Spotlight on Business Johnson Marble & Granite A Family Legacy Paul Post

JOHNSON MARBLE & GRANITE A FAMILY LEGACY

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY PAUL POST

HERB JOHNSON III, LIKE HIS PROCTOR-BASED BUSINESS, IS A REFLECTION OF THE EXQUISITE VERMONT NATURAL PRODUCTS HE SPECIALIZES IN.

Johnson Marble & Granite has weathered all kinds of challenges, but keeps delivering high-quality, customized service that sets it apart in the increasingly competitive home building and improvement industry.

The firm was founded by Johnson’s father, Herb Jr., and occupies a more than century-old building that was once part of the adjacent Vermont Marble Company, which

closed in 1992. Work is done in much the same way as it was decades ago, with attention to detail and customer care. “There are no computerized machines here,” Johnson said. “My saw is probably an 80-year-old saw, but it works as good as any saw you can buy today. It’s nice to know you’re making something people enjoy. They’re looking at it every day. We have a little part in that, to make their house what they want.”

The bulk of work is kitchen countertops, primarily for owners of new and remodeled second homes in towns sur-

below Water sprays off the rear of a high-powered saw as it cuts a piece of marble to the desired length. right Herb Johnson III puts finishing touches on a monument.

rounding Green Mountain State ski resorts such as Killington and Stratton Mountain. But Johnson Marble & Granite also handles a variety of smaller projects such as monuments, sculpture bases and park benches.

At its peak, about 15 years ago, the firm had nearly a dozen full- and part-time workers. It was at this time, following the terrorist attacks

above Employee Mark Loso prepares to put a piece of marble on a high-powered saw so it can be cut to the desired size. below Mark Loso handles all types of equipment, including a polishing machine.

of September 11, 2001, that many metropolitan New York residents moved north and bought homes and property throughout Vermont and upstate New York.

“The economy was great for those six or seven years, which is the best we ever did,” Johnson said. “I could have had 20 guys working here if I wanted to. I could have put another shift on, which I’m glad I didn’t.”

Business fell off considerably when

78 the Great Recession of 2008-09 hit. But unlike many small firms, Johnson Marble & Granite survived and came out stronger in the long run.

“A lot of companies around Vermont closed because they had 30 guys and expensive machinery they couldn’t make payments on,” Johnson said. “We had no bills, we weathered the storm and slowly started picking back up again. Now it’s great. We’re busy all the time. I could use more workers, but I’m going to stay like this. At my age, I’m happy where we are. We take on just what we know we can handle. It’s easy to control quality.”

Proctor native Mark Loso, who’s been with the firm since 1983, is now Johnson’s sole employee. “It’s just two of us here so we both do a little bit of everything,” Loso said. “I just enjoy the fact that I’m working with my hands, with a natural product, making something nice for people’s

above Herb Johnson III handles a large clamp attached to an overhead crane that's used to move heavy marble slabs into place so they can be made into products such as kitchen countertops. below Herb Johnson III, left, and Mark Loso, right, are standing on either side of a large slab of Makrana marble, the same kind used to build the Taj Mahal.

homes that they’re going to enjoy for years to come. It’s the kind of work I like to do. It’s physical. When I go home I sleep well at night. It’s just my cup of tea. I couldn’t sit in an office or a delivery truck all day.” Johnson also relies heavily on a network of builders, which generates much of his business. In addition, subcontractors Tom Mullan and Chris Stephenson install finished marble and slate products, respectively.

Spring 2020 The manufacturing process starts with templates of the piece of stone that’s going to be used. These show exactly what needs to be done. “Then we put a 10-foot by 6-foot slab on the table and Mark cuts it to whatever shape that template is,” Johnson said. “A slab weighs about 1,000 pounds.”

Dark green and highly durable Verde Antique, White Danby and Champlain Black are the most popular types of marble with consumers. Johnson sources these products directly from area quarries or distributors.

However, he also works with soapstone and slate, from Fair Havenbased Camara Slate Products Inc.

Frank and Ettie Spezzano, of Brandon, purchased new marble countertops from Johnson several years ago. “We replaced old Formica,” Frank Spezzano said. “I think it’s beautiful. It really enhances the kitchen. It’s a very pleasant design and it

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matches the slate floor. Herb really did a good job when we worked with him to make the change. We’re very pleased.”

Johnson realizes that marble is somewhat of a luxury item, so business is only as good as the economy at any given time.

“I think the economy right now is doing good and it shows,” he said. “People are spending a little bit more. They don’t need countertops. When they’re buying them that means there’s a little extra money.”

His favorite part of the job is making and building relationships, with customers and builders, some that he’s worked with for 20 or 30 years. “So you get to meet people,” Johnson said. “We’re always doing something different. It’s not the same old thing every day. Every kitchen, every bathroom — they might look the same — but everyone’s different. That kind of makes it nice. It’s not like doing a 20-by-20 piece, hundreds

General Contractor & Construction Manager RESIDENTIAL | COMMERCIAL | HISTORICAL | INDUSTRIAL | MUNICIPAL P.O. Box 6150 Rutland, Vermont, 05702 • 802.747.7010 • Fax 802.747.7027 • WEB: VMSGC.com Thank you and congratulations to Johnson Marble and Granite. You provide a superior product and excellent service. of them, all day long, over and over again. Everything we do is basically custom.

“Sometimes I get called out if there’s a problem, luckily not very often,” he said. “If a customer calls and says there’s a problem, we’ll fix it. We stand by our product. I think people appreciate that. We care about customers.”

Deep down, the most rewarding aspect of his career is simply knowing that he’s keeping a family legacy alive that began with his great-grandfather, who came from Sweden to work at Vermont Marble Company. He and hundreds of other European immigrants helped make it the world’s largest U.S.-based corporation at one time. Johnson’s grandfather, Herb Sr., was the company’s chief marble expert for 54 years and his father, Herb Jr., worked there as well.

In 1981, Herb Jr. and Ollie Danforth started up their own business named Marble Gifts, Inc. At first they made rolling pins, bookends, lazy Susans and lamps, hundreds and hundreds of them. When Herb Jr. retired, Herb III and his wife Lisa bought the business from his father and renamed it Johnson Marble & Granite. At this point, the focus was no longer the novelty

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Initially, Johnson Marble & Granite was located near the present-day Walmart store in Rutland. Johnson helped his father move equipment when space became available in Proctor, after Vermont Marble Company closed, and eventually he took over. “We’re a small custom shop,” he said. “It’s going to cost a little bit more, but we can control quality better because there’s only two of us, and the guy on the road. Bigger companies have six or seven crews on the road. The communication gets broken down. With us, we all know each other, we’re a tight group. I think our work speaks for itself.”

-Open daily from 9:00-5:00 (hours subject to change seasonally) Paul Post is a former reporter for The Saratogian newspaper in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where his work was recognized in many state and nationwide contests. He also does extensive freelance writing for a variety of sports, business, regional and agricultural publications and he has written three books.

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