Laura Grandlienard, owner of ROCKin’teriors, truly appreciates the beauty of natural stone. Her passion is bringing stone from the quarry to the kitchen -- among other places. This passion embodies each of her staff members since 2008, when Grandlienard founded ROCKin’teriors in Raleigh, NC. ROCKin’teriors provides a unique product, focusing on delivering a sustainable eco-friendly process with excellent service to luxury homes.
The company is proud of its talented team of 19 employees, with 15 in the fabrication shop – each a true artisan and craftsman who has been there for 10+ years -- an amazing feat in this high-turnover industry.
After nearly 15 years of laying out and cutting everything manually, ROCKin’teriors partnered with Park Industries and embraced new technology to help them deliver precision to their customers.
Becoming Fully Automated
After operating as a manual shop for many years, ROCKin’teriors embraced new technology in 2022 with a Voyager™ XP CNC saw. The company also added a Pathfinder® Slab Station, so they could digitize their vein matching and slab layouts. They are now fabricating digitally with enhanced production and efficiency levels. Both pieces of equipment are from Park Industries of St. Cloud, MN.
As Grandlienard and her brother, Omar, were expanding the shop and looking to focus on technology, they were ready to consider all of their options. Their previous cutting machine had such poor service they became used to waiting weeks for parts.
Omar and Grandlienard carefully reviewed many machine manufacturers. The customer service behind the machine needed to be top-notch because, as Laura says, the machines are the heartbeat of her business. From their research, which included talking to other fabricators, they learned Park Industries was an industry leader for customer service,
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Next, Park Industries sales consultant, Matt Zink, took the time to assess their specific needs and proposed what he thought could level-up their workflow. Grandlienard appreciates that Matt did not try to oversell her, and found the Voyager XP to be exactly what they needed.
Lastly, a big reason they went with Park Industries is because it is family owned and locally USA Made.
Grandlienard shares that they were scared and excited when the Voyager XP CNC saw was delivered. “We are blown away with how fast the Voyager XP cuts,” she said. “A project our bridge saw would have cut in hours, the Voyager XP cuts in minutes.”
ROCKin’teriors works with a variety of materials and thicknesses ranging from marble to porcelain. The precision and speed of the Voyager XP has made it possible to take on more complex projects, as well as a larger amount of work.
“The Voyager XP is a workhorse,” said Grandlienard. “It miters no problem. I can tell you with full confidence this saw has been a game changer for us. It has enhanced our productivity and efficiency. It is an amazing machine. We just love it.”
The Pathfinder Photo Station has helped fine tune the tiny details within the masterpieces created at ROCKin’teriors. “The Pathfinder enabled us to get the vein matching just right to make multiple slabs for a large kitchen backsplash look like one solid block from the quarry. We love it,” said Grandlienard, adding they even used it to vein match a marble staircase making it flow down the width of the curved stairs.
Grandlienard truly appreciates the beauty of natural stone. Her passion is bringing stone from the quarry to the kitchen -- among other places. | Photos courtesy of ROCKin’teriors/Park Industries
Creating Custom Masterpieces with Confidence
ROCKin’teriors embraced the transition from manual to digital quickly and its productivity levels have seen quite the increase. “Going digital has been a game changer for us,” said Grandlienard. “Our clients can send the challenges and more work right on over. We are ready to take it all on with our talented team and our efficient equipment.”
The variety of high-end, intricate projects ROCKin’teriors creates is endless. Their creative work is driven by their shared passion for natural stone, but the team at ROCKin’teriors has also mastered materials like porcelain and Dekton. Recently, they built a vein-matched wall of 60 slabs that soared 60 feet high.
“It was one of the most rewarding projects because it was something we never thought we could do,” said Grandlienard. “The Voyager XP and Pathfinder made it easy. These capabilities have given our team the confidence to say ‘yes’ to more.”
Another recent project was a Dekton infinity pool with waterfall edges. It took 20 slabs, extra waterproofing, the creativity of the team and the precision of the CNC saw to create the pool.
