Real Value, Inc.
A Success Model Built on Technology, Pricing and Quality
by Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Real Value, Inc (Mouse over photos for captions)
When Real Value, Inc., one of the highest-quality fabricators in Columbia, South Carolina opened its doors, it was with a comparatively smaller workforce than its current total of forty-five. Now in its second decade and with a second location in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company serves its clients by offering exotic materials and custom edge designs for both residential and commercial applications. Moreover, the company’s commitment to growth and increased production has positioned them to be one of the highest production per square foot fabricators in the Southeast.
Highly mechanized and strategically positioned, Real Value has achieved a commanding lead by way of its high-caliber personnel in its day-to-day operation, and pinpoint accuracy while guiding its future. Additionally, the company has recaptured and kept its market of upscale demographic through impeccable ethics, high standards and a hands-on, long-term approach. Cabinets and fixtures are also a large part of the company’s success.
Discerning clients, wanting one-stop shopping, can visit either showroom and work with the company’s talented sales staff to create their one-of-a-kind dream kitchen. Constantly in search of high-tech upgrades to increase production, the company plans on investing heavily in new technology in coming years. Moreover, that strategy is constantly underscored by the company’s relentless search for talented people to address those projected needs.
Chronicling Twenty-One Years of Success
In case you’re wondering, the impetus for this aggressive business model was that of Syed Ahamed, Owner and Creator of Real Value. “I came to the U.S. in 1992 and knew I had to do something. I used to read magazine articles about stone fabrication in the United States. Many of those magazines, at the time, said there was very little use of technology,” explained Syed Ahamed. “So I thought stone fabrication was a good field to be in, and I decided that Real Value was to be built using the best technology from the very beginning.
“So in 1993 we built a 10,000 square foot shop in Columbia, South Carolina and began fabricating kitchens. It wasn’t easy, but we did it! I had three employees and we all learned CNC together by doing and, additionally, through information given by technicians from Italy. At that time even vacuum lifters were new, so we had to build confidence that they would do the job. But in the past I had seen lifters and CNCs work, and I knew they were a worthwhile investment. In those days not many people had them. Prior to this I exported blocks from India and didn’t have any fabrication experience.”
Noting that he’s been a Braxton-Bragg customer from the beginning, Syed humbly admitted it was his intensive investment in new-technology and his people that inventively changed the calculus and laid a foundation for success, even through pending tough, unseen times.
“The number one thing that makes us different from our competitors is that we’ve been here for twenty-one years. We have invested and continue to invest in modern machinery for our shop, and have a lot of dedicated people to operate those machines. Our people are very experienced, and many have been with us for over a decade. We were one of the first to have CNC (Omag in 1995) in this area, and we continue to invest, when needed, in CNC saws, water-jets and line polishers. We’ve also invested heavily in digital templating.”
With an average slab output of 22,000-square-feet per month, ninety percent of the company’s current production is kitchen countertops using 3cm granite. Rounding out the final ten percent includes engineered materials such as Silestone and Caesarstone. Currently residential sales in the company’s two markets are getting better, with residential work being approximately seventy-five percent of the company’s total and commercial work the remainder.
“We sell to anyone who can afford our product, not just the wealthy,” now explained K.C. Stiglbauer, Manager of Real Value. “A lot of people are moving to this area (Columbia, S.C.) and we have a lot of custom home requirements at this time. Most custom home jobs are completed within ten days or less from templating, while turnaround for track homes is about three days. Just about every home in our market gets granite, so we supply a full spectrum of products to all demographics – Everyone from the millionaires to first-time home-buyers.
“Seven years ago we did have to resort to fabricating countertops for tract-homes. We had never done them before 2007-2008, but when everything went dry, we had to reinvent ourselves. During that time we were only doing 2cm. Since then our laminated jobs are much less, and we are using granite in ninety percent of our homes. Currently, we are catering to custom homebuilders, homeowners and commercial jobs such as hotels and offices. Acquiring other large accounts is also a nice part of our business these days, too.
“We’ll do just about everything. After the installation, our sales people will follow up with a visit, a phone call, or both. Much of the time our installers have the final say about completion; we trust them to make good decisions.”
According to K.C., the company advertises very little; most incoming sales are through word of mouth from satisfied clients. He also noted that the company has no formal (after the sale) maintenance program currently in place, adding, “We are well aware of a huge and growing market for service and maintenance and we are moving forward with plans to secure some of that market within the next six months.
A Sublime & Practical System
At any given time there are 7 employees in the office, 10 installers and 6 full-time templaters in the field, while a total of 14 employees work the shop. Additionally, the company has a back office of 8 employees residing in India that help with pricing, programming, and accounting. “We will send auto cad drawings to them and they’ll price them for us using Moraware,” explained K.C. “Invoicing and any backup programming for our digital machines can also be done. They have been a great asset for us, and perform a very important function within the company. Our in-house sales staff are very knowledgeable and know the market. Each one is highly trained to work with our clients or clients’ designers. We do not have any in-house designers, at this time.”
After digital templating, when needed, clients are emailed photos of their slabs showing seam location, vein direction and any vein-matched seams, splashes or cascades of matched components. They don’t do that for all jobs, just custom jobs. According to K.C. it has worked out well for them, with only a handful of unsatisfied clients in 21 years. Real Value is also a dealer for various brands of quality cabinets, sinks and faucets for clients wanting simplicity.
“At about the same time the recession began, we had made the decision to offer sinks with our countertops, and it helped out a lot,” noted K.C., adding, “We didn’t decide to sell sinks because of the recession — it just worked out that way. At the time, we had to be more competitive. There were some areas in this market that wanted one stop shopping, so we started selling sinks to go along with our countertops and cabinets. That was in 2008-2009.”
Shop Machinery
To keep up with production needs, the company maintains an impeccable cache of first class machines, including: two Montresor Luna 740 edge polishers; a Bovone edge polisher; two KMT Waterjets; an Omag CNC; a GMM Rotex CNC saw; two GMM bridge saws (Tecna and Eura); and a Fraccaroli & Balzan water recycling system to supply water. For worker safety, the company maintains seven three-axis custom made cranes that span most work areas.
As for safety in the fabrication shop, safe work procedures are reviewed on an ongoing basis, and are very hands-on. Being highly mechanized, dust is minimal and is not a problem, Syed affirmed. “We have a clean, organized shop and everything is done using water. We also have cranes throughout the shop. So as far as stone handling goes, it’s a safe, very good environment to work in.”
Both locations service a 125-mile radius, respectively, and both locations have showrooms: 4,000 square-feet in Charlotte, North Carolina and 1,500 square-feet in Columbia, South Carolina. The Columbia shop encompasses 25,000 square-feet, which includes over 2,000 slabs at any time, while the Charlotte shop comprises 20,000 square-feet. Both showrooms feature vignettes of stone countertops and cabinets, as well as samples of edges and colors.
As for its stone selection, Real Value imports most of its material by bringing in containers from Brazil, Italy and China, and purchases stone locally only when needed.
A Bright Future
K.C. Stiglbauer: “If you walk down the streets in Charleston or Columbia, in any given building, you will find our work. We are so busy that we just keep moving forward with homes, stadiums, downtown offices and complexes. We just do them and move on.
“Current large-scale projects include a local hotel and downtown office as well as an upscale home in Charleston with eleven fireplaces. Our future is bright, and we are looking to put more of our employees in charge of day-to-day operation. We are very fortunate and very appreciative of our customers and the repeat business that we’ve done with them over the past twenty-one years.”
Syed Ahamed: “We are one-hundred percent focused on customer satisfaction. We come in early, work hard, and try to satisfy the customer. We are always trying to streamline the way we do things by using better technology and by placing less experienced employees under the wing of our more experienced. So with all these things and more, we are hoping to increase our production by thirty-percent.
“I feel good about more investment in equipment, and next year we are planning to purchase a new saw and CNC. The thing is, is that we bought a lot of machines in 2008, and we haven’t yet used them to their potential—so we have the capacity to do a lot more work. At this time we are only running three of our four saws but will be putting that fourth on line, soon. That said, last year we did close to thirteen million dollars in gross sales. We are busy, and the future looks bright.
“At this moment, all fabrication is done in our Columbia, South Carolina shop, which supplies both locations. Once I am sure we have enough demand in Charlotte, North Carolina, we will be fabricating there, too. We are also planning to hire six more people soon.
“America is truly a great place to work, and I love working with our clientele in the areas we service, and hope to continually improve our services for them.”
Visit www.realvalueinc.com for more information on their projects and products.
