As metropolitan areas around the country continue to expand, new markets are developing further and further away from the city center. And with this development comes solid opportunity for stone suppliers to cater to both the new construction and remodeling markets. One example of this can be found in Stone Interiors, Inc. of Boonton, NJ, which was recently established to serve this growing market approximately 30 miles from New York City. The company is owned by Gim Gallo, whose experience stems from his co-ownership of another stone fabrication company in New Jersey.

The company sells to retail dealers and kitchen and bath dealers in Morris County, NJ, where it is based, as well as Bergen and Passaic Counties, also in New Jersey. Stone Interiors, Inc. serves other outlets in the Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) as well as Pennsylvania, and it recently completed a commercial project in Newtown, CT.

The facility is 7,000 square feet in size, and includes indoor and outdoor slab storage. According to Gallo, the biggest challenge in starting his own shop was simply getting everything in place - from obtaining permits and financing to equipping the building as needed.

The facility is family owned and operated, with a total of six employees, and it fabricates between six and 10 kitchens per week, depending on the size and layout of the projects. In general, kitchen countertop projects vary between 50 and 100 square feet in size. The firm also supplies commercial projects, and at the time of Stone World's visit, it was working on a health club project in CaesarStone quartz surfacing.

The primary piece of equipment in the shop is a Zonato FPZ 500 bridge saw, which was purchased from International Machine Corp. of Holbrook, NY. The saw features a 15-horsepower, direct-drive main motor, a 12- x 7-foot cutting table and variable speed gantry and cross travel. The unit also has a table that locks in any position and a digital display for bridge movements.

Edging is completed with a Magnum portable router, which is distributed by GranQuartz, and work is finished by hand at one of several workstations. Tooling is supplied by Stone Boss of Woodside, NY, a company that Gallo has been working with for several years. In addition to standard edging, the company offers specialized profiles such as a double ogee edge.

Templates are made from plywood, and Gallo personally does all measuring and templating. “That's the key to the job,” he said. “It absolutely needs to be right.”

In the future, the next investment will be a second bridge saw, and the facility already has space allotted for the added equipment.

Stone Interiors, Inc.
Boonton, NJ

Type of work: residential and commercial countertops

Machinery: Zonato FPZ 500 bridge saw from International Machine Corp. of Holbrook, NY; GranQuartz Magnum portable router; tooling and accessories from Stone Boss of Woodside, NY

Number of Employees: six

Production Rate: six to 10 kitchens per week