
Marble Tech Inc. of Crystal Lake, IL, utilizes 60,000 square feet of a 105,000-square-foot facility for its stone fabrication operation.
As the owner of Marble Tech Inc. in Crystal Lake, IL, Tom Gust has overseen many transformations for his company. Initially, the business was based out of Barrington, IL, and operated as a flooring contractor. But due to the growing demand for stone countertops in the early 1990s, Gust made the decision to advance his company to the next level by purchasing a bridge saw and offering stone fabrication and installation services. Through the years, Marble Tech Inc. continually evolved, and today it functions out of a 105,000-square-foot facility equipped with state-of-the-art machinery. Additionally, it runs 11 retail showrooms strategically placed throughout the Chicagoland area.
With a staff of 50, Marble Tech has come a long way from when it first started with a five-person team. Of the 50 employees, 35 are involved in the fabrication, measurement and installation processes, including four installation crews. According to Gust, the company processes residential and commercial slab applications from natural stone and man-made material as well as installing tile and hardwood. “At full capacity, we can finish as many as 25 kitchens per day,” he said.

A key component of Marble Tech’s stone fabrication
process is a Robocut, which was purchased from its sister company, USG
Robotics. The Robocut - a cutting system that integrates a waterjet and a saw
in one machine - was engineered to minimize space in cutting areas and to
ensure minimal waste.
Most recently, Marble Tech added new software - Virtual Inventory Management and VeinMatch - from USG Robotics. “Virtual Inventory Management is an online database of calibrated slab photos that allows the sales staff from our 11 showrooms and our customers to browse our current inventory,” explained Gust, adding that the company stocks about 3,000 slabs that have all been photographed. “It also gives our sales staff the ability to assign material via the Internet. It has helped us by giving our sales staff the ability to see what material we have in stock and allowing them to close the sale in the showroom. We have set up a 50-inch LCD flatscreen television in every showroom. It has eliminated the necessity for customers to visit the warehouse, and the calibrated photographs give production and our customers the ability to do full digital layouts using VeinMatch - showing exact placement of pieces and seam-alignment before cutting.”

A waterjet from Flow International of Kent, WA, is
also an integral part of the production process.
For templating, the company’s measurers use an LT-55 Laser Templator from Laser Products of Romeoville, IL, and a Prodim Proliner from Blick Industries of Laguna Beach, CA. “Our shop would not be the same without these products, which give us the ability to make clean and accurate files for use with all of our machinery,” said Gust. “The LT-55 is especially helpful when it comes to finishing files on the jobsite - allowing for a good double-check of final piece measurements.”
Presently, Marble Tech runs one shift from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. It recycles approximately 300,000 gallons of water daily using a water recycling system that it constructed itself. Moreover, the company recycles about 50,000 pounds of scrap material a week, which is crushed and sold as gravel.

Due to the efficiency of the Robocut as well as other
machinery in the shop, Marble Tech has the capacity of producing up to 25
kitchens per day.

The slab edges are polished on one of three in-line
polishers that are owned by the company.
Additional Photos

Shop workers use hand
tools, which are purchased from Braxton-Bragg of Knoxville, TN,
to complete finishing work.

Marble Tech recycles approximately 300,000 gallons of
water daily using a water recycling system that it constructed itself.

A file of a digital drawing can be sent from the
jobsite directly to the shop - increasing efficiency of production.

For templating, the company’s install crews use an
LT-55 Laser Templator from Laser Products of Romeoville, IL, (pictured on the
left) and a Prodim Proliner from Blick Industries of Laguna Beach, CA (pictured
on the right). “Our shop would not be the same without these products, which
give us the ability to make clean and accurate files for use with all of our
machinery,” said company owner Tom Gust.


To ensure that jobs are completed efficiently and on
time, the company utilizes a JobTracker system from Moraware of Reno, NV (an
example of which is pictured).

An inventory of approximately 3,000 slabs is
maintained at Marble Tech’s facilities.

In addition to its fabrication operation, Marble Tech
runs 11 retail showrooms strategically placed throughout the Chicagoland area.

Approximately 99% of the company’s sales come from
installed countertop applications and the other 1% accounts for tile and
fabrication-only jobs.
Sidebar: Marble Tech Inc.
Crystal Lake, ILType of work: residential and commercial
Machinery: three CNC stoneworking centers, three in-line edge polishing machines, two bridge saws, a RoboCut waterjet/saw from USG Robotics of Barrington, IL, a waterjet from Flow International Corp. of Kent, WA, hand tools and accessories from Braxton-Bragg of Knoxville, TN, Virtual Inventory Management and VeinMatch software from USG Robotics, a JobTracker system from Moraware of Reno, NV, an LT-55 Laser Templator from Laser Products of Romeoville, IL, a Prodim Proliner from Blick Industries of Laguna Beach, CA, and a water recycling system
Number of Employees: 50 (35 involved in fabrication, measurement and installation)
Production Rate: as many as 25 kitchens a day when running at full capacity