Stone & Tile Industry News

2009 Survey reinforces differences between typical and high-profit fabricators

CLEVELAND, OH -- The Marble Institute of America (MIA) recently completed its second Performance Analysis Report for natural stone fabricators. The survey, conducted in 2009, contains an evaluation and interpretation of financial data solicited from fabricators. Like its 2007 predecessor, this report provides one of the most comprehensive set of financial performance benchmarks in the natural stone fabrication industry. The report is designed to provide fabrication shops with a tool to evaluate existing performance and identify new ways to create improvement.

Paul Menninger of Capital Granite & Marble and Stone World's 2008 Fabricator of the Year confirmed that by saying, "The value of the MIA Performance Analysis Report to me and my organization at its basic level is two-fold: one, it quantifies what it is we do at all levels in ways we never dreamed of, particularly when addressing financial institutions and; two, it historically tracks my key performance indicators and anonymously compares them to other fabricators of similar size. The value created for the investment cannot be compared anywhere else."

Dick Laliberte of Ripano Stoneworks Ltd and Stone World's 2006 Fabricator of the Year agreed; "The MIA report provides a scorecard that allowed our company to improve in areas where we may not be doing as well as the industry as a whole. We have found that just looking at your own historical data does not uncover weaknesses in your own company. Comparing yourself to your peers allows you to spot the areas that need attention."

The 17-page report contains the following sections, each designed to assist managers in specific areas of inquiry:

Executive Summary- provides an overview of the study results, with emphasis on the difference between the typical firm and the high profit company
Detailed Results- in-depth reporting of return on investment, income statement, balance sheet and financial and productivity ratios. Management commentary is provided to focus on the importance of these operating statistics.
Appendix- finally, the appendix provides an overview of the survey methodology and detailed information on the calculation of the financial ratios used in the report.

As seen in 2007, the Profit Planning Group, the well regarded association profitability and compensation analysis firm, managed the survey. Members' proprietary financial data was kept strictly confidential.

The survey results and final reports were provided at no cost to those firms that participated in the study. The Performance Analysis Report is available to non-participants through the MIA Bookstore. MIA Members price is $299.00 U.S. (non-members $549.00). For further information, go to store.marble-institute.com and click on the "Business Management" tab.