52 | Success cast in stone Pacific Stone uses top-of-the-line European machines to cut, polish and manufacture the benches. MANUFACTURING Pacific Stone T T Virginia Wright “We’re one of the biggest fabricators in the market, and we import our own stone, which means we can keep our prices very competitive with our own brand and keep control over our inventory.” Established in 1985, Tauranga’s Pacific Stone Ltd is one of New Zealand’s leading suppliers and fabricators of stone bench tops. The stone that is at the heart of their business comes from all over the world: Italy, Spain, China, India and more, with the specific stone used for a bench top dictated by the owner’s wishes, or those of their kitchen designer or architect, with slabs available to be viewed either in Pacific Stone’s workshop or those of their local suppliers. “Once a choice is made, we fabricate everything here in the workshop whether it’s from marble, granite, quartzite, travertine, engineered stone, porcelains or sintered stone,” says commercial manager, Rommel Dela Rosa. Accredited to the highest level by the engineered stone association (IMPAC) for the levels of silicon in their factory (or rather the lack of it), and their safety protocols, Pacific Stone take health and safety as seriously as they take fabricating their stone benches to the highest quality. They responded quickly to market concerns when issues around silica arose in Australia, switching immediately to importing low-silica engineered stone before transitioning to importing only silica-free engineered stone, including their own Pacific Quartz. “We’re one of the biggest fabricators in the market, and we import our own stone, which means we can keep our prices very competitive with our own brand and keep control over our inventory,” Rommel says. “About nine years ago we visited the factory in China where it’s manufactured to ensure that we’d have no issues, and the quality is really outstanding.” Reliable partners are essential when the job involves fabricating and installing literally hundreds of natural granite kitchen benches, vanities, mini-bars, laundries and fire-places for a single client, and they often work in partnership with suppliers when fabricating stone bench tops for an entire hotel complex or retirement village. Using top-of-the-line European machines (water jet and CNC) to cut, polish and manufacture the benches means they have no problems with the level of workmanship that goes into the manufacture and installation of their stone benches either, explains Rommel. “Our stonemasons are some of the most experienced in the country.” Not surprising then that they should have won the Most Trusted Business Award 2024, voted at the top of the list of stone fabricators by kitchen joinery companies in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty, which is where they do most of their work. “Trusted is the key word there, which I think is because of our quality and the customer service that we offer in the market. We know that we rely on the loyalty of our customers, so we prioritise quality above everything, but also from site measuring to installation we always maximise our time to give them the best turnaround that we can manage so they’ll come back to us next time,” says Rommel. Pacific Stone is based in the north, but thanks to their travelling sales teams, if you happen to be grabbing a bite to eat in the food court of Queenstown or Christchurch airports, it’s a Pacific Stone bench top you’ll be leaning on, just as it could be in your hotel bathroom, depending on where you stay in Auckland. Auckland 9 Turin Place, Otara, Auckland Tel: 09 274 8846 Christchurch 21 Wise Street, Addington, Christchurch Wellington 401 Hutt Road, Alicetown, Lower Hutt New Zealand’s largest wholesaler of stone GET IN CONTACT NOW! sales@universalgranite.co.nz
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=