Kitchen Creations, Inc. – 25 Years of Innovation
by Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Kitchen Creations, Inc.
When Tony Culverhouse and wife Traci took ownership of Kitchen Creations in 1998, solid surface countertops were still popular. Kitchen design in ’80s and ’90s had seen to that, and their newly acquired company had its fair market share of sales in the Deatsville, Alabama area.
Early into the millennium, sales continued to flourish. Nonetheless, changes were needed, recalled Culverhouse. “The previous owners had been manufacturing their own solid surface sheets, and then fabricating and installing them. However, after deciding that we did want to stay in solid surface fabrication, but didn’t want to make our own materials, we began carrying manufactured sheets from Corian, Gibraltar and other various brands, and closed down the sheet manufacturing part of the company.”
However, the interior design clock was ticking, and time was slowly taking its toll on the popularity of solid surface countertops, while natural stone and quartz products steadily gained momentum. Again, continued Culverhouse, it was time for a change. “We had been buying containers of Hi-Macs solid surface material from Mike Guthrie at NuStone in Nashville, Tennessee, when he introduced us to Caesarstone. I guess you could say that offering quartz is what got us into the stone business. If we hadn’t moved in this direction, I don’t believe we’d be in business today, because we no longer do any solid surface work, or even get any calls for it.”
Staying In Control and Cost Effective
Kitchen Creations, Inc. is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, with current sales being 80% quartz and 20% natural stone. The company produces approximately 3,000 square feet of countertops per month, serving an average radius of 80 miles from their shop in Deatsville, Alabama. New or remodel builders and residential walk-ins are the company’s main customer base, but they will occasionally fabricate light commercial projects when profitable. Most clients have been acquired over the years through word-of-mouth, and come from a healthy mix of income demographics.
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Kitchen Creations’ 6,000 square-foot fabrication shop runs two BBM Paladin CNC machines, a Northwood SawJet, a Matrix Sebring bridge saw, and a Park Industries Fastback backsplash polisher. |
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“It’s a tough market here with some stone shops coming from outside of our market selling only on price, while we concentrate on quality and service,” said Culverhouse. “In our market, I feel we are one of the industry leaders, offering the best quality and service possible at a fair price.”
Culverhouse is not a big fan of laminated or mitered edges that require gluing. It’s this one fact, alone, which precludes the fabrication of Dekton or porcelain, he said.
“I’m not saying we won’t fabricate these products, but if we are forced to, we will do what we’ve gotta do. We have a very efficient and profitable system for working with quartz and stone slabs, and staying away from glued edges that are labor intensive is a priority.”
All work is performed in-house, including installations, said Culverhouse, adding, “I believe in doing three jobs in your backyard instead of one job 150 miles away. Everything I do is geared toward continuing to stay the most cost effective, cost efficient company. The market dictates what basically you can sell something for, and the only thing you can do is control your costs while offering the best product you can. I’m not concerned with what my sales are. I’m only concerned about my profits.”
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Above: Calacatta Valentin quartz kitchen, installed in a custom home new build. Below: Blue Garden granite island with Black Pearl leathered perimeter countertops, installed in a new build at a custom lake home. |
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| Below: Fantasy Brown leathered counters and island. |
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Kitchen Creations quality and profit control is also sustained through the use of a Northwood SawJet model SJ-127-D CNC saw and waterjet, a Matrix Sebring bridge saw, a Park Industries Fastback backsplash polisher, and a Zares Tool Calibration machine, while a Beckhardt water recycling system and Manzelli lifter with an overhead crane keeps the material moving safely in the 6,000 square foot shop.
Additionally, and of particular interest to this story are two new, state-of-the-art Paladin CNC’s manufactured by Better Built Machines (BBM). These stone routers are made in America, and designed to last using extreme specifications, such as large, 45mm, one-size-fits-all bearings throughout, a brawny spindle that won’t wimp-out, and self-lubricating friction areas to name a few. (See the September 2023 issue Slippery Rock Gazette for a review of this American-made machine.) The Paladin is also intelligently designed for easy maintenance, and to not be routine drudge work.
“Bryan Johnson, the Founder and Owner of BBM, and his people are all technicians who had worked on other brands of machines for years,” continued Culverhouse. “They know the real world of stone fabrication and machine maintenance, and the Paladin was designed by them from the ground up using a lot of acquired knowledge and common sense. The Paladin has all kinds of improvements over other name brands that make a huge difference. I would have never appreciated all these benefits, had I not had other manufacturer’s machines before. The Paladin is built to the highest standards, and their service and support is the best I’ve ever experienced. I’ve just bought my second Paladin, and I cannot say enough good things about BBM.”
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Above, Left: Calacatta Machia Vecchia quartz island and perimeter countertops installed in a builder client’s home. Above, Right: Bianco kitchen counters and island fabricated and installed in a display home. |
Culverhouse says there’s another notable addition to the company’s assets: a No-Lift-System install cart. Since its invention in 2015, this system has become an installer’s best friend by saving backs and extending careers, explained Culverhouse. “I’m always looking for better and safer ways for our guys to do things, and when I saw the No-Lift-System, I thought, ‘We definitely need one of those!’ But when our guys saw it, they said, ‘No, we don’t need that. We can carry countertops in!’ I told them, ‘You don’t have to show me how strong you are. I’m showing you how to do less work, save your backs, and last another twenty-five years as an installer.’
“Well, guess what? Now they love it! The original No-Lift-system was the best thing I’ve ever bought, and the new one we are getting this week has lots of improvements, including Power Tilt.”
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Above, Left: A Zares Tool Calibration machine keeps their CNC tooling balanced and operating efficiently. Above, Right: A new No Lift Systems Power Tilt has quickly become an essential part of their install equipment. |
As for Kitchen Creations’ ten team members, including wife and co-owner, Traci, who oversees customers and administration, Culverhouse said, “The commitment by our people is what has helped us be consistent. They are family and the lifeblood of this company, and they’ve been critical and key to our success. They make it happen every day.”
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Above, Left: Tony and Traci Culverhouse have built a solid company over the past 25 years. Above, Right: Part of the The Kitchen Creations fabrication and install crew. |
Simply Adhering to Basic Values and Ethics
“We have just completed two of our best years, somehow, during some of the most uncertain times. We have been very cautious while still trying to be optimistic, and built our customers through competitive pricing and reputation. We are not the cheapest in the area, and never want to be. We’ve always done what we said we were going to do, when we said we were going to do it. We’ve always told the truth and set customer expectations correctly. If you do all the right things, sales will take care of itself. It’s just that simple.
“That said, a few of the builders who left us over the years, and wound up having bad experiences with other fabrication companies, have come back to us and become our best customers. Nothing makes me feel better. They know why they came back, and I know why they came back, and we are taking excellent care of them, again. We are fortunate to have a good base of customers with most of them being our friends.”
Kitchen Creations, Inc. is a member of The Natural Stone Institute, All Slab Fabbers and The Stone Fabricators Alliance.
For more information about Kitchen Creations, visit www.kitchencreationsinc.com .