Back from the Brink: Stone World TN
Peter Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Stone World TN
It is sometimes mind-boggling, that in the blink of an eye, all our careful plans can be altered, and the course of a person’s life can change. We see these tragedies play out in the media every day, shake our heads in astonishment, and then move on, hoping that the unexpected never catches up with us.
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Local media coverage documented the swath of destruction, including Coqui’s shop, after the March 3, 2019 tornado that ripped through the region. |
Case in point is Stone World TN, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Purchased by Duan Coqui in 2011, Stone World TN was a medium-sized, thriving shop doing mostly big box and residential work. Sadly, the twist of fate that befell him out of the clear blue sky was an EF-4 tornado on March 3, 2019 – a tragedy that will never be forgotten, recalled Coqui. “I had gone home that night. Everything at the shop was running right. That morning, like every morning I watched the news to see how the traffic is doing. I knew there had been a tornado, and when I saw the news chopper flying above my shop showing the destruction, I said, ‘Oh, my! That’s my building!’ Funny, you think you’re on top of the world, and the next morning you wake up and there is nothing. Luckily, nobody was there in the shop that night.”
When the dust had settled, it was clear that the tornado had flattened the whole building. It had picked up a 20-foot container full of sinks as well as semi-trucks from up the road and thrown them into the building. Coqui, truly had nothing left, he continued. “It was scary! You know, when you see devastation on television, you’ve never really experienced it until you’re standing there and you see it right in front of you. My building looked like spaghetti. Then, the first thoughts that go through your head are, ‘What should I do now? Where do I start?’ It was total devastation, and you’re really helpless until you sit down and start figuring things out.” It was with an abundance of personal and professional pride, at this point, that failure for Coqui was not an option, and moving forward was the only option.
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| Recognizable bits of the Stone World TN shop can be seen amidst the wreckage: Left to right, their Water Treatment Technology system; A-Frame racks, still loaded with material; and heavy granite slabs toppled like dominos in the slab storage area. |
Leaving No Stone Unturned
His first sobering thought was that he would have to rebuild from scratch. Next, came the cold, hard reckoning about what to do with the fifty employees who could no longer make a living, he continued. “I couldn’t keep all of my team, so I found them jobs with the other fabricators here in Nashville. They were all willing to help me.” Hence, Coqui was able to keep 25 team members. Now, dirty hands, sweaty bodies, bruised knuckles and sore muscles was a daily challenge for the team members clearing the mess, while other members did the installations, explained Coqui.
“We had fabrication jobs and we had the measurements, and I knew most of the shop owners in Nashville. I also had really good friends in Atlanta, Georgia who had fabrication shops, so we made a plan, and had five shops fabricating for us. We would send them the material and the files, and they would fabricate our jobs. We would then pick them up and install them. This allowed me to keep my customers, because I knew that if we closed down for a year or two to rebuild, I would never get them back. No matter how loyal they were, they would have to use other companies, so I had to do something, even if it meant using other fabricators to help me, and that’s how we kept going.”
Stone World TN had again become a viable company. Money was coming in, and plans for a new shop and showroom were on the drawing board. Coqui had also created a remote showroom in Knoxville, 180 miles away, to supplement current and future sales. However, a new shop in the old location could be years away, so a location close to the old shop was needed, he continued.
“Nashville was growing, and it was very difficult to find a building with tall ceilings for an overhead crane, and lots of electrical power. I couldn’t find anything! And then one day I was cleaning up at the old location, when a gentleman from next door paid me a visit. We started to talk, and I explained that I couldn’t find an adequate building, and he said to me, ‘Man, you wouldn’t believe it, but I just had lunch with a gentleman, Ronny Wentzler, who has a couple of buildings here in Nashville. Let me call him!’”
Turns out, there was a 20,000 square foot building that was exactly what Coqui needed. It even had an overhead crane. A lease was signed and the stage was set to fill it with new machines, he explained. “At the time, equipment was very difficult to get, because fabrication companies were busy, and it was a six to eight month wait. However, there was a company that had ordered Poseidon Industries equipment, but when the Corona Virus hit, the order was canceled, and I was able to get that equipment. So it worked out perfectly for me.”
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Current Stone World TN shop equipment includes 2 Poseidon Industries T-REX 5-Axis Bridge Saws, a Poseidon Trident Inline Polisher, a BACA Systems Robo SawJet, and a Turrini Claudio water system. |
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That new equipment consists of two Poseidon Industries T-REX 5-Axis CNC Bridge Saws (one single table, one dual table), a Poseidon Industries Trident Inline edge polisher, and a dual table BACA Systems Robo SawJet, with a Turrini Claudio water recycling system to keep the clean water flowing.
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Above: Samples of the current work of Stone World TN show they are back in business, and even better than before. |
Sales are approximately 80 percent quartz with the remaining 20 percent natural materials or Dekton, with a simple eased edge being all the rage for the company’s builders, architects, residential owners and big box clients, explained Coqui. “Everybody wants a minimalistic look now, and eased edge is our most popular. At our old location, we were doing a lot of Lowe’s and Home Depot work, but I couldn’t handle it anymore without having a shop. So I gave up Lowe’s, and I still do some Home Depot, because big box pays my overhead, and it is always there.” Coqui added that very little sales are gained through advertising, while most is obtained through word of mouth.
With production cut in half, Coqui and company are still down to 25 team members who have stayed with the company through thick and thin, continued Coqui. “Were they going to go look at other companies somewhere else, or were they going to trust me and stick with me? There was a lot of uncertainty, but the ones who stayed made my life easier. They are very loyal, we’ve fought the battles together, and we are a family.”
“The Nashville market is growing, so it seems that anyone with a grinder is opening up a small shop. I hear about a new shop opening up every day, because it’s easy and doesn’t cost a lot. I think the biggest thing that keeps us ahead of them, though, is that we communicate with our clients and we meet our deadlines. If we give a date, we stick to it, and that’s one of the things that we pride ourselves on. I feel that in this day and age, people don’t communicate enough. We’ve also diversified into cabinet refinishing. If I’ve learned one thing throughout this whole devastation, it’s that don’t keep all your eggs in one basket. That is very dangerous. I also don’t have the need to import anymore, because Antolini has a warehouse right next to us.
“As for our old shop location, we still haven’t finished constructing the new building. It will be finished by February 2022, but I’m not sure if we’ll be moving back. Time will tell.”
Stone World TN is a member of the Knoxville Builders Association, the Nashville Builders Association and one of the first members of The Rockheads. For more information, visit www.stoneworldtn.com.