Artisan group has inducted two new members onto its board of directors: Layton Day, owner of Bangor Wholesale Laminates in Bangor, ME, and Brad Pearce, Co-owner of Front Range Stone in Denver, Co.
Day and Pearce, both charter members of Artisan Group, are taking the slots vacated by Mike Birdwell, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Fineline Pacific in Seattle, and Don Hinckley, president, NBC Solid Surfaces in Vermont, after serving their two-year-terms.
Day and Pearce join Evan Kruger, president, Solid Tops in Maryland; Jon Lancto, president, Surface Products in North Carolina; Mitch Hires, president, Construction Resources in Atlanta and Gus Blume, president, Blume's Solid Surface Products in Pittsburgh to complete the board.
Bangor Wholesale Laminates was purchased by the Days in 1977. Layton Day began working in the family business in 1978 doing architectural woodworking, furniture repair and wood replacement windows. Bangor Wholesale Laminates was formed as a wholesale distributor of Wilsonart Laminate for northern Maine in 1980 and a postform cutting station in 1981. Solid surface was added in 1986 and Day became a CFI and Warranty Service Agent for DuPont. Day became a shareholder when a second location was added in Portland in 1992 to cover southern Maine. The move into quartz and stone began with installation only in 2001 with the addition of fabrication in 2006 at the Bangor location. Today, the company is a major wholesale supplier of laminate, solid surface, quartz and stone surfaces serving kitchen and Bath dealers, lumber yards, and big box stores for the state of Maine. BWL is a member of NKBA, ISFA, MIA, and remains to be the only natural stone fabricator in Maine to be MIA Accredited.
Brad Pearce attended Fort Lewis College in Durango Colorado and graduated from The University of Colorado Denver in 1997. Pearce and his partner Clark Lechner worked in a solid surface fabrication facility (STC) before starting Front Range Stone Inc. in May of 2001. During the first five years of operation they were able to double the sales volume each year and invested a significant amount in the shop equipment and processes. In 2005 Front Range Stone moved into a new 31,000-square-foot building that produces all granite, quartz and solid surface products. The initial focus of the business was in the builder market, which until early 2009 represented a significant percentage of the company's revenues. In 2009, they opened a kitchen and bath business, Artisan Kitchen and Bath Design, tying together cabinetry with the primary business segment of countertops, tile backsplashes and plumbing components to several of the company's national and regional accounts. Front Range Stone provides products to single family, big box stores, commercial, and multi-family projects in the Colorado market.
With 35 members and growing, Artisan Group covers most major markets in the U.S. and Canada, and it can handle a variety of fabrication needs from a local to national scale. Its members average more than 20 years of fabrication experience in the countertop industry, and all Artisan Group members have achieved, or have begun the process to achieve, full accreditation with the Marble Institute of America. The group is among the first granite fabricators in the world to be working towards this distinction. Collectively, Artisan Group surpassed $350 million in sales in 2009.
Brands of the Artisan Stone Collection include Exotic & Classic Granite, Modesto Granite (starting at $35/square foot) and Saratoga Soapstone. It also offers a marble collection as well as Heritage Wood surfacing products. Apart from countertops, the Artisan Group supplies the Firstline collection of granite care products as well as Kohler sinks and faucets through an exclusive specialty dealer program with the Kohler Company. For more information, visit www.artisan-counters.com
Brad Pearce, Co-owner of Front Range Stone in Denver, CO
Layton Day, owner of Bangor Wholesale Laminates in Bangor, ME
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