Cangelosi's showroom, office, warehouse and fabrication plant occupy 52,000 square feet of space in Missouri City, TX. Additionally, there is approximately one acre of concrete slab storage area. The company takes great pride in its ability to fabricate and install artistic stone products at a cost-effective price.

At Cangelosi's facility, three semi-automated bridge saws and one edge profiler were used for several years until the demand for fabrication outgrew the capacity of the machines. The expanded 13,000-square-foot plant and new equipment was put into operation in February of 2004.

Equipment investments

After templating is completed, Cangelosi's CAD department utilizes Outline Technologies' digitizing boards to transfer templates into DXF format. “The DXF files are transferred to the CAD programs providing data for the automated bridgesaws, CNC and waterjet,” explained Chris Cangelosi. “Scheduling information and packets follow pieces throughout the fabrication process.” Currently, Cangelosi is in the process of adding another waterjet and CNC machine to accommodate its increasing volume of work. This addition will increase capacity and decrease production time in a market where turnaround time is a key factor, Cangelosi said.

“Approximately one year was taken to appreciate the full benefit of the CNC machine,” Cangelosi continued. “Manager responsibilities for CNC and waterjet equipment include training technicians to operate and perform maintenance. There are presently four qualified operators for the CNC and waterjet equipment.” For Cangelosi, one of the biggest challenges in learning the CNC was determining the proper tool calibration.

The fabrication process

Typically, a kitchen is programmed in CAD, and the automatic bridge saws cut the various pieces straight or splayed, depending upon the required dimensions. Any pieces with straight edges are then run on the Montresor edging machines (excluding ogees). The kitchens are typically produced in seven to nine pieces, with at least two cut-outs (sink and cooktop). At this point, the waterjet is utilized for cut-outs, faucet hole drilling and neo-angles. These tasks are completed with precision and speed, without requiring the use of the CNC stoneworking, according the company. Meanwhile, the Omag Profiler is used primarily for edge detailing and radius polishing. Diamond tooling is purchased from Salem Stone of Winston-Salem, NC.

In situations where laminates are required, the waterjet can process the pieces with less waste. “The waterjet can effectively produce pieces while freeing up the time for the CNC to complete what it was designed to do,” Cangelosi said.

Some of the company's recent investments include the purchase of two 5-ton overhead cranes, jib cranes, an ECS/EICH water filtration system, a Park Wizard work station, a second Montesor Lara S80 edge profiler and small hand tools.

In addition to the newer machinery, Cangelosi also continues to use some of the same semi-automated equipment it has been using over the past 20 years as additional support and back-up to the automated equipment.

Overall, with the combination of technology now in use at the facility, the company is able to produce an average of 175 kitchens a week with turnarounds of seven to nine working days.

Markets served

Annually, the company directly imports over 250 containers of marble, granite, limestone, travertine and slate slabs originating from more than eight different countries. Cangelosi also fabricates quartz surfacing, including both the DuPont Zodiaq and Technistone lines.

Additionally, Cangelosi offers a complete line of terrazzo grinding equipment, pulsating dry vacuums for environmentally clean air grinding operations, divider strips used for control joints and aesthetics for terrazzo flooring, epoxy terrazzo and seamless flooring systems. Cangelosi also offers a wide variety of recycled consumer and post-consumer glass for use in terrazzo.

Fabrication and installation make up 70% of Cangelosi's business, while terrazzo and architectural precast products account for 27%. The remaining 3% is attributed to slab and tile sales.

Today, the company employs a staff of over 100 personnel, about 70% of whom have been with the company for more than 12 years. Veteran employees train new recruits and advise management of new employees abilities to meet quality standards required by the company.

In addition to residential work, Cangelosi has worked on a range of commercial projects, including the Enron Building, Reliant Towers, a new terminal at Dulles International Airport, the Montebello Condo-miniums, 1620 River Oaks Blvd., a new American Airlines Terminal at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, the FIS Building at Bush International Airport and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, which were all com-pleted over the past three years.

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