,” he says. “The Flathead Valley has been on a long growth cycle and there’s plenty of demand for what we do. It should be a nice fit for us.”
   Closer to home, and possibly as soon as this fall, Wills plans to build a 3,000-ft² addition to the fabrication side of his current building.
   “We need more equipment and we also need more room to set up kitchens,” he says. “We’re a bit tight on how we work right now.”
   Longer term – as soon as he can justify the expense – he’d also like to add a waterjet for its ability to do more decorative dimensional work.
   For now, though, Wills is confident that by targeting high-end homes, while serving all markets, yet never selling tile or stone just for the sake of a sale, he’s designing a business that will continue to grow and prosper.
   “With so much of what we do, we have to have a terrific staff to put it together, and my group is extraordinary,” he concludes. “In addition, we continually search for exceptional and unique materials, while staying ahead of current trends. This formula is the nucleus for our success.”