March 4, 1999
Stone from India builds a business here
By JON SAVELLE
Journal Staff Reporter
Contrary to what your sense of touch may tell you, granite is hot.
The stone's popularity for countertops and bath surfaces is greater now than it has ever been. And for that reason, the sale and fabrication of granite -- as well as marble and slate -- are businesses in a growth cycle.
Just ask Parminder "Peter" Pental. He is one of three partners in a stone wholesale company, called Pental Granite & Marble, that just opened for business on South Fidalgo Street, near the Seattle Design Center.
Though it is new to the Northwest, Pental is actually a 10-year-old East Indian company that's been active for the past six years in the New York area. Parminder said the company sells granite slabs and tiles it imports directly from its factory in Bangalore. There, a team of engineers guides production using high-tech Italian saws and polishers.
The resulting slabs -- averaging about 6 by 10 feet and only 2 centimeters thick -- are packed, along with bundles of 12-inch-square tiles, into containers and cushioned with plastic foam.
Parminder said he has ordered an initial shipment of 17 containers of granite, marble and slate. He is projecting demand for about 12 containers' worth each month to serve all of the U.S. West Coast. That's about 42,000 square feet of stone.
Pental will sell the big slabs only to qualified fabricators, although precut tiles will be available to retailers and contractors. For special projects, fabricators can obtain "book matched" slabs, or panels with mirror-image patterns on their surfaces.
"We want to protect the business of fabricators" by not undercutting them, Parminder said. He wouldn't reveal how much those fabricators will pay for the material.
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Partners Parminder Pental, Lokesh Upathya and Ravinder Pental show off one of the imposing slabs of granite on display in their newly opened Seattle warehouse. Photo by Jon Savelle |
That's roughly the same price as Corian, a plastic countertop material made by DuPont.
"It's all natural," Parminder said of his granite. "It has a better look, it's more elegant, and it will last for ever and ever. The trend of the market is, Corian is going down. The prices are the same, and people always prefer granite."
Although Parminder said his company has no direct competition as a producer and importer of Indian stone, the Northwest has other suppliers of granite.
The largest is Meta Marble & Granite in Seattle. President and partner Attila Kilic said he has a 30,000-square-foot warehouse where he stocks 6,000 slabs and 300,000 square feet of tiles in marble, granite and travertine. The material comes from around the globe: Spain, Greece, Brazil, China, India, Turkey, Norway, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.
"We import from every one," Kilic said. He does not view Pental as competition, rather as a company in the same business.
"When the business is done right, they are not competitors," he said. "When it's done wrong, they help you.
"I wish them all the best."
In any case, there is business enough for all. Kilic said the U.S. market for granite is growing because consumers here are not knowledgeable about natural stone -- and as they learn more, demand increases.
Fabricators have seen the trend firsthand.
Like every other fabricator in the Northwest, Wayne Simpson, of RAS Granite & Marble in Tacoma, has been contacted by Pental through its marketing efforts. He said the company's entry into the market is a response to the fact that demand is growing, and "they want a piece of the pie."
Simpson thinks it's a healthy sign, as long as Pental sells its slabs only to qualified fabricators and not to the general public.
"In L.A., the market became saturated," Simpson said. "In order to survive, many of the suppliers began selling to people who in many cases were not qualified to do the work."
As long as that pitfall is avoided, Simpson believes more competition will "sharpen" prices from distributors and keep the industry healthy.
"There's nothing wrong with competition," he said. "That's what keeps any industry viable. I'm optimistic about anybody that comes in."
At Pental, the office and showroom have been open only since Monday. It is located close to the Seattle Design Center purely for reasons of convenience for clients. Parminder said already some fabricators have brought their customers in to choose stone, which the fabricators then purchase.
In the showroom this week, it was easy to see why granite has such appeal. With colors ranging from a deep black with sparkling inclusions to swirling pink, gray and blue, the cool stone begs to be touched and examined. And, with names like "Black Galaxy" and "Paradiso Classico," the stone industry has clearly attempted to convey the idea that buyers are getting a natural wonder.
Consumers seem to agree. Ravinder Pental, who with Lokesh Upathya makes up the rest of the Pental Granite & Marble partnership, said all the fabricators they have spoken with are about six weeks behind in their work.