Frank’s Marble & Granite LLC, Red Lion, Pa.
Carmine Pantano joined the operation at a time where things weren’t necessarily going smoothly, even though business was booming.
“We just couldn’t hold on to employees who could do the work by hand,” he says. “It seemed like we would hire new people every other week. The turnaround was terrible, and we couldn’t do it all ourselves.
“That was when we decided to see what technology was out there.”
What piqued their interest was CNC technology, even though at that time – 2000-2001 – there really weren’t a lot of foreign or domestic machines available in the United States. It took attending several tradeshows to help them reach a decision.
“My dad went to Verona to Marmomacc to make sure he wanted to go with an OMAG,” says Carmine Pantano. “Then, when they were at StonExpo we made the deal.”
The younger Pantano headed off to Italy for a week of training on their new investment – shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 – and he says while he’s conversant in Italian, the technical terms were like learning a new language. What really helped him was his college classes in mechanical engineering.
“Fortunately, I had some background in CAD (computer-aided design) and that did make it a little easier,” he says.
KEY DECISIONS
Even before that, Frank Pantano made several decisions that still influence the company today. One major change: Getting rid of the tile operation.
“It was tough to get our crews to switch off,” says Carmine Pantano. “We had a hard time telling the tile guys to help make the granite countertops, and the countertop guys to help install tile floors. It got so bad we had to make a decision to do one or the other. My dad asked me which I’d rather do, and I said, ‘Countertops.’”
The other was to move into the company’s current location, a 17,000 ft² building on a two-acre lot. That move came about the same time Frank’s stopped doing tile work; Carmine Pantano says while it’s not the ideal space from a workflow perspective, it’ll have to do until the economy improves.
“We talked about growing before we bought our new Northwood Machine Mfg. Co. CNC this year,” he admits. “But, we decided just to make it work with the space we have without having the expense of a new building. I feel that’s the right decision, because while we’re very busy, at the same time it’s not like it used to be.”