B.C. Stone: A Measure of Success
A Reputation for Quality Speaks for Itself
by Joel Davis
Photos by B.C. Stone
B.C. Stone’s story is one of world-class quality, and they have a testimonial to prove it.
The Pennsylvania-based shop is being featured in an episode of ION Network’s “World’s Greatest!” television program this month. “They selected us to be world’s greatest granite fabricator,” said co-owner Rodney Bair with a touch of well-earned pride in his voice.
The company specializes in producing kitchen countertops for residences but also takes on custom commercial projects. It’s something they’ve done for about 20 years now. Quality has been the common thread through those years, Bair said.
“When we first started out... we were known for very high quality work,” he said. “That was very hard to get back in those days. The industry was pretty new. You had to do a lot of hand fabrication and had to figure out how to get some of the stuff done.
“Now you can not know anything about the industry and go out and buy machinery and produce a pretty good-looking top, but we still bring that experience from 20 years ago. What sets us apart is that we have that experience. A machine can’t do everything.”
Produced by How 2 Media, “World’s Greatest!” is described as “a fast-paced tour around the world featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews of some of the most amazing and unique companies, products, people, and travel destinations the world has to offer.”
How 2 Media thoroughly investigated the natural stone industry before making its choice, said Production Manager Kyle Freeman. “We did a lot of research into the natural stone industry, and we interviewed roughly 40 companies. We wanted to give our viewers an idea of what is available in natural stone these days and what is exciting and what people are doing.”
B.C. Stone proved to be the best candidate, Freeman said. “B.C. Stone had a great history and outstanding reputation. They had some good visuals we could film and had some pretty engaging personalities we thought could tell our viewers about the industry.
They had a pretty good handle on it. We felt like interviewing them was pretty dynamic, and that they could tell the story of natural stone to our viewers and tell it in a way that would be pretty exciting.”
In 1993, Bair and partner Travis Collins started the company. B.C. Stone’s origins lie in one of the fundamental quests of modern life: hopes for a shortened commute.
“We had worked for another company down in Frederick, MD, and we were driving back and forth every day — it was about a two-hour drive,” Bair said.
“We lived here in south-central Pennsylvania. We went through a slow period and had looked at doing something locally.
“... We decided to start our own shop. We quit the other job and started off with some hand tools and a small garage. Within the first year, we had bought a bridge saw and started to develop a clientele.”
Bair and Collins have more than 25 years of experience each in the stone industry, working as stone fabricators and artists in the Baltimore area before starting B.C. Stone in Everett, Pa.. Within seven years, the company had grown to 16 employees and had broken ground on a 25,000-square-foot facility.
“My partner, Travis, had been through everything with the other company,” Bair said. “He had started out installing and helping them develop their fabrication shop and was bidding jobs before he left. He was a project manager.”
The story of B.C. Stone is also one of learning experiences and a growing company that changed with the stone industry as it has matured.
“Twenty years ago, the industry was a lot smaller than it is now,” Bair said.
“Ironically, we thought we would work locally and cut out our drive, but we actually ended up getting clients in the Baltimore area and got a good name in that market for doing good custom work for designers. We kept growing our clientele.”
The business initially did work for some distributors in the area and for a few kitchen and cabinet shops, Bair said. “That’s where we mostly worked for the first 10 years of our business — the Baltimore area and some in Maryland.”
The business also worked in State College, PA, and Washington, D.C. during those years.
“We just kept growing our business,” Bair said. “We had made the commitment at that time to build a shop to our needs. … (We) bought some bridge saws and equipment and as the years have gone by we’ve kept upgrading our equipment.
At this new facility, we worked up from one shift to two shifts to operating three shifts around the clock. As we built our business, we started doing a lot of work in the Pittsburgh market.”
From there, the business began serving Harrisburg and leapfrogged into Philadelphia, Pa.
“Most of our work now is probably the Pittsburgh market,” Bair said, adding that Northern Virginia has proven to be a fertile market, too.
The shop has also jumped into serving some of the big box stores such as Lowe’s.
“The market has really changed over the past 20 years,” Bair said. “The big box stores have really pushed the countertops.”
Material choices such as quartz and engineered stone have become commonplace in the market, he said. “It’s really become more affordable to everybody. We try to keep up with that ever-changing market.”
Currently, the shop owns three Flow Water Jets, two Brembana CNCs, two Park Bridge Saws, plus a Park Wizard, Excell, and a Pro-edge. The company uses three overhead Kone Cranes in the shop and warehouse for moving materials, Bair said. “We were up to almost 80 employees by last year. We’re down to about 68 right now. We took on so much work we had to pull back a little bit.”
B.C. Stone’s commercial contracts include Cheesecake Factory restaurants and some casinos. The company has done commercial jobs including work on M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, and for legendary baseball player Cal Ripken Jr.
The company’s stone countertops are marketed widely due to an advantageous location, Bair said. “We ship those all those all over the country — from California to Florida.
“Although we’re in south-central Pennsylvania — you look around here, and it’s rural farmland — we are ideally situated for the different markets. We can reach a lot of population.
We are only two hours from Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Harrisburg and State College are only an hour-and-a-half from us.
In three hours, we can reach quite a bit of the East Coast population from where we are located. It’s a plus for us to be able to work all those markets.”
Bair emphasized that the company’s success rests on its employees. “We have been lucky to have fine skilled craftsmen, people who are willing to work hard and have pride in their projects. That would be another point that sets us apart.”
The role of craftsmanship is central to B.C. Stone’s operations, he said. For instance, once a piece is machined, a fabricator inspects the quality and does what is needed to bring it to perfection. “If he needs to re-polish an edge to make it look better or put fine touches on it, we do that.”
From ensuring all of the veining in a countertop runs symmetrically to cutting around the only flaw in a slab, B.C. Stone is committed to craftsmanship and delivering quality pieces, Bair said.
This can involve even the smallest details such as softening a corner, polishing a radius by hand, or crafting an inconspicuous joint to ensure it is perfect.
“It seems like a cliche, but we’re going to give high quality and attention to detail on every job,” Bair said. “We always stand behind it. Always do what you say you are going to do no matter what you’re selling.”
For more information visit the website www.bcstone.com or call 814-652-2397.