June SRG

The Beacon of The STone InduSTry
www.slipperyrockgazette.net
All Slab Fabbers:
Different Groove
Fabricators Helping Fabricators
IThas been said by some pretty astute folks that the true sign of an expert is when his or her mistakes still look good. Unfortunately, getting to this level requires years of trials and scores of mistakes. From receiving slabs off the truck, to installing the final product, there are hundreds of things that can go wrong. Knowing them is
the key to avoiding them.
Regrettably, in a busy produc- tion environment, experienced coworkers, diligently doing their part, sometimes cannot keep an eye on their less experienced counterparts. Hence, old mistakes are sometimes revisited, and pro- duction is slowed.
Understanding these setbacks that silently await the unsus- pecting craftsman is the forte of Chris Hildebrand, Founder and President of Affordable Quality Marble and Granite in Aiken, South Carolina. With his many years in fabrication and a long background in heavy equipment, Hildebrand knows all too well the benefits of proper training, and recently created the All Slab Fabbers FaceBook group. What is the All Slab Fabbers, you ask?
Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Chris Hildebrand
Well, it’s a group of hands-on fab- ricators, from all levels of expe- rience who are brought together, either online or in person, ex- plained Hildebrand.
“There were a bunch of people who had followed me online for years and years, and a group was created, because I had a bad expe- rience with a machine company. I didn’t want people to make the same mistakes that I had made, and I wanted to get the word out. This group then evolved into fab- ricators helping fabricators, which was the whole point of me doing what I was doing.
“Well, the next thing I knew, these fabricators were talking about different types of machin- ery. Things like what machines are out there, what features to look for, and what to expect during a purchase. Then, during June 2019, we officially started the All Slab Fabbers, and within three months we were up to al- most 1,500 members.”
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All Slab Fabbers held their first workshop in 2019. The inaugural event was attended by about 150 fabricators, and several stone industry vendors.
Below: Geoffrey Gran, Countertop Factory Midwest, hosts All Slab Fabbers’ first Facebook Live event in April 2020, speaking on developing shop metrics, running lean, and fielding questions on current industry issues from the participants.
Braxton-Bragg Makes Significant Investment in People, Process & Products to
Redefine the Stone CNC Industry
June 2020 Volume 26.6
A Rock Group with a
B
equipment, as well as top industry executives, to inno- vate the way it goes to market. Six new sales associates and managers with extensive stone industry and CNC expertise have been hired in less than one month to irrupt the market.
In addition, the Braxton- Bragg team has brought an operations expert on board to manage the company’s new FREE shop audit program, helping fabricators streamline operations and inventory for increased profit and efficiency.
“Braxton-Bragg does not only offer great CNC prod- ucts at affordable prices, we are armed with industry ex- perts,” claimed Rick Stimac,
raxton-Bragg has heavily invested in CNC tooling and
CEO. “We have hand-picked authority figures in the stone in- dustry to propel our CNC pro- gram to industry-leading status. These well-respected experts have grown their respective ex- panding companies into thriving
companies. We have now brought this powerhouse of people under one roof to change the way we at- tack the CNC category.”
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