When Stone World reported on Bedrock Quartz Surfaces of West Jordan, UT, three years ago, the company was adjusting to accommodate a challenging business climate. Today, as the economy is rebounding, Bedrock Quartz Surfaces has continued to upgrade its equipment as it sets itself apart in the marketplace.

The company was originally founded in 1976, when David Jorgensen founded a business called Topcraft for laminate countertops. Over the years, David Jorgensen’s sons, Alan, Eric and Steve, began to work with him, and the company moved into stone and quartz surfacing. This eventually led to a name change in 2002, when Bedrock Quartz Surfaces was born. The company currently produces and installs a range of finished stone products, including countertops, fireplaces, paving, staircases, shower and tub enclosures and commercial work.

The product breakdown at Bedrock Quartz Surfaces is approximately 65% natural stone and 35% quartz surfacing, including Silestone, Hanstone, Cambria, Caesarstone, Q from MSI and Zodiaq. The company also sells Blanco sinks.

Bedrock Quartz Surfaces operates out of a 25,000-square-foot facility in West Jordan, just south of Salt Lake City, and the property includes a 20,000-square-foot shop/warehouse space and 5,000 square feet for the offices and showroom.

The company warehouses a broad range of natural stone and quartz surfacing, and its inventory is meticulously maintained. All slabs in the company inventory are photographed, and each one is fitted with a barcode label using the Slabsmith system so that they can be tracked at any time.

The production process

The bulk of the templating done by Bedrock Quartz Surfaces is completed using the Proliner system from Prodim, while some jobs are templated using PhotoTop. The company has two templaters in the field, and after a site is measured, they create shop/dimensional drawings for use in the fabrication facility.

Once the templating process is complete, the programmer adds elements such as the joints and the sinks, and the pieces are nested using Slabsmith software.

Digital layouts of the projects can be shared with retail customers as needed, particularly when a job involves materials with a high degree of movement and veining. “It can be part of the education process, and we also have ‘example jobs’ to show people,” Alan Jorgensen said.

In the shop, workpieces are typically cut to size using a Fusion 4045 combination bridge saw/waterjet from Park Industries. From there, they move onto one of two CNC stoneworking centers from Northwood. The CNCs are equipped with vacuum pods from Blick Industries, and tooling is primarily from Continental D.I.A.-Terminator. “We’ve been working with Terminator a lot lately,” Alan Jorgensen said. “They’ve been to our shop in person.”

Edges are also processed on a Velocity automated edging machine from Park Industries, and blacksplashes are processed on a Park Fastback. In addition to the bridge saw/waterjet, the company uses a Park Yukon bridge saw for cutting.

“ We scaled down during the recession, and as we are coming back, it is strained ” -- Alan Jorgensen

Material is moved around the warehouse section using an overhead crane, while workpieces in the shop are maneuvered using jib cranes, which are equipped with Manzelli lifters from GranQuartz.

Bedrock Quartz Surfaces currently has a total of 32 employees, including workers in the shop as well as installers, templaters, programmers and office staff. When hiring new employees, Bedrock Quartz Surfaces does not necessarily seek workers with stone industry experience. “We want people with construction knowledge who can work with a tape measure,” Alan Jorgensen said.

Sales and marketing

On the residential side, the company’s work comes from retail, builders, designers and cabinet companies. A typical residential kitchen project includes 70 square feet of stonework, and the company has five installation crews in place.

In addition to its extensive showroom in West Jordan, Bedrock Quartz Surfaces maintains a showroom in Layton, approximately 45 miles to the north. Typically, residential work is completed along Utah’s Wasatch Front, which comprises a radius of approximately 75 miles. For larger projects, however, the company processes material for multiple states, and it has processed material for projects as far away as Maryland.

“It is picking up quite a bit, and I think that will continue,” Alan Jorgensen said. “That is partially the market and partially the sales staff that we have in place.”

Commercial work includes projects such as restaurants, resorts and LDS temples, and the company also has a contract to process red quartz surfacing for Maverik, a Western U.S. chain of convenient stores.

Boosting the company’s stature in the national marketplace, Bedrock Quartz Surfacing achieved accreditation from the Marble Institute of America (MIA), considered to be “peer recognition of sustained excellence.” To earn MIA Accreditation, a company must complete an intensive, rigorous process that includes documentation of its business and employment practices, letters of recommendation, a written examination and site visits to the facility and completed jobs.

“It was a fair bit of work, but worth it,” Alan Jorgensen said. “One value in it is that it makes sure you continue to have the right processes in place.”

Speaking on challenges, David and Alan Jorgensen pointed to low-ball competitors and setting customer expectations. “We continually need to convince customers of what quality is,” Alan Jorgensen said.

One goal for Bedrock Quartz Surfaces is to establish themselves as a high-quality operation throughout the process. “We want people to be impressed from the time they drive up to our facility,” Dave Jorgensen said. “They should feel comfortable and develop a feeling of confidence before they even walk in the door.”

Looking to the future, the company is considering expansion of its workforce. “We scaled down during the recession, and as we are coming back, it is strained,” Alan Jorgensen said. “We need to determine when it is a wise business decision to bring on additional staff. Right now, we are doing four 10-hour days, and we are considering a swing shift. We can’t simply say, ‘We will just work more hours’ anymore.”  

---

Bedrock Quartz Surfaces West Jordan, UT

Type of work: Fabrication and installation of natural stone and quartz surfacing for residential and commercial applications Machinery: Fusion 4045 combination bridge saw/waterjet, Velocity edger, Fastback backsplash machine and Yukon bridge saw, all from Park Industries of St. Cloud, MN; two Northwood CNC stoneworking centers, which are equipped with vacuum pods from Blick Industries of Laguna Beach, CA, tooling from Continental D.I.A.; Manzelli vacuum lifters from GranQuartz; Slabsmith system from Northwood Designs; digital templating technology from Prodim and PhotoTop Production Rate: 7,500 square feet per month Number of Employees: 32