After an early career on the manufacturing and distribution side, Ronald Horn decided it was time for a change and started his own fabrication business, Colorado Custom Stone. What began in 2002 as a one-man operation in a garage of a residential area, has significantly grown to a 30,000-square-foot facility in Denver, CO. Today, the company uses state-of-the-art technology, coupled with skilled workers, to output top-quality stone work. Colorado Custom Stone is proud to be an accredited member of the International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA), Natural Stone Institute (NSI) and a NSI Accredited fabricator and installer, which means it has met or exceeded a series of skills, safety, financial and quality standards that only a select number of hard surface fabricators achieve.
“I came from Mapei,” said Horn. “That career had taken off, and I ran several manufacturing facilities. I then left Florida and went to Phoenix to work for Arizona Tile. I didn’t know about all of these slab materials. I wanted my hands on them, so I said that with a ‘hope and a prayer’ I’m going to go for it.”
Horn explained his work space moved five times before settling into the current facility in 2018. “Denver was a sleepy town, but then I started seeing cranes everywhere,” he said. “I knew that I wanted to get into commercial work.”
As its name suggests, Colorado Custom Stone specializes in customized stone work. “We don’t do anything simple,” said Horn. “We do lots of attorney offices. We’ll do tenant improvements, boutique-style hotels, amenities for retirement communities or hotels, commercial food services, etc. About 10 years ago, we found a very good groove in custom work.”
The company focuses on high-end custom commercial work.
According to Horn, in the commercial world, 80% of the material he is cutting is quartz surfacing. “I’m a stone guy,” he said. “It is heartbreaking for a guy who loves stone. But we are starting to see a return to natural stone within the A&D community.”
The expansive facility holds approximately 480 slabs for commercial jobs, which are stored on Weha Buffalo racks.
One of the core values of Colorado Custom Stone is to manufacture in a manner that reduces the environmental impact associated with its company and the products it creates. “In designing our new facility, we put words to action and selected equipment that operates efficiently and uses minimal resources to operate,” said Horn.Water is used throughout the stone fabrication process, and Colorado Custom Stone chose machinery and processes that pull the least amount of water from city utilities. The company invested in a HydroClear water recycling system from Park Industries. “To get the most out of the water we utilize, the used water is circulated through our fully automated water recycling system,” explained Horn. “Starting with an in-ground trough system to capture excess water from the production process, the water is processed through several tanks for large particle capture. It then travels through a water filter press which cleanses the water to 99.8%.” Moreover, the company participates in a Stone Scrap Recycle Program. Rather than sending left over stone pieces to the landfill, Colorado Custom Stone takes the scrap to a gravel company where it is pulverized for use in road construction.
The Colorado Custom Stone team.
There are 14 employees at Colorado Custom Stone, and the company uses sub-contractors for installs. “We like the flexibility to go from two to five crews,” said Horn, adding templating is done with equipment from Laser Products Industries. At the heart of the operation is a Robo SawJet from BACA Systems. “Hands down, the Robo SawJet was the best investment we made,” said Horn. “It’s light speed. We get so much more of a finished product.” Additionally, the production area is equipped with a Yukon bridge saw and Pro-Edge III edge polishing machine – both from Park Industries – as well as an Intermac Stone Master CNC router and a Farnese miter saw. Horn and his team at Colorado Custom Stone pride themselves on their honed skills of stone craftmanship and their attention to the details. The company always strives to produce top-quality work, as well as being attentive to their customers’ needs. “And we always continue to invest,” said Horn.
