Touchstone Products Inc., Grandville, Mich.

April 13, 2008

While a handful of reputable companies in the state were already doing work in high-end limestone for residential buildings, there was clearly an opportunity for another business – stationed in the right place and operating under the right ideals – to make a substantial impact.
Deeghan, who’d worked in various capacities within the stone trade for over 25 years, and VanDyken, a business-minded entrepreneur, had been industry acquaintances for quite some time, and both wanted to focus primarily on dimensional limestone fabrication.
“Our goal in starting this business was to bring to west Michigan a facility capable of providing in-house production of finely-detailed, ornamental dimensional stone products,” Deeghan says, “that our customers did not have to outsource to fulfill their project requirements.”
Within the first two years, the pair realized they had the capacity to also offer fabricated natural stone for kitchens and baths.
“Our evolution as a business has always been determined by the wants and needs of our customers,” explains Deeghan, “As a result, we’ve had to stay flexible and let the market indicate where we should focus our attention.”
With this in mind, the pair set out to create a granite-fabrication business as well, and operate what essentially ended up being two almost completely separate operations under the same 10,000 ft(2) roof.
Deeghan and VanDyken enlisted the help of one of the area’s more-experienced granite fabricators, Rich Henderson, to complete the package. While the company’s founders focused on architectural limestone projects – including sills, coping, trim, balustrades, fireplaces, etc. – they gave Henderson the challenge of developing sales and handling production on the granite side of the business.

EFFICIENCY, GREAT PEOPLE & SOURCING
“The creation and operation of two nearly separate businesses under one roof was essentially an exercise in efficiency and productivity,” says Henderson. “For the most part, both sides of the business use the same tools and facilities, so you can create very different products while reducing overhead and combining resources.”
To fully exploit those efficiencies, the company operates a shop in Grandville, Mich., that houses four Park Industries machines – one Infinity, two Jaguars, and an Odyssey – running tooling from Diamant Boart and other companies.
All of the company’s employees are cross-trained on each of these machines to further maximize the efficiencies inherent in their business model.
“This allows us to operate with a great deal of productivity,” explains VanDyken. “Often times, one side of the business is much busier than the other. This works well for us and gives us some much-needed flexibility. Since all of our employees are cross-trained, they can fill in where and when they’re needed.”
This focus on a well-rounded staff of talented people is a recurring theme when any of the company’s principals speaks to what has made their company a success.
“It is vital to create a great team of people,” says Deeghan, “and we certainly have achieved that at Touchstone Products. Both Jerry and Rich have extensive experience in the stone business. All of our employees are experienced and well-trained. This is important because the material we work with is expensive and when mistakes are made, they are costly ones. Our employees are incredibly competent and I believe that is the key to Touchstone’s success.”
According to VanDyken, if finding, investing in, and maintaining a great staff are the most important parts of Touchstone’s success, then sourcing and offering great materials to customers plays just as important a role.
The company offers a number of limestone variations, sourced primarily from around the Midwest – including Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania – and Texas.
“Our offerings ultimately come down to what the architects, masons, and homeowners want to see,” says VanDyken. “Our job, from a marketing standpoint, is to make sure that all the architects and masons know that we can access just about any material they may need.
“Architects and designers have a lot of imagination and we can help make their ideas become reality.”
Henderson further notes that for countertop applications, Touchstone Products also offers a variety of natural stone, including granite, onyx, travertine, and marble, all carefully sourced through distributors.
“We’re certainly not of a size, in terms of volume, to warrant bringing in our own containers,” says Henderson. “For us, having reliable distributors helps us to stay competitive, and they act as a valuable source of information.
“And that goes for tool and saw suppliers as well,” he adds. “There are several equipment suppliers that we work with, like the guys from Diamant Boart.
“We also work with different stone suppliers and they have all helped educate us about the trade and the different markets that are of interest to us,” he says. “They’ve supplied us with incredible information and support. They’ve really been able to assist us in the technical applications of our work.
“Without the knowledge and service of the suppliers, we’d have put many tools on the shelf partially used, because they wouldn’t perform,” he adds. “Even with the best technicians and the best equipment in the world … if you don’t have the right knowledge about how to use them, they’re worthless.”

COMMUNICATION IS KEY
With a jack-of-all-trades mindset and a wide-ranging menu of products available to customers, Deeghan, VanDyken, Henderson and rest of the staff at Touchstone Products have plenty to discuss, both among themselves and with customers. This makes effective communication a key factor to the company’s success.
“We have a great deal of respect and appreciation for the architects, designers, and builders we work with,” VanDyken says. “Communication is so important because it helps us do our job correctly and we can also assist them as they do their jobs. We’ll supply them with samples, edge profiles, detailed drawings, cost estimating, and even photos of past projects we’ve completed and allow these options to be a part of their design.”
Henderson agrees.
“If you don’t have a reliable line of communication – keeping on the phone, visiting job sites, asking questions, addressing issues that come up – a job could end up being much more challenging than it should, especially when you consider all the different materials, edge profiles, sink and faucets combinations, etc.,” he says. “There’s nothing worse that getting halfway through a project and then learning that you have the wrong set-back for the sink, or the wrong edge profile, due to a lack of communication.”
But, despite their best efforts, there will inevitably be conflict when a group of creative people work to find a collective vision.
“There are certainly times when you’ve got talented people who have specific needs to be met, and that isn’t always easy,” says Henderson. “Some designers really put us to the test, making almost impossible requests. Yet, we are always willing and able to work with them.
“We communicate realistically what will work and together we reach the best possible solution for a particular job. In the end, everyone, especially the customer, is extremely pleased.”

COMPETING ON QUALITY, NOT PRICE
In the years since the company’s inception, much has changed in regards to the overall economic environment in which it operates. The boom times that the company enjoyed during its first years in operation have slowed, and there’s a more-competitive environment in the market.
During those first years, a multitude of new fabricators surfaced, each competing for jobs and driving down prices. According to Henderson, Touchstone avoided dangerous price wars by relying on customers who search for the best value, not the lowest price.
“We primarily work with a handful of excellent builders and designers, and they are the type to look more for quality and value than price,” he says. “They’ve played the price game; they’ve gone with the lowest quote, and they’ve determined that ‘cheap’ seldom equals quality and service.
“Our customers are willing to pay a bit of a premium for the quality and service they receive from us, and they see our integrity and quality as a valuable asset” he adds. “We tend to avoid the customers who are looking for a bargain. In all honesty, if that’s what kind of market a client is pursuing, there are plenty of our competitors willing to accommodate them.”
“The people who know quality and demand quality tend to be more-patient. They understand the complexity of the process, and they get what they pay for in the end because we maintain strict control of our process. If any customer finds even a small flaw, we’ll be out there to take care of things and make things right.
“We will literally strive to make them feel like they’re part of the family, and that’s been a huge key to how we’ve operated. Our customers are well-attended to, and that’s something you don’t necessarily get with the low-price fabricators.”
Judging by Touchstone Products’ continued growth, even in more challenging economic climates, that level of service and attention to detail is proving to be yet another key factor in running a successful, high-end shop.
Jake Rishavy is a freelance writer in Denver.