J&R KMS Custom Flooring in Las Vegas, NV, is complete with a 4,500-square-foot fabrication facility, which features two Johnson Marble Machinery B-300 bridge saws.
Less than two years ago, Monte Del Dotto, Koral Vaughn and John Pichenei joined their businesses to form J & R KMS Custom Flooring. With about 50 years of combined experience in the flooring industry, the partners believed that their expertise would help them meet the demands of the owners of commercial buildings and large custom homes. And to further satisfy the demands of the market, the new company included a 4,500-square-foot fabrication facility for natural stone.

"The merge came together about 11/2 years ago," said Vaughn, explaining that he and Del Dotto had been partners of a company called KMS for about two years. "J&R had been around for about 24 years - all they did was carpeting." Vaughn went on to explain that after a meeting between himself, Del Dotto and Pichenei, it was decided that the three men would combine their efforts and create one company to expand their market.

A total of 99% of the company's business is commercial work. Many of the jobs are for casinos in the Las Vegas area.
"Monty and I moved into John's warehouse - a 30,000-square-foot building in Las Vegas," said Vaughn. "It had been strictly carpeting, but now it's stone and tile as well. We always wanted a fabrication facility, but it takes money to do it."

Among the equipment in the facility are two Johnson Marble Machinery (JMM) B-300 bridge saws. "I've been in the stone and tile business for 18 years, and Monty has been in it for 25 years," said Vaughn. "We knew what we liked and what was available."

The partners were not only looking for saws that were manufactured in the U.S., but ones that could also handle the high demand of commercial and large custom home projects. Currently, J&R KMS Custom Flooring produces about 80 linear feet in countertops as well as the same amount in bases per day, according to Vaughn.

In addition to the two JMM bridge saws, the facility is also equipped with numerous air and water tools as well as an Edgemark Stinger edge detailing machine from Hard Rock Tool. "We're looking to get waterjet equipment by the end of this year," said Vaughn.

With most of its market currently on the West Coast, the company has several trucks to use for deliveries.
The fabrication facility is headed by two foremen - one who runs the actual operations and one who deals with the contractors and clients - as well as 16 workers. The schedule consists of a 6-day workweek with 10-hour days, according to Vaughn.

"Commercial work makes up 99% of our business," he said. While the company's market is primarily California at this time, it has plans to expand into the Detroit and Atlanta areas. "Right now we are working on a job in California - a new Indian reservation casino, the Rincon," said Vaughn. "We're working like crazy. We're doing the reservation desktops, bar tops, stone bases, entertainment bar, restroom vanities and cashier cage." The fabricator also explained that they are creating the buffet line from Ubatuba granite with an edge detail.

Additional projects that J&R KMS Custom Flooring are working on include the stone floor, vanity tops and bases of the executive suites at the Mandalay Bay, which are being remodeled. The stone flooring features large waterjet patterns, according to Vaughn. Also, the company is supplying 70,000 square feet of flooring around the event level of a new event center in Las Vegas called Orleans.