Imexware News
“Building a handcrafted stone
business” - By Jennifer Adams
Edgard Sargi, president of Natural Stone Veneer in Henderson,
NV, Journeyed to Indonesia several years ago with a specific objective
in mind. “I realized that they have nice marble and also reasonable
labor cost there,” he explained. “I went to get into something different
than general construction, which I had been doing. I was a general
contractor in Las Vegas.” And after observing local practices in
Indonesia, Sargi returned to the U.S. with thoughts of launching a
business to produce split-faced stone products.
“I noticed that for a lot of things, (Indonesians) rely on their hands –
to make furniture and other handcrafted things,” he said. “I went to a
trade show there, and after I came back, I thought about the idea of
doing split-faced stone, because I know how to do this kind of work.”
Once Sargi was convinced of this idea, he returned to Indonesia to
begin hunting for a company to manufacture the products. “I went back to
Indonesia, but couldn’t find anybody that had the technique to do this
kind of work and make if for me,” he said. “I waited six months, and
then went ahead and started my own factory.”
It was three years ago when Sargi set out on this mission. “I brought
technicians from Europe, and spent six months building the factory and
training people to split the stone,” he said. While in Indonesia, I went
around to all different islands and found quarries with different
colors. We offer 16 colors in all.”
Sargi explained that he purchases materials from these quarries, and
then fabricates the products at his facility, which sits on 5 acres. The
factory is equipped with everything from hand tools to advanced
machinery, according to Sargi. “We do split-face, bushhammered and
polished stone finishes as well as mosaics and ledged stone, which is
with 2-inch random length pieces set on mesh,” he said. “The bottom line
is that we can fabricate anything the customer wants, Custom orders
aren’t a problem. We can do any size.”
The company, which began with 60 employees, has now grown to include 120
with a capacity of 10 containers a month, and markets its products to
regions throughout the U.S. Natural Stone Veneer maintains a
showroom and warehouse in Henderson, NV, where it keeps a total of 60
containers in stock. The company offers interior and exterior products
for both residential and commercial design.
“We are planning to go worldwide,” said Sargi. “We are setting up
exclusive dealers for tile. We just signed a deal with Dal-Tile in San
Francisco, and are looking for exclusive dealers all over the U.S.”
Stone World Magazine, April 2004 issue, pg. 248
Jennifer Adams is the managing editors of Stone World. |