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Editor's Note: With 2007 now behind us, we thought it would be fitting to examine quartz surfacing with an eye toward the future, so we asked Arik Tendler, CEO of CaesarStone, about his expectations going into 2008. This article is based on his answers to some probing questions.
Marketing Quartz Surfacing In 2008
The quartz category is still very young in terms of market potential and with the major quartz suppliers, you can expect to see significant investment into advertising in 2008. Quartz surfaces are branded by companies that have the capability and the reasons to make these types of investments in exposing the consumer to their names and the benefits of quartz surfaces . . . I'm estimating a budget of more than $30 million from the big four (CaesarStone, Silestone, DuPont and Cambria) geared toward the consumers.
Advice For Fabricators For A Successful Year
I would offer the same advice that I always give to fabricators, using my own experience as a stone fabricator. Have a say in your sales; control your destiny. Diversify your business over more than one segment — commercial, designers, remodelers, etc. KNOW your business, primarily the accounting part. No detail is too small and as we all know "the devil is in the details"!
Manage your business and don't let it manage you. Make sure you manage your time wisely to allow yourself the time to oversee every aspect of your business. I don't care how small your business is; you still need to MANAGE inventory, accounting, the trucks, the employees, the sales, the purchases, etc. Good business habits developed early are a key ingredient to long-term success.
Specifically with quartz products, know your suppliers and make sure you have a fairly long-term partnership with them. What are their manufacturing capabilities? Are they going to be your competitor one day? What is their overall strategy or does it change constantly? How is their service? Are they there when things go wrong? Quartz surfacing is a limited-supply product, so choosing your partner wisely is extremely important. The worst way to make a partnership decision is solely on price of material.
New Colors And Textures Over The Next Few Years
I can't guarantee or guess on what should be expected, and I can't really expose too much from our research and development laboratories, but it's pretty obvious that we'll see more natural stone looks with the benefits of quartz surfaces. We'll see more and more ½-in. material for wall cladding applications and possibly some different types of finishes and textures to the surface. And who knows we may even see a few surprises . . .
Preparing For Upcoming Innovations
I think it obvious by now that quartz is here to stay, and I don't really see major changes in the next few years that will require large investments in new technology for fabricators. All of us (manufacturers and fabricators) are going to be more environmentally conscious, particularly as it relates to dust, water and other parts of the fabrication processes, so fabricators may want to do some research into ways that they can support this effort.
Emerging 'Quartz Surfacing' Options
Quartz surfacing has been produced the same way for the last 30 years and so far I haven't seen any of the "new" methods that worked differently succeed. I've checked personally into most of the "wanna be" quartz surfaces that are being produced right now in Asia and they might work in some parts of the world, but they will not work for the American consumer. These products have a long way to go before they can pass the American market test. I'm sure down the road we will see some better replicas, but it will not be that quick, easy or cheap.
It's Not All The Same
There are quality differences between quartz surfaces, and the fabricator should be the biggest beneficiary. Try the different suppliers and really analyze the cost of saving. An actual test will very easily prove the savings of working with quartz over granite and even among the different quartz manufacturers. Your business is to fabricate the material and make money; you shouldn't take on the vendor's role and his expenses! You should expect your vendor to provide business leads, technical support, backup for material defects, available material, marketing tools, samples, advertising and a real PARTNERSHIP, not just in theory but in practice!
About the author:
Arik Tendler is CEO of CaesarStone, 6480 Hayvenhurst Ave., Suite 100, Van Nuys, CA 91406; 877-9-QUARTZ; info@caesarstoneus.com; www.caesarstoneus.com.
author: By Arik Tendler