Frank’s Marble & Granite LLC, Red Lion, Pa.
Approximately 6,000 ft² is devoted to the shop, which these days includes both CNC machines, as well as a Park Industries Cougar bridge saw, a Park Wizard and a Slabsmith™ photo station.
In preparation for the purchase of the Northwood, Frank’s also installed a Beckart Environmental filtration system at the end of last year.
“We knew we’d be getting the Northwood and we wanted to make sure our water was clean and pure,” says Carmine Pantano. “We also wanted to do the right thing, and little-by-little, the government is getting stricter. Now no one can say anything, because nothing gets discharged into the sewer.”
Pantano says another 1,500 ft² of the shop’s space is devoted to offices and a small showroom. Unlike many shops, the company doesn’t devote a lot of space to displays; instead, it gives considerable room to keeping its slabs indoors.
“The showroom is just someplace where we can speak with customers and write down paperwork,” he says. “We do show them some samples, but the biggest sales tool we have is taking the customers out to the warehouse where they can look at the big pieces. That’s what they’re here for.”
About the only materials that end up outdoors are remnants; because of the shop’s location, Frank’s takes an interesting approach to dealing with them. Pantano explains that the property is located next to a school, and in the days before everyone rode the school bus, students would walk through the lot, tipping over remnants as they went.
“We wondered what we could do to use up some of the remnants and make a couple bucks at the same time,” he explains. “We came up with the idea of making standard-sized vanities – like you’d find at a big-box store – and having them available for anyone to pick up and install themselves.”
It’s a product that’s worked out well for the company. Although Frank’s doesn’t advertise the vanities anywhere but its website, there’s usually a choice of 3cm materials available … and it often leads to future business.
“Someone may come in now and get a vanity for the bathroom, but a couple years later, when they’re ready, they remember us and we go back in and do their kitchen,” Pantano explains.
NEW MARKETING
Besides the Red Lion operation, there’s a satellite facility; working in tandem with one of Frank’s cabinet-shop customers, the two firms opened a secondary showroom about an hour south in the Baltimore suburb of Timonium, Md.
The one drawback Pantano finds with the approach is that the Timonium showroom only features completed projects, not slabs. However, it’s also allowed the business to try out a slightly different marketing approach by offering “Where do I start?” seminars.