"Detroit is a good granite market with lots of building taking place," Bob said. "We do granite and marble work only at this stage, mainly residential and mostly remodels."

Approaching the end of their first year in business, the brothers consider themselves fortunate. They have six employees and a backlog of work. "One of the reasons for our quick success was making the right decisions early on," Mike said. "We knew it was essential to have the right equipment, so we began to scour the industry, attending shows, calling other fabricators and doing research. We knew we could not afford to be anything but the best - there is too much competition out there and a great deal at stake."

When it was time to make a decision, Bob and Mike Thiede chose Matrix to supply the first piece of equipment for Rock Tops Inc. "We like what we heard about Matrix Stone Products," Bob said. "They had a reputation for service and integrity, so we called in Dennis Peterson and Joe Harari. They had the patience to spend time with us, and they helped us to compare what we were considering in terms of reliability and cost. For a small start-up shop, the advice was to consider the Matrix Z-Max."

According to the brothers, the market they service has grown to include a 50-mile area around Detroit, and they are already planning where to put the second Matrix saw.