One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is to see new products and meet the people that develop them. Recently I learned of an exciting new product from USG Robotics called VeinMatch Software. Vein matching is difficult to do with the eye but mistakes are easy to discern and can be costly. Recently, USG Robotics president Tom Gust gave me an overview of the product in use at Marble Tech Inc. in Crystal Lake, Illinois. In addition to learning how the tools could be used, we discussed how the tool can improve the bottom line of the fabricator.

The VeinMatch system includes software that can be purchased on-line from USG Robotics and a camera that can be purchased at your local Best Buy or Amazon. By selling direct, Tom is able to keep costs low and share the tool with more fabricators. The process includes photographing your slab inventory with a digital camera and then using digital (dxf) files within the VeinMatch software to layout countertop pieces on a slab picture. The software produces a photo-realistic, web-based rendering that the homeowner or customer can view for approval, and also produces the output code needed to control the saw. A feature of the software that I particularly like is that the digital output can be used to create a template or to directly control cutting paths, depending on the technology level of the shop.

After thinking about what the product can do, I realized VeinMatch can improve a shop's profitability in at least three ways:

1. Setting customer expectation before cutting stone helps insure happy and paying customers after installation. The photo-realistic layout is web-based and people can evaluate the product from their own home, on their own time.

2. Vein matching software can subtly steer customers toward more interesting and more expensive stone. Just imagine the impact of book-matched counters in Blue Pearl.

3. The software can help maximize yield. Yield improvement translates to happier customers and better margins for the fabricator.

After watching the software in use for a few minutes on a computer work station, I was given the opportunity to "drive." Anyone familiar with CAD or any drawing program will find the software intuitive and quite easy to use. After testing it myself, I have concluded that VeinMatch is a great idea and offers a great opportunity for fabricator-customer communication. I recommend that you visit the website www.VeinMatch.com for a demo. It will be time well-spent.

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Thanks for reading,

Rich Hassert

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