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Professional Associations
Floorazzo Tile
John and Donna Sich, Owners
Retaining and expanding existing business in Chatham County is a top priority for economic development, especially in the current economic climate. One of Chatham County’s recent retention success stories is Floorazzo Tile, a rapidly growing Siler City business that manufactures terrazzo tile from marble and glass chips bound in a polyester resin. Terrazzo tiles are used in commercial, high foot traffic applications throughout the world. Floorazzo’s main markets include building lobbies, hospital operating rooms, and schools.
John and Donna Sich bought the factory’s assets from Stonetech 8½ years ago. The Siches spent their first five years in start-up mode, working out the kinks in the manufacturing process and then applying the same problem-solving process to their sales method. The last three years have seen rapid growth. Floorazzo estimates that in the next year, the company will grow from $1.2 million to $4 million in annual sales; in addition, they plan to double their workforce, from 16 to 32 employees
.Floorazzo’s location in Chatham County has been a key to their success story. The main East Coast terrazzo quarry is located in Liberty, only eight miles away. This short distance allows Floorazzo to maintain a lean operation by keeping their marble chip inventory and shipping costs low.
Floorazzo has not been adversely impacted by the current economic downturn. Thanks to their innovative manufacturing process, Floorazzo’s product offers an enormous cost reduction from traditional poured in place terrazzo. Sich says, “We can get the same life and maintenance cost for half of the installed cost of the traditional system.”
Future plans for the business include further expansion. Sich says he’s expanding the plant as fast as he can generate profits bur would like to find expansion financing. “We currently produce tile at the rate of 1,500 square feet a day and need to take the rate up to 4,000 feet a day to meet the demand we currently have,” he says.
As Chatham County grows, the Siches would like to see Chatham County focus on investing in its workforce, noting that access to a diverse workforce is fundamentally necessary for the survival of small businesses. Attracting additional manufacturing that can also utilize Chatham County’s workforce assets is a key step in growing the county.
Do you know or own a business that you would like to see featured in the Business Spotlight? Please contact Mari Howe at mhowe@chathamedc.org for more details.
