Cultured Marble Molds

Establishing a New Cultured Marble Factory

A cultured marble factory offers a great opportunity for those who want to manufacture bathroom and kitchen building materials for their local housing market whether they are in America, Asia, Europe or Africa. One can manufacture an array of cultured products with the right molds, equipment, training, support and raw materials. I have found that there is a huge demand for someone who is honest, hardworking, reliable and detail oriented who can guide those who are already in the cultured marble business and those who want to investigate the possibility of establishing a new factory. My intentions are not to sell hundreds of marble factories but to help those who want to get in to the business by buying the right cultured marble molds and equip their factory with sufficient tools and equipment for a viable business manufacturing cultured marble, granite, onyx, densified solid surface, and other cultured marble formulas.

I have seen many new cultured marble factories established over the years and the biggest mistakes I've seen people make in starting a new cultured marble factory is: (1) Being undercapitalized. (2) Paying too much for their molds. (3) Buying too few molds to establish a viable business. (4) Not having sufficient equipment to operate the factory therefore relying on expensive labor. (5) Not having proper training to produce quality products. (6) Believing hype and sales gimmicks instead searching out the facts. (7) Lack of customer support.

1) Before you start any new business, you need to have enough capital to buy what is required to set up your factory sufficiently and to maintain your business until it starts generating a profit. You'll want to take into consideration your overhead such as mortgage or rent, utilities, labor, advertising, etc. for a few months until you get on your feet.

2) Be careful that you are not overpaying for your molds, and my experience is nobody makes a mold comparable to those made in the U.S.  Most U.S. manufacturers produce a good mold that will produce up to 5,000 parts over its lifetime.  You'll get the same results from a mold regardless of what you pay for it so you're better off paying less per mold and buying a larger selection of molds to get a more diverse selection of molds that will allow you to produce more product (pounds per day).  If you can make 5,000 parts on a mold, that mold will have paid for itself many-many times over.  Always take your time and ask for references who are using their molds.

3) You will need to have a sufficient quantity of molds to produce enough product per day to sustain your business. Most cultured marble factories gage their production on how many ‘pounds per day' of marble they produce. Since you will be purchasing all of your raw materials by the pound, it makes sense to track your production by the 'pound' (pounds-per-day or kilograms-per-day) not by how many 'units' you produce each day. I have seen too many new cultured marble factories who started with too few molds and were not able to produce enough 'pounds per day' to maintain a business.

4) In manufacturing, you have to have the right tools to do the job. Every cultured marble factory requires a spray booth, vibrating tables, and a matrix blender. To be competitive in today's market, you will need a manufacturing system that includes conveyor lines and storage racks. I recently talked to a struggling factory who installed a total conveyor system in their factory one year ago. The first week after installing their equipment, they finished on Wednesday what it normally took them till Friday to complete. That's an incredible 40% reduction in labor cost. The conveyor system with multi level storage racks also required 75% less floor space. They have since been able to increase their mold inventory, added more mold storage racks, and have doubled their daily ‘pounds-per-day' production. This type of equipment is quite inexpensive and will pay for itself in a short period of time when you consider the increase in production and the huge savings in labor cost.

5) There are a lot of cultured marble type formulas that you can produce in your factory but what is most important, especially in the beginning, is to learn the fundamentals and basic principles and manufacture those products that will give you the fastest return. There are many tricks-of-the-trade in manufacturing any product and the same goes for manufacturing cultured marble. There are many costs saving tips related to raw materials and labor. Did you know that if a factory that produces 4,000 pounds per day reduced their resin content by only 1%, they would save over $1,200.00 per month? There are many senarios like this in a typical cultured marble factory, and they all add up to big bucks.

6) Before you dive in to the cultured marble manufacturing business, do your research. Get the ‘facts' before you invest your money because nobody cares about your money as much as you do. If someone touts that their molds are made out of some space age kinds of materials, promises they can be turned more times a day than anybody elses molds in the industry, guarantees them for an unrealistic period of time, your little antenna should go up.

I always recommend visiting a marble factory. This will give you an idea what a cultured marble factory looks like. I have taken many people on a factory tour and most will tell me they learned more in a factory tour than they had in all the reading they had done or pictures and videos they had seen.

7) Support is crucial in manufacturing cultured marble especially if you're establishing a new cultured marble factory. You need to be assured that you're going to get the manufacturing support you require before investing with any company. With all the various ways we have to communicate worldwide today, there is no reason you should not be able to get a reply from someone within a few hours, if not instantaneously. I'm in touch with people all over the world on a daily basis. I can call China or Africa today for less money than it cost me to call New York a few years ago, and the sound quality is oftentimes better.

8) Mold selection is vital. There is a huge selection of mold types and styles to choose from. Before making any commitment, research what products and styles will sell well in your area and make sure these molds are available. There are new trends in every commodity, and cultured marble is no different.

You can learn more about cultured marble manufacturing at Sunrise International Company.

Solid Surface vs Cultured Marble. What are the differences?

Back in the early 90's when I first began training at Tiffany Marble Molds, Solid Surface was becoming the latest craze in countertop materials so I included Solid Surface in the training program. Even though solid surface has been around for many years I still get questions from individuals who are interested in establishing a cultured marble factory who who are not clear of the differences between cultured marble and solid surface products.

If you are planning on establishing a new cultured marble factory, you may be debating on whether to also manufacture solid surface densified material. I'm hoping this article can explain the differences between Solid Surface and Cultured Marble, to both the end users as well as potential manufacturers. This will explain their applications and what is required to produce each.

Solid surface was initially used for kitchen counter tops but now it is commonly used for commercial installations such as hotel guest rooms, hotel lobbies, fast food counters, hospital counters, restaurant tables, public restrooms, etc., so there is certainly a good market for it. Solid Surface has become a popular choice because the product looks great, is very durable, available in a large variety of solid and granite colors, and requires very little maintenance. When someone mentions Solid Surface most people think of Corian, Avonite, or Fountainhead to name a few of the first competitors in the industry, but with the addition of some flat molds and some equipment, you can produce solid surface as well.

• Previous Posts:

• Establishing a New Cultured Marble Factory
• Solid Surface vs Cultured Marble. What are the differences?
• Cultured Marble Manufacturing System - Equipment and Molds for a New Cultured Marble Factory

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