Ohio Stone Flooring Maker's Business Booming

Youngstown, OH, Oct. 24--Russ Masetta is building a flooring empire out of epoxy and pebbles. Nature Stone, the company he and his wife, Antonia, started in 1989, has grown from a tiny operation to one with a reach that now covers virtually all of Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, according to the Willoughby, Ohio News-Herald. The Northeast Ohio-based company has had great success with offices in Youngstown and Columbus. Last month, marketing began in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Once sales in those cities are large enough to warrant permanent expansion, they, too will get Nature Stone offices. Nature Stone, which looks something like carpet made of stone, started out as a product Masetta designed to replace and beautify damaged concrete. Its uses and markets have grown over the years, including moves indoors to garage floors, the top-selling destination for Nature Stone floors, and basements. "It's virtually indestructible indoors," Masetta said. That confidence came only after years of research and development and through a constantly evolving manufacturing process. The epoxy resin Nature Stone uses to hold its stone in place has gotten more durable over the years, and the top coats now used on every job solved a weakening effect inherent in the early installation process. The company serves consumers in the rapidly growing home improvement market. Masetta expects to begin selling dealerships soon, allowing Nature Stone to tap even more of the massive home improvement market. Currently, the company has just one authorized dealer, in Erie, PA. But the demand for dealerships has escalated with the success of the company. "We get requests daily from people who want to sell it," Masetta said. Finding properly qualified installers can be a problem, however. That has been one of the stumbling blocks for Nature Stone. "There is no pool of quality, qualified installation professionals who can install the product," Masetta said. "Training installers takes a long time to get the level of expertise we expect. "I want to continue to expand into new markets as our finances and our manpower dictates." The company will also expand into home decor soon. Mosaics featuring the state seal and the logo for the Cleveland Harborfest were hits, and licensed Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Indians logos were in demand after people saw them on display at the Harborfest. But customers didn't want to incorporate them into Nature Stone floors, as Masetta had originally thought. They wanted to hang them on their walls. Nature Stone plans to test interest in a variety of wall hangings featuring licensed sports logos at an upcoming home show. Unlike the custom floors the company has produced all along, the mosaics can be mass produced. Masetta said he would probably stick to two sizes for ease of manufacturing.

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