In 2001, Gary Cancro and Israel Jiron established Stone Resources as an installation and fabrication company, which mainly serves the residential sector near its Danbury, CT, location. After working as an installer for various stone fabricators in the tri-state area for 17 years, demands increased to the point where Cancro began spending several evenings a week working out of his basement. Some of the work he completed was for celebrities, including Mariah Carey. Around the same time, Jiron, who had worked along side Cancro at Rye Marble in Rye, NY, was talking about starting his own company. Together, with a combined total of 32 years of experience, the men established Stone Resources.

Due to a continuous increase in demand, the owners recently opened a second facility adjacent to its original building, allowing for a total of 6,500 square feet of fabrication space. The shops are equipped with two Zonato bridge saws from International Machine Corp. (IMC) of Holbrook, NY, which are highly commended by Cancro. “We bought one when we first opened,” said the shop owner. “A few years down the line, we purchased a second Zonato. I wouldn't buy anything else right now. I'd recommend them to anyone. They are easy to operate and easy to learn.”

Additionally, the shop houses a bed polisher from IMC, two hand routers from GranQuartz of Tucker, GA, two Magnum hand routers from Stone Boss of Woodside, NY, and two forklifts to help move slabs around the facility.

The company's production is comprised of 90% residential work, which includes about 20 kitchen countertops a week, in addition to fireplaces and vanity tops. “We do anything a customer wants done basically,” said Cancro. “If we can't do it, I'll find somebody who can.”

As far as CNC machinery is concerned, the owners do not feel the investment is necessary at this time. “I personally think they are good if you're doing repetitious work, like for a condominium, but for custom work, it benefits me to do it my way,” said Cancro. “My guys do entire cut outs, from start to finish, in 45 minutes. When the CNC machines first came out I wanted one, but my partner didn't. Now I am glad we didn't get it.”

Stone Resources' original shop employs 13 workers, including four people inside, two “floating” outside, six installers and one full-time templater. The second shop, which the owners added in the early summer of this year, has four employees. “We try to find people that are skilled, which is very hard,” said the owner. “So, we do train them. I handle the installers and the office, and my partner handles the guys in the shop.”

Outside the company's facility is a slab storage area, so customers don't have to travel to different distributors to view materials prior to fabrication, according to Cancro.

Credit Box

Stone Resources
Danbury, CT

Type of work: residential kitchen countertops, vanities, fireplaces
Machinery: two Zonato bridge saws from International Machine Corp., a bed polisher from International Machine Corp.; two hand routers from GranQuartz; two Magnum hand routers from Stone Boss; two forklifts
Number of Employees: 17
Production Rate: 20 kitchens per week