Slippery Rock Gazette

Peter J. Marcucci

Photos  Courtesy Crowley’s Granite & Quartz

Imagine, if you will, growing up in a time and place much like the illustrations you’d see in a joyful, children’s storybook. A place where kids can simply be kids and parents can live without fearing for their children’s safety. Sound too good to be true, you say? Not so fast, I say!       

You see, the time was three decades ago, the place was Perzomaisk, Ukraine, and the folks were the Izoita family, recalled Dan Izoita. “I was born in Ukraine in 1985, and Perzomaisk was about two hours from Odessa. Me, my three brothers and sister grew up there. We had nothing to worry about growing up. During the summers, we were just wild kids. We’d get up in the morning, eat a little breakfast, and go out barefoot. We’d eat off the trees, swim in the lake, go fishing, hang out with friends, and just come home when it was dark.” 

Life was good, but by 1998, destiny was knocking at the family’s door, and the decision was made to leave their beloved Ukraine for distant shores, continued Dan. 

“The biggest reasons why we moved to America, and it was my parent’s decision, is because they knew that in America there was freedom of religion and speech, and the opportunity to be successful in any business. We also had relatives there, and they gave us an invitation to stay at their house, so my parents said, ‘Let’s do it!’ And without even selling our house, we packed up what we could, and with each of us carrying two suitcases and the few hundred bucks in dad’s pocket, we left for America.” 

This full-length island is complemented by a matching full-height backsplash. Crowley’s Granite specializes in rapid fabrication-to-install work for high-end residential and builder clients.

Dan Izoita and family.

Hello, Vancouver

Even with limited English language skills, Dan and his family stayed with the relatives for only a month. The kids went to school to learn the language and culture, while mom and dad went to work to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table. When Dan was seventeen years old, he opted to leave high school early, get his GED, and then go straight into construction-related jobs, he said. 

“My uncle had a tile business, and I worked for him. Later on, he opened up a countertop business, and that is where I first fell in love with stone fabrication.”

Years later, around 2007, at the beginning of the Great Recession, Dan began trying other ways of earning a living, including a few construction-related entrepreneur-
ships. One of them eventually succeeded, he recalled. “I kept trying, and in 2017 I opened up a roof maintenance company in Vancouver, Washington. I had taken what I had learned, and it was my first successful business. In just two years I had over 200 five-star ratings on Google. 

“I pretty much was the go-to-guy in the area, and I feel this was my official four-year college program where the courses included starting from scratch, learning customer service, marketing, and hiring and firing.” 

By 2020, just three years later, Dan began some serious thinking about the future. Should he go or should he stay in the roofing industry? “Do I make this company bigger, and do I even want to stay in this industry? So, I made the decision, that if I want to grow a company big and fast, I would need to buy an established business versus starting one from scratch.”

Good Bye Roofing, Hello Fabrication!

It was at this point that the search for an established business began, and a good indication of where the long, winding road was taking him. “I looked at a metal shop, an HVAC company and a few countertop companies, but they weren’t a good fit. Eventually, my continued research led me to Aaron Crowley, the owner of Crowley’s Granite and Quartz in Tualatin, Oregon. Aaron said he had too many things going on, and wanted to sell his business. ‘Are you interested?’ he asked, and I said, ‘For sure!’” 

If you have been in the stone industry awhile, the name Crowley may sound familiar – especially ciif you have been using a No-Lift Install System or Bullet-Proof Apron in your shop, or have been a long-time reader of the Slippery Rock Gazette (SRG). You see, Aaron Crowley is a fabricator, an inventor — and a former, long-time contributor of a stone business advice column for the SRG. He’s still giving his stone industry business advice via podcast ( www.aaroncrowley.com), and you should check him out.

Aaron’s a busy guy, for sure, and as destiny would have it, Aaron would eventually sell his 20-year-old fab shop to Dan in mid 2021. 

The sale was finalized, but not without some transition troubles. “Even though Crowley’s Granite and Quartz had a solid team and a good reputation, you gotta prove you and the company still have the right stuff,” continued Dan. “The bank pulled up every rock, and wanted to see every detail including insurance, Workman’s Compensation insurance, assets, et cetera. The list went on and on! As for the transition between Aaron and me, it went very smooth. I had been working there for over a month, so the team was already getting used to me.”

Most of the team stayed, with only one person being replaced, continued, Dan. “One of the things I learned from my previous businesses, was to not get family involved, not even my wife, just because it’s too personal, and if something does go wrong, it might not work out. It’s always tougher. There’s more drama, and it’s more complicated with family involved.”

Above: Fab shop equipment includes: Northwoods 2005 CNC;  Park Industries Fastback II, Park Industries Yukon Bridgesaw, Slab Smith digitization station, Sasso 600XL, Rogers air compressor for fabrication polishing and finishing, a water filtration system, a Kundle R Track series overhead crane, and two No-Lift install carts.

Above: Dan Izoita and part of the fabrication and office crew at Crowley’s Granite. Below: Neatly organized fab and tool supplies optimize shop performance.

Below: Overhead view of fabrication station end of the shop shows loading area for installation truck, and the configuration of the R-track rails.

Below: Panorama of shop floor also shows how very organized the shop is – and also a bit of the company culture.  Note the blue floor scrubber by the fork lift in the background – their secret weapon against encroaching dust.

Boosting Sales through SEO and Business Optimization 

Even though Dan’s newly acquired company came with oodles of loyal customers, a great rep and some word-of-mouth sales, more sales were needed. One big change Dan made early in his tenure was to update how people found the company. “I discovered that on the back end of the website, the keyword was Crowley’s, when Countertops would have cast a wider net. Additionally, it was on a platform for other types of businesses, and not stone, so we had to start from scratch. I found a reputable company that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), and building websites and maintaining them. Once we made those changes, we noticed a 300 percent increase in organic searches within three months, because everything on the back end was now setup correctly. Google could now recognize what the customer was searching for, and now it was clear what we were offering. They could put the pieces together, because the puzzle was not scattered. This has made a huge difference.” Huge, indeed! Dan reports his sales have increased by a whopping 25 percent over last year. 

Dan is also very proud of another improvement he made. “I came upon the concept of the Two Second Lean a few years ago, fell in love with it, and implemented it just this year. It’s very simple. All you have to do during the day is to make a two-second improvement in any motion or a procedure to make it work better or faster.” 

Restructuring to Meet Higher Demand

To compensate for the improved volume, a sales manager position and a director of operations position were appointed to two deserving, longtime team members. New team members were also added, albeit not easily, bringing the total to 22, Dan said. “The game has changed as far as finding and hiring good people, and we as business owners have to work more aggressively at finding them. They are out there, and when your company has a good culture, a good system and a good team, you will attract good people. We have seen this. I have three new team members just because they heard about us, and we will continue to welcome good people who want to work here. I don’t look at them like employees. I look at them like they are family, and that I have 22 families who have my back. I am amazed and proud of how committed every one of them is.” 

Above: Crowley’s Granite team gathers in front of the 12,000 square-foot facility. The large windows also let light into the shop area. Below: Before and after kitchen room views show a dramatic transformation taking place. Crowley's showroom monitor and website displays several of these before-after room transformations.

2021 Harvest celebration in the shop. Last year Dan started hosting regular company dinners, and plans to hold many more to thank his hard-working team members.

Even though the current showroom is on the small side — about 500 square feet — a large, high-def monitor is front and center in the room, displaying types of materials, edges and finished installations, explained Dan. “If there is one thing I learned from my previous companies, it’s that it doesn’t matter how big or fancy your showroom is. What matters is how good your sales team presents ideas, and if there is something we don’t have, or a customer wants to see a previous job, we can display it on the monitor.” Asked about sinks, faucets or cabinets, Dan says, “We are going to stay focused on improving our countertops and our profits, and at this moment it does not make sense to add any other services. Someday, if we added cabinets, it would be through the acquisition of an established custom cabinet builder, and not an addition to current shop production.” 

As for the equipment side of things (see photos, above), the 12,000 square foot shop includes a Park Industries Yukon bridge saw, a 2005 Northwood 138 CNC, a newly acquired Park Industries Fastback 2 edger, a Kundle R-Track 3-axis overhead crane, and a Wasseraufbereitung water purification system. Dan said that Slab Smith Digital Imaging Software and Moraware, job tracking and scheduling software, are important digital production assets. “Moraware is designed for the fabrication industry. It’s been part of the shop production routine for quite some time. It works great and they have made many improvements, but I’m aware there’s other software out there catching up with it, and offering more capabilities, more flexibility.”

Most of their fabrication jobs are high-end residential, with coverage that spans an average radius of 25 miles from Tualatin, Oregon. However, Crowley’s Granite is prepared to travel if needed to serve their mostly retail clients and builders. Materials are bought locally from four suppliers, with no current plans of dealing with quarries directly. Material sales ratios are 50 percent quartz and 25 percent quartzite, with the remainder being granite and marble. Dan also mentioned that there are four shops within a five-mile radius, but the service that he provides is unique and different from his competitors. “Everyone has their own niche. Ours is that we offer template to installation in six days, and that’s a very attractive option for our customers, why they have chosen us. We understand that they have to live in their house while we install, and they have kids and pets and they work, and have to schedule everything around us. We make it easy for them, with minimal disruption. That’s a win-win for the customer.”

Above: The earthtone veining in the Quartzite island, countertops and full-height backsplash offset the dark wood cabinets and copper range hood in this formal kitchen. Bellow: A large, high-def monitor expands the limited display space in the showroom by showing project samples and more.

Below: Quartz kitchen features extra-long counters and a spacious island work station / dining table.

Dan Izoita’s Philosophy

Dan was very up-front about his feelings for his adopted country. “What we heard while living in Ukraine is true. America is still the land of opportunity. There is still unlimited potential, and all Americans have the freedom and the opportunity to be successful. If you feel stuck or have problems, there is always a solution and someone there to help you, and if you see someone who is successful, don’t be afraid to ask them how they did it. It’s an amazing and beautiful country to live in, and as an immigrant, I am honored and thankful to live here.”

Dan is a member of the All Slab Fabbers group. For more information visit www.crowleysgranite.com .

Follow the video links watch the Crowley’s team in action, on their video channel and YouTube.