Frank’s Marble & Granite LLC, Red Lion, Pa.
It’s certainly true for company founder Frank Pantano, who brought his Italian stone skills to his adopted country – and for son, Carmine, who now oversees the family operation.
That Old World influence doesn’t mean doing everything’s done by hand, though. The Pantanos were early adopters of CNC after they realized they couldn’t keep trained employees to do things the traditional way.
The shop just added a new CNC, and Carmine Pantano says he’s hopeful it’ll resolve his biggest current problem: too many long days keeping up with customer orders.
STEADY EVOLUTION
The history of Frank’s Marble & Granite parallels the evolution of the natural-stone industry in this country.
Carmine Pantano explains that his father came to the United States in 1969, already an accomplished stoneworker. Three years later, he opened his own business in Red Lion, a community of fewer than 10,000 people within shouting distance of York, Pa., and about an hour’s drive from Baltimore.
“He started the business working mainly with ceramic tile, and granite and marble tile,” says his son. “Then, as slabs became more available, he started working with slabs.
“I think he started with the countertops in the early ‘80s, and that’s what I grew up with.”
Carmine Pantano entered the world four years after Frank’s opened for business, and he definitely grew up in it, spending summers and school vacations under his father’s watchful eye.
However, after high school, he also spent a stint attending college in York and studying mechanical engineering before committing full-time to the family business.
“Everything was books and formulas and I just couldn’t handle it,” the younger man explains. “I didn’t like that I couldn’t take my hands and grab something and do something with it.
“I just enjoy being able to make something with my hands, and even though we now have the CNC machines, it’s still neat to program them and let the machine do it.”