Slippery Rock Gazette

Moderno Porcelain Works Creates a Game-Changing Product

by Peter J. Marcucci

Photos Courtesy Moderno Porcelain Works

When the doors of Moderno Porcelain Works opened in 2019, it was 100% dedicated to bringing porcelain fabrication to the Houston, Texas area. Its CEO, Roberto Contreras was basically old-school, coming from a long lineage in the fabrication industry. To his credit, two notable parts of this lineage was being the founder of Cosentino U.S.A., the folks who gave us Silestone, as well as prior ownership of a fabrication shop in 1988. However, many of the old-school techniques he brought with him from natural stone, did not apply to porcelain, recalled Contreras. “It’s been a learning process. In the beginning, we thought that working with porcelain would be much easier, but it wasn’t, and that’s why we created the MightySlab™, as a solution to make things easier and faster for us.”   Today, Moderno has 13 locations nationwide, and 4 franchises.

Super Cost Effective and Fabricator Friendly

With so many Ultra Compact and Sintered materials on the market these days, what makes MightySlab™ different? For starters, these large format super-detailed slabs come in an assortment of fashionable colors, capable of pleasing the most discerning clients looking for a durable product to adorn their home or business, inside or out. However, the biggest difference and game-changer of MightySlab™ is not what’s on top. It’s what’s in back, explained Contreras.

“Ask yourself: why do most stone fabricators either shy away from porcelain or markup the price very high, or prefer to not fabricate it at all? Well, one reason is because when you cut porcelain, your cutting table has to be perfectly flat; otherwise, an uneven surface can break the material. For a company cutting granite or quartz, a table can be uneven, not perfectly flat, and it is not a problem. Conversely, when cutting MightySlab™, a stone fabricator can avoid this drawback, because of the reinforcement on the back side. The vibration of the blade gets absorbed by the MCB board, and therefore won’t chip the edge, and a saw table that is not flat will not break the material due to the blade’s pressure. Additionally, because you are using our 6mm material, you can cut and miter way faster!”

The Patent Pending MightySlab™ is created by sandwiching porcelain to 3/8-inch thick reinforcement known as MCB (Moderno Core Board), the same material used in the core of wind turbine generator blades. MightySlabs™ are 63 inches by 126 inches and weigh 120 pounds, big enough for any creative designer’s imagination to daydream of possibilities, light enough to carry upstairs or hang vertically, and tough enough to sustain whatever you throw at it, including sun, dirt and pollution. Contreras also said that unlike using thin-set for bonding during installation, MightySlab™ only needs construction adhesive. This in itself is a huge savings in both prep time and placement, especially when doing high, vertical installations that aren’t plumb. 

Above: Bridlewood residential kitchen features mitered and waterfall countertops and backsplash showcasing large format Arabescato porcelain material. The thinness of the MightySlab™ panels makes the extensive mitering easier to fabricate and install.   Below: MightySlab™ makes any vertical application possible, like this Black Marquina-clad fireplace.

Training and Learning Curve to the Rescue

Contreras offers hands-on training at your shop or his. Newbies to porcelain fabrication will appreciate being able to learn the tricks of the trade on Moderno Porcelain Works’ home turf, and also learn the machinery and the layout of the machinery that’s used in a strictly porcelain shop. “We have two gentlemen who will travel and do training as needed, but we also extend the invitation for fabricators to visit us in Houston, Texas. 

“Keep in mind that there is a big difference between us and natural stone and quartz fabricators. We have different equipment and handle it differently. The manufacturing processes are different, too. Unfortunately, sometimes you will not notice this difference until it’s too late, and you break a piece. The differences are the speed that you run the product through the oven, the length of that oven, the raw material that you use, and the age of the equipment. Is it old or new technology? These are the things that you don’t notice when you look at a slab of porcelain, but sometimes learn the hard way, if it breaks. Like natural stone, every brand, color or type of porcelain reacts differently to cutting, and that’s a big reason why fabricators get confused and push back.” 

MightySlab™ is also available in 12mm thickness, but Contreras suggests their 6mm product, because there is really no advantage to using 12mm – It just makes it heavier and more expensive. As for where to buy MightySlab™, he said there are currently 17 locations throughout the U.S. Thirteen are company owned, some are partnerships, and four are franchises. All of these locations fabricate with porcelain, while a few also work with natural stone. “We have a large inventory in Atlanta, Georgia, and we will ship any amount by common carrier to anyone needing slabs immediately.” He also said they are currently recruiting distributors, and that MightySlab™ will be more available throughout the United States by this coming September. Canada and countries south of the border will also be getting some consideration in the near future. 

Contreras went on to say that there is one more big advantage to partnering with Moderno Porcelain Works. “Any color that you may want is very easily replicated for us to produce. This cannot be done with quartz products. You can get close, but it will never be the same. Not so with porcelain, because it uses a digital printing process. So whatever color, from any quarry in the world or fabric or metal or wood that you want to copy, if you take a professional, digital picture, you can get it in porcelain. The technology has advanced to such a high level and the printing of the image is so realistic, that it can be copied to a T with all of the details.”  

Above: This floor-to-ceiling remodel utilizes large format porcelain in ways that marble cannot match.   Below: There are several reasons why porcelain is becoming a popular material choice for outdoor kitchens. Benefits include lower cost, durability, color choice and ease-of-care.

Below: This commercial project in Houston, Texas uses contrasting colors of MightySlab™ on floors and wall cladding. Benefits on large projects include cost savings, easier installation.

MightySlab™ offers fabricators and designers unlimited creative possibilities.

A Boon for the Renovation Sector?

Question: Is it possible, due to porcelain’s extreme reproductive accuracy, that it could be used to replicate certain portions of certain types of renovation work, such as in historic buildings or landmarks, where marble or granite was quarried decades or centuries before? Think about it! Instead of having to dig up documentation (if even available), stating what area of a quarry blocks were quarried, and where it was used on the original structure, a super accurate duplicate of porcelain could be made. Old quarries tend to either be overgrown or submerged at this point, and quarrying blocks is pretty much out of the question, leaving the renovation company no choice but to try and find a look-a-like replacement from a current quarry somewhere else around the globe. Good luck with that!

Unlimited Possibilities

“MightySlab™ is a way for the fabricator to do more work in a house and offer the customer countertops, fireplaces, outdoor kitchens and furniture that are on parallel with the beauty of natural stone. Additionally, pound for pound, dollar for dollar, porcelain is the best product you could use on a shower wall. There is nothing that compares to large format porcelain in a shower. If you put natural stone or quartz in a shower, it is not going to look the same after a few years, but with porcelain, you not only have the durability and zero maintenance, you have a beautiful shower. 

“As for countertops, there is nothing wrong with using granite, quartzite or quartz. Nevertheless, we believe that porcelain has a great future – you just have to get the fabricators comfortable with using the product, and MightySlab™ may be the solution. We don’t discourage anyone to use a material that they have in mind. We think this is very important, because if a manufacturer is spending money in marketing or specifying a product, we respect that, so we will never try to switch. That being said, if you come to us wanting Dekton, we will fabricate Dekton. ( It can be any brand of porcelain; in Moderno we never switch specs.) However, with MightySlab™, we work with it easier and faster, and it has tremendous advantages. The weight, the price and the speed of fabrication make it a no-brainer. We want fabricators to get out of their comfort zone of only doing countertops, and go back to the old days of doing all applications in the same house. With only a little more effort, you’re making a lot more money by doing a lot more business. MightySlab™ is lightweight, durable, transportable and a game changer, and this is the message that we want to convey.” 

Above, Left: Large format sintered stone fireplace clad in Taj Mahal. Above, Right: Contreras: “Porcelain is the best product you could use on a shower wall.”   Below: Black Maquina outdoor kitchen countertop and cladding is a durable option.

Below: MightySlab™ porcelain floor, matching wall cladding and vanity tops.

Below: Large format porcelain presents an almost seamless floor treatment.

Moderno Porcelain Works is a member of the National Kitchen and Bath Association and the American Society of Interior Designers.  

For more information on purchasing or distributing MightySlab™, visit www.modernoworks.com .