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When I was growing up, I remember reading a survey that definitively stated: “The typical American family has two-and-a-half children.†Despite never having met a half-child, that number stuck in my mind. Recently, the market research department at BNP Media (Stone World's parent company) conducted a groundbreaking survey of stone fabricators to determine the most prevalent industry trends. In a way, I suppose, we were looking to determine what makes a “typical†stone fabricator.
Here's what we found about the “typical†stone fabrication shop:
In a VERY condensed nutshell, the “typical†fabricator is young and small, but is also looking to invest and grow. For a much more in-depth analysis of the stone fabrication sector, take a look at the complete survey results on page 54.
Here's what we found about the “typical†stone fabrication shop:
- Most of the materials fabricated are yellow/gold, green, brown, black and beige.
- Pretty much everyone offers bullnose, eased, ogee and beveled edges. (I know, you already knew this. Better stuff is on the way.)
- The average kitchen job is right around 60 square feet.
- The average price charged per square foot is $60.
- The average number of kitchens fabricated per week is about eight. (Yeah, that's less than I expected, too. But you will see that the “typical†fabricator is a lot newer - and smaller - than it used to be.)
- The “typical†fabricator has been in business seven years or less.
- The average fabricator staff today has less than 10 people. (When you think of all the new three-man to five-man shops starting out there, this number actually makes more sense than it does at first glance.)
- A relatively low annual sales total of $1 million defines the “typical†U.S. fabricator. (Again, you have to remember that there are a lot of new, small companies out there.)
- The typical fabricator still uses plywood for templating, but thinks about going digital.
- CNC technology is at least a future consideration for the typical shop.
In a VERY condensed nutshell, the “typical†fabricator is young and small, but is also looking to invest and grow. For a much more in-depth analysis of the stone fabrication sector, take a look at the complete survey results on page 54.
