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The Beacon of the Stone Industry www.slipperyrockgazette.net
Teamwork and Savvy Judgement Fuel Growth at Premier Surface Design
September 2024 Vol. 30-09
“Build a company on a good foun- dation. Take care of your people and they will take care of your customers.” Entrepreneurs who follow those two sim- ple adages will almost certainly find suc- cess, and Premier Surface Design founder Chrys Bishop took this to heart when he
opened the doors of his company in 2014.
Strategically located between St. Augustine, Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida, Premier Surface Design is located in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Nearing its 10th anniversary, the company also has customers in to Daytona Beach, Ocala, Lake City and as far as southern Georgia.
by Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Premier Surface Design
From luxury high-end homes to the smaller, simpler jobs, the company’s cur- rent mixed bag includes walk-in residen- tial, big box stores and lots of builders. While developing these markets, Chrys Bishop was able to put his many years of sales experience to good use by growing territory and volume. During this time, however, his three original team members, using only a semi-manual Coch bridge saw and finishing fabricated parts by hand, struggled to keep up with the demand.
It was stressful, to say the least, recalled Chrys.
“In the beginning, I was very reliant on every person. If one guy called in sick, I was in trouble, because there were a lot of moving parts to our basic fabrication pro- cess! I was ordering material, doing the accounting, checking the templates coming in and checking the jobs going out. Now things are a little bit different. We now have an automated machine-based operation and a team that operates and maintains them. ”
Chrys shares the helm of Premier Surface Design with partners and family – brother Brandon and father Rocky. Along with PSD, they operate sister companies
providing cabinetry and windows. This relationship works well, said Chrys.
“If a customer comes in for counter- tops and needs one of our other services, we have them covered.” It is notable that Brandon came onboard Premier Surface Design a few years ago, and fine-tuned their day-to-day operations, such as data flow through the shop, scheduling and accounting. Additionally and notable, according to Chrys, is that the company is now fully paperless. Basically, if you don’t have a computer where you work, you will have a tablet. This includes all shop per- sonnel. “It’s amazing how this has reduced clutter, increased productivity and modern- ized our operations,” said Chrys.
Team Safety is Priority
In the beginning, like most small shops, Premier Surface Design was shaping fab- ricated components using dry cutting and grinding methods. Chrys soon realized this could not continue for long.
“We made a commitment to going fully wet, solely for creating a healthy work environment for our employees, That said, silicosis prevention is a really big thing these days, especially in California, and it’s just a matter of time until there are some requirements and our industry is regulated. How will this be instituted in Florida? I’m not sure, but better safeguards are needed.
“We just picked up a partnership with IKEA and their onboarding process was extensive. We just did a dust test through the University of South Florida. Their peo- ple came in and we passed with flying col- ors. They said that the new laws regarding silicosis and safe fabrication are coming, need to happen, and will happen. So, we know things will change. However, the shops out there that need to change with it, don’t need to go automated. There are a ton of other options.”
Now approaching their 10th anniversary, the Premier Surface Design shop is located in a high-growth area in Florida.
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