Eduardo Cosentino

During the C100 conference, Stone World’s editor, Jennifer Richinelli, had the opportunity to sit down with Eduardo Cosentino, president of Cosentino North America, which is based in Miami, FL. Cosentino, who recently celebrated his 10th anniversary as the head of Cosentino North America, shared his thoughts on the conference itself, the company’s business philosophy and infrastructure, as well as on the importance of building relationships with fabricators, distributors and the architecture and design community to make them feel a part of the Cosentino “family.”

What’s new with Cosentino North America?

EC: We have an exciting year in 2020. Every year we try to bring a new product/innovation to the marketplace. Here at C100, we are introducing to our main customers the new colors and designs that we are bringing to the market this year and what we are working on for the next couple of years. At the same time, we are not only talking about colors and design, but we try to provide to our customers new ways to do business.

Listening to what your father said in his opening presentation, Cosentino is about everyone being a team – including your customers, such as the fabricators and distributors. Do you also believe this contributes to the success of the company?

EC: Yes. If you believe that only by yourself you will have success, then you are wrong. You need the support of your suppliers and you need to work together with your customers to make sure you deliver to them what they need. If you put all of this together, there is no doubt you will have big success in the coming years.

Your design centers are popping up everywhere. There is even one in New Jersey near where I live that I pass often. How many do you have now, and when selecting a new location for one, what are some points/factors that are considered?

EC: We have different ways that we go to the market. We have what we call Cosentino Centers that are showrooms together with distribution warehouses where we keep our inventory. We also have Cosentino Cities, which are big showrooms in the center of the big cities in the world. We try to show the different applications that we can build with our products. At the same time, we try to facilitate access not only to architects and designers, but also to consumers. They can leave the experience knowing about a different application that we have and a new product that we have available.

Something that we are introducing right now is everything related with a digital transformation. It’s very difficult in a 3,000- or 4,000-square-foot showroom to show everything that we have. For that reason, with new technology that we are implementing in the design centers and city showrooms, we can show to all these potential customers all that we have – not only what they can do now, but also we can help them imagine projects they can be working on in the future.

That’s smart. Even sitting in the opening presentation this morning, you can see how with the large screens and music you can really draw people in. It’s amazing.

EC: Exactly. Today, we can play with the technology and show what they can build. They not only can have our product, but they can see how they can use it with other products to build something for the future.

Obviously, fabricators are an important part of your family too. How does that work? Do they become certified?

EC: Certified is not the right word. In North America, we have 7,000 fabricators who work with Cosentino today. We sell to all of them, but we have different programs. We try to reward customers who are loyal to Cosentino, and of course, Cosentino with them. Ones who know how to fabricate the right way. These loyal fabricators work together with us to build a brand and to build a market. One program is called “WE.” That is for loyal fabricators to us. We also have “Dekton Ambassador,” which is more of a certification process. People that know how to fabricate the product, and at the same time, people who are helping us to push the product onto the marketplace.

So the idea is that with the fabricators being educated they can then pass along information to their customers and educate them on the product?

EC: Yes. When you introduce a new product to the marketplace, like Dekton, which we introduced in 2013, there are some challenges — like anyone who introduces a new product can encounter. During that time, we learned about what is the best way to fabricate the product, manipulate the product, etc. We try to share with all of the fabricators what is the best way to work with Dekton so they have a favorable business with Dekton. And for that reason, we created the certification for the Dekton Ambassador fabricator to make sure they can deliver to their customers.

I can see from when it first came out until now, when I go into fabrication shops, more and more are cutting Dekton.

EC: It is something that is growing. Like I said, we had a lot of challenges in the beginning, but today, Dekton is a reality. If you want to be the leader than you have to do something different and take the risk.

Lastly, what was the inspiration for the C100? What is the main message you want to communicate to your customers who attend?

EC: For me, there are several messages. First of all, like we showed in our presentations this morning, we want to help and work to have a better world — for children, the children of our children, for the future. I think Cosentino can help to build a nice future. The second thing is that we are here to make business and to be profitable. We want to show our customers the different things they can do for their business. For me, the most important thing in this conference is creating relationships. In my opinion, that is the best way to build a business. This conference gave us the opportunity to create relationships with our customers. It gives our customers the opportunity to create relationships with different fabricators within the industry. I hope during the conference they are able to come up with new ideas for their businesses, and we can start the year in a positive way for a positive future. For me, the best takeaway from this conference is building relationships.

Francisco “Paco” Martínez-Cosentino

From its start in 1979, Cosentino Group has continued to evolve to the innovative industry leader it is today. At its roots, the company is a natural stone producer, but it has expanded to owning several global brands of quartz and sintered stone products. At the heart of the company is Francisco Martínez-Cosentino, more commonly known as Paco. The founder and chairman of Cosentino Group gave an opening address to those attending the C100 conference, in which he stressed the importance of team work and continual research and development to maintain a profitable business.
Stone World editor Jennifer Richinelli had the chance to speak
with Paco to gain a little more insight into his business philosophy.

Through all the years since Cosentino started, it continues to be a leader in research and product development. What do you believe are the contributing factors to this success?

PC: First of all, we have a great team. We also have never launched a product and then just crossed our arms. You might have a good product and you have a moment and you catch it, but then it disappears. So you can’t rest. And if you think of the first product that I had, which was Blanco Macael marble, we would be totally dead right now if we just stayed with that product and not found others.

That makes sense. I see you are always thinking. Through all your years of business, what are your proudest accomplishments?

PC: Working with a lot of people I have felt that way. And to be honest with you, what makes me most proud is creating employment. When you have local resources and you are a business owner, you have to strive to create more richness, otherwise the whole local area becomes a desert. You have to create business. And to me, this is a deep personal satisfaction.

I want to thank you for inviting me to the C100. I have learned a great deal about Cosentino and I enjoyed your welcome speech. It has become very clear through all of the talks and your employees that I have met that you all care about each other and it is a team-working environment. Have you always had this business philosophy about teamwork or has it evolved over the years?

PC: I always thought that the “team” was an important thing, but I would be lying to you if I said I realized the huge importance of this from the beginning.

You have done a good job in realizing this and it shows in all of your employees that I have encountered, including your son, Eduardo.

PC: Thank you.

What is your favorite part of C100? What does it mean to you?

PC: To me, one of the most important things is to find out what is going on in the market. I want to listen to the people who are out on the street. To sum it up, I come here to learn.