Slippery Rock Gazette

by Peter J. Marcucci

Photos Courtesy Smokey Mountain Tops and Greg Smits

Smokey Mountain Tops recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. This premier fabricator of custom residential and commercial surfaces has flourished by offering a diverse selection of solid surface, quartz and natural stone. With locations in Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee, Smokey Mountain Tops is jointly owned by Todd Scott and Tim Scott, and is the outgrowth of the brothers’ past experience in the laboratory case industry – countertops and fixtures used in a laboratory environment. 

Todd Scott recalls that many years ago,  the brothers were commissioned by a large manufacturer to design a more stylish work surface, and things just blossomed from there. “The Eastman Chemical Company, one of the biggest chemical companies in the world, wanted a laboratory countertop other than black and with nicer esthetics. So we came up with an acrylic, polyester formula, and started pouring our own lab countertops.”

 In 1994, working out of a 10,000 square-foot building, the brothers decided to get out of producing lab countertops and into the commercial solid surface market to compete with the local distributors and fabricators of quartz, taking the company in another direction. Scott explained. “We were now solid surface guys competing against quartz and stone. At the time, quartz was a new product in the market, and had some features and benefits not found in Corian or other solid surface products. It also had some characteristics of granite, such as hardness. I knew it was a new market that some people wanted to get into, so in 2001, I researched it and found Cambria, and worked a deal to get a territory from them, so that when we promoted it, we’d be the only one who had it.” 

Right: Residential remodel: White Soapstone, with custom builder Forte Building Group, Nashville, TN Left: Custom Onyx sink for Blackberry Farms builder partner FE Trainer, Knoxville, TN

New Products, New Markets

As more brands of engineered stone entered the market, Smokey Mountain Tops eventually began representing names like Silestone, Caesarstone and Han Stone Quartz, to name a few, further diversifying the company’s offerings. However, in order to purchase, hold and sell this much inventory, a second fabrication and sales location was needed. The decision to rent an existing building three hours away in Nashville, Tennessee was finalized, and a facility was up and running by 2007.,

Now jump to 2010, a time when a third and big change was in the works. Natural stone fabrication and local fabricators had gained a huge market share in the area, and it was again time to rethink the company’s position. Scott recalled, “As a company in both Knoxville and Nashville, we had developed very strong relationships. I didn’t want to not be able to fully service our customers. So adding natural stone was truly a relationship-driven process with our customers.”

Smokey Mountain Tops caters mostly to mid- and high-end residential builders, retail clients, and kitchen and bath dealers and commercial builders.

Their installation territory extends throughout the state, as well as adjacent states when called upon. Between both locations, shop space totals 63,000 square feet, while the average fabrication output is a whopping 28,000 square feet per month. A total count of machinery consists of 3-Northwood CNCs, 2 duel table BACA Systems Robo Sawjets,  2 BACA Miter X miter saws, 2 Park Industries CNCs, 2 custom built bridge saws of an unspecified origin, and 1 Paladin CNC by Better Built Machines, and 9 Laser Products  LT-2D3Dtemplate systems An Ebbco closed loop water filtration system, Water Treatment Technologies water filtration systems and three axis overhead cranes round out the safety and efficiency portion of both shops, while Moraware and Slabsmith software are used exclusively for job tracking and slab management. 

Above, Left: Reception desk for custom builder Grove Park’s new offices, in Brentwood, TN Above, Right: 50 foot Cambria Skara Brae bartop for Nelson’s Greenbrier Distillery – Nashville, TN

Below, Left: Caesarstone quartz Rugged Concrete mitered island and kitchen for a Knoxville, TN Parade of Homes Below, Right: Dekton conference room counters and table for Nashville, TN architect’s office

Keeping Prices and Profits in Balance

Clearly, Smokey Mountain Tops has a huge market share in both Knoxville and Nashville, and the area is competitive, so price does matter, explained Scott. “We do have to stay competitive with everybody else, but we try to offer more than just price. I’m not saying I don’t worry about it, but we do work on our relationships and service more than on price, and we are doing a very good job of it. So there are a lot of compelling reasons to use us. We sell about 10% more quartz than natural stone, and when we show a client samples and they pick one, it is strictly on what they like the look of, and then we obviously say ‘that’s Cambria,’ or ‘that’s Caesarstone,’ ‘that’s granite or marble,’ or ‘that’s Silestone.’ Our goal is to ask them what they like, what they’re going to do with it, and what kind of designs they have in mind. Then we’ll introduce what we think they’re looking for. We also give them all the literature. We don’t hide anything. We had our best year this past year, because we serviced the customer not based on brand, but on need.  

Todd Scott (left) and brother Tim Scott (right) co-founded Smokey Mountain Tops over 30 years ago.

“We are expanding into large format porcelain Dekton. We are trying to use it in the best applications for us and our customer. We have been successful with vertical applications like fireplaces, showers, outdoor areas where direct sun and lots on heat could effect the other surfaces. The fabrication is quite a bit different, so we are trying to be better at it. We’ve found that it is a little more unforgiving to work with, you have be more careful in how you cut and fabricate it. When you’re doing something new, your people don’t always love change, but it is what we have to do to stay on the cutting edge and to offer our customers the best options.”

Smokey Mountain Tops is a member of the elite stone fabrication organization Artisan Group. For those unfamiliar with this group, it is an assembly of fabrication company owners from specific locations around the country, who come together to share knowledge and solve problems. When asked about being a member, Scott said, “It’s been a great group. I’ve been a member for over ten years, and also serve on the Board, and have made some great friends. It has really been a sounding board for us growing up in the industry and learning from each other in order to share ideas without the concern of competing with anyone. We have annual meetings and shop tours, and that’s where we collaborate. Moreover, the knowledge gained, when sitting at the bar after hours, while having a beer and talking about business is just as rewarding as any of the other stuff. Because, in my opinion, this is where you open up and discuss concepts of different things that help you grow with your peers,  who value your opinion.” 

“I think we try to stay on the cutting edge with what’s new in the industry, and not just follow what’s happening. Our goal is to continue to lead the solid surface, quartz, natural stone and Dekton market. Hopefully, we will continue to not just be satisfied by market shares, and continue to stay educated on what’s next, so we can continue to grow. Each of our markets has different goals for growth, and we will jump through hoops to keep things right and keep our business growing like it’s done over the last thirty years. Last year’s growth was up 11% over the year before. Because we are conservative, we have paid as we go, so during difficult times not being over-extended has given us the luxury to not have to worry about paying for equipment.. We simply evolved with the times, and it has always helped us to be a better company.

“Additionally, we will continue to work on keeping state-of-the-art equipment in our production line. Wet cutting and safe material handling is going to remain our biggest priority over the next five years. Our shops are wet, and have always been safe, and we will continue to look for better ways to keep our people safe. You can’t run a business without good people, right? And it takes years and like-minded people to earn success, and I’d put our people against anyone else’s as far as quality and doing the right thing. Our 135 team members are extended family, and do a great job. Honesty and integrity is important, and a blessing in our business.” 

Left: Kitchen for builder partner Luna Custom Homes, cabinetry by Franklin Kitchen Center Right: Cambria Quartz mitered bartop for Neyland Stadium remodel, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

Smokey Mountain Tops is a Natural Stone Institute Accredited Stone Fabrication Shop, a member of the International Stone Fabricators Association, and several builders associations. Todd Scott was also recently appointed to the board of International Stone Fabricators Alliance as an advisor to its members, with the goal of promoting safe practices for all types of surface fabrication.

For more information, please visit www.smtops.com .