Brian Kauffman says his company can make your kitchen or bathroom look "stone cold beautiful."
Just like Renaissance Marble & Granite did with the New Jersey State House. And Commerce Bank (now TD) branches up and down the East Coast. And the suites in the Wells Fargo Center and Yankee Stadium. Limestone Calibration Machine
In business a quarter of a century, Renaissance fabricates all manner of stone — more than 100 varieties from around the world — into vanity tops, kitchen countertops, memorials, flooring, facades for fireplaces and decorative walls.
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The company services contractors, builders and suppliers throughout New Jersey and the Delaware Valley.
"We're probably the biggest fabricator in South Jersey," says Kauffman, who has been with the Gibbsboro company for 17 years. He bought the business in 2012 from founder Mark Hernandez.
Renaissance's 25,000-square-foot facility contains hundreds of slabs of marble, granite, limestone, quartzite and onyx.
"Most of the slabs are imported from places like Brazil, India, Italy, South America and South Africa," notes Kauffman. "Only a few are from domestic quarries.
"We get (the slabs) in raw form, we inspect and photograph each one, and then we cut them, shape them and polish them."
For the uninformed, granite and marble are very different from each other.
Marble is among the most elegant and luxurious of stones, but is susceptible to staining by many foods, liquids and other materials. Softer and more porous than granite, marble is more suitable for less-trafficked areas. Think bathroom, unless you have a lot of kids.
Granite is much more durable and functional. It's far more resistant to scratches, stains and discoloration and good for bar tops, dining tables and kitchen counters.
Prices can range from $5 to more than $300 per square foot.
Each slab can weigh up to 1,200 pounds, and the sheer tonnage inside the Renaissance facility is hard to imagine — and scary.
Clayton resident Ed Knorr supervises the "slab shop," where the stone is inventoried, moved, cut, detailed, polished and finished.
"Everybody here has had safety training and everybody knows to keep a safe distance," says Knorr, who has been with Renaissance for 23 years.
"Nobody is under a slab at any time. We can always replace a slab, but we can't replace a person. We've only had one minor injury since I've been here."
Kauffman says "millions of dollars" have been invested in the facility's machinery, which includes diamond-bit saws, bridge cranes that move the material and CNC (Computer Numeric Control) machines that cut the stone.
"We also have a robotic arm with a high-pressure water jet and a diamond blade saw that can pivot and turn," he explains. "It's CNC programmable, and there's not another one within a 500-mile radius."
All the water used during the cutting process is recycled at Renaissance, Kauffman notes.
"We clean the water and reuse it. They say it's potable — you can drink it. I don't know if I would, but that's what they say."
Sean Hoffman of Washington Township oversees all the computerized machinery at Renaissance. He has a degree in computers from Rutgers-Camden.
"Technology has come a long way over the last several years," he says. "We'll get a design and size specifications and I'll program it into the computer, telling it how and where to cut the stone.
"I love it here," adds Hoffman. "It's a great bunch of people and something new every day. One day it's a new commercial job, the next a new restaurant.
"It's not the same. It's challenging, but it's great."
Kauffman says Renaissance will do about $5 million in revenue this year.
"That's down from about $20 million during our heyday," he smiles. "We were hurt a bit during the recession and the decline in construction. But we made it through it. And now it seems like the economy is coming back."
Renaissance employs a staff of about 35 — more in the summer — "and most have been on board 15 years or more," Kauffman boasts.
"Our facility is all about the people. We have good people who do really good work, and we stand behind our work 100 percent."
Hydraulic Splittter Machine Reach Joe Cooney at (609) 332-5524 or jcooney@courierpostonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @cp_JoeCooney.