Located in the shadow of New York City, Artistic Marble Design, Inc. of Paterson, NJ, was founded by Tony Barbieri, who emigrated from Argentina and has 20 years of experience in the stone industry. The company was incorporated in 1991, and it now fabricates a total of 25 kitchens per week. And during its steady growth over the years, Artistic Marble Design has continually upgraded its collection of stoneworking equipment.

Included in the shop are two Italian bridge saws, one from Pedrini and a GMM Tecna 36, which was supplied through Salem Stone of Winston-Salem, NC. The GMM Tecna 36 has a 30-horsepower motor and can accommodate blades up to 28.5 inches in diameter, with a cutting stroke of approximately 138 inches (3,500 mm).

Equipment also includes the Montresor Luna 740 edge polisher from Salem Stone, which represents the latest generation of equipment from the manufacturer. The unit features a unique polishing head rotation system and a simplified design that has eliminated the majority of expensive moving parts.

One of the latest investments for Artistic Marble Design has been a Speed-TR CNC stoneworking center from CMS North America/Brembana of Caledonia, MI. This unit features three working axes and two separate worktables, so the CNC unit can process workpieces on one table while the other is prepared and loaded. When the machine is finished processing one job, the tables rotate for easy unloading of the finished pieces.

A Kaeser ASD 40T compressor from Kaeser Compressors, Inc. of Fredericksburg, VA, is used to ensure optimum operation of the machinery in the shop.

To obtain data to feed into the computerized machinery, templates are scanned on a digitizing board. The sinks to be used for each job can literally be placed within the board so they may be scanned to exact dimensions. This is invaluable since there are many new sinks on the market, and their dimensions are not readily available, explained Zlate Malinajdoski of Artistic Marble Design.

The company has 25 workers in all, including Tony Barbieri, his wife Mary, who serves as Vice President, and two sons, Marc and Chris. Despite the company’s steady growth over the years, Tony Barbieri maintains an intricate knowledge of each project being completed, and personally checks finished work as it leaves the shop.

Many of Artistic Marble Design’s employees have been retained for years, and when hiring new workers, Barbieri prefers people with no stoneworking background, so they can be trained from scratch. However, when hiring a CNC operator, the company selected a person with 15 years of experience.

Sales and marketing

Artistic Marble Design serves the Tri-State Area of Metropolitan New York City as well as Southern New Jersey. Work includes custom upscale residences - including several celebrity homes - as well as multi-unit projects for high-end developers, explained Frank Nocera of Artistic Marble Design. “A lot of our work comes via referral,” he said. “It has been part of our success.” The company has also done some light commercial work, including conference tables.

Even though the company has developed a reputation for doing quality, highly detailed work, it still faces tough competition - particularly in terms of cost. According to Nocera, the company is able to offset competition by providing a high level of craftsmanship and a quick turnaround time.

As a benefit to its customers, Artistic Marble has an on-site design staff that includes Samantha Piccio and Debbie DeBellis, both of whom have extensive experience in the field. It also supplies tile as needed, and it has developed an interactive Web site at www.artisticmarbleanddesign.com, where customers can receive “electronic” price estimates.