Sometimes, being the new kid in the neighborhood can be a good thing. In early 2002, a group of Colorado investors with no previous ties to the concrete industry decided they wanted to buy specialty precaster Eco-Stone of Colorado Springs. By May of the same year, the decision was made to move the newly named Signature Stone to Greeley, Colo. (about 60 miles north of Denver), and build a new plant that would serve most of the Rocky Mountain states and beyond. The new facility has been operational since April 2003.

Signature Stone's product line is divided into four groups. The company's bread and butter is its faux-stone veneer line, which comes in six styles with eight to 10 color blends per style. Greg Miller, general manager of the company, estimates that the Colorado market alone for stone veneer is about 4 million square feet per year. Signature also offers architectural products, such as column and wall caps and fireplaces; fences, typically sold to homeowner associations and home developments; and Redi-Rock, large landscaping blocks averaging about 2,200 lbs. each, of which Signature is a licensed manufacturer. With a market size that expands beyond Colorado into the Dakotas, Wyoming, New Mexico, parts of southern Kansas, and even California, it's not surprising that the company is anticipating a 12 to 16 percent improvement in sales for 2004 and is preparing to make the necessary changes to keep up with the orders.

DIRECT ACCESS

Miller explains that although the products offered by Signature are probably comparable to those of its competitors in some respects, his company offers a more direct line to such value-added functions as custom matching colors and textures of stones unique to the western Rocky Mountains. “Architects and engineers seem to really like the look of our product,” says Miller. “It's lighter, quicker to put in place and masons can put more of it in in a single day. The colors blend better, which is important to the large commercial projects we supply, such as restaurant and other consumer chain stores. We're also seeing a major boom in our residential business.”

The Greeley plant, showroom and offices are housed on 45,000 sq. ft. of a 4.5-acre property; an additional acre is reserved for storage. The faux-stone veneer product is wet cast resulting in a production rate of about 660 sq. ft. per hour or approximately 4,400 sq. ft. per day. (This is compared to 150 sq. ft. per day at the original Colorado Springs plant.) The operation's raw materials are fed from a split silo for cement, each with a capacity of 50 tons; and a four-compartment, 110-ton-capacity silo for aggregate storage. Advanced Concrete Technologies, Inc. supplied the MobilMat Model 45 plant with a 1-yd. pan mixer and skip hoist feed. This particular model is known for requiring a smaller-than-average footprint (about 6 ft. × 14 ft.) In the interim, pigments have been manually charged, although an automated dispensing system is scheduled for installation by spring 2004.

The mix is delivered into a modified hopper controlled by a foot petal, which opens one of two discharge gates. One leads to a 12-in. screw system that feeds the stone veneer line; the other goes to a conveyor that feeds a mixer truck for larger product. Since April, Signature has designed more than 2,000 molds for its two casting tables. The molded product is air dried in the heated facility, and at the plant's current capacity, Miller doesn't see the need to add curing equipment.

“Since so much of our operation is run manually, our's is a fairly labor-intensive business,” explains Miller. “We don't have any special touches to the way we do things. We have a hard-line approach to quality control. Before they are filled, each mold is checked for damage or flaws. Once the product is demolded, we check the molds again. This is one of the safest plants I've ever worked in, the consistency of the material is phenomenal and the ease of teaching batch plant work and cleanup to workers is a breeze. Since the plant started up in April, the automatic washup system has made it so we haven't had to put a single man in the mixer yet.

“We spent the first six or seven months of operation setting up our distribution network, work that continues today as we finalize programs with block and brick companies to sell our products. We're also in the process as we speak of getting certain products licensed. In 2004, we'll finally have time to focus on developing a marketing strategy. That's the main reason we're expecting such a jump in business.”

And Signature always has room to grow in Greeley if demand becomes overwhelming. “We've always got growth on the scope, quite a bit actually, Miller adds. “But we believe the system and capacity we've got in place currently can carry us for a couple more years at least.”