Like many fabricators, Lesher’s company struggled with placing seams and matching veining, before turning to the Breton solution one year ago.
They now use Breton Vein Match on half of all jobs, finding it easier to do more complicated custom work, and expand their margins.
Who is Lesher Natural Stone?
We are a small family-owned business that specializes in unusual and custom work. Unique projects are what set us apart from the crowd.
We have been in operation for over 25 years now and we do a mix of commercial, residential and we also get into restoration projects.
How did your collaboration with Breton Start?
We considered getting a Breton saw 25 years ago and when we started looking again, we wanted a quality piece of equipment that had all the sophistication of today’s technology from a company with years of experience.
There was no trip through Italy this time, but we took a motorcycle trip down to Florida to conduct research at the stone convention, Coverings.
Why did you choose Breton?
We decided to go with Breton because of the company's reputation, quality of product and customer service.
We saw how much the Bridge Saw can do, the old bridge saw was a Simec and we had it for 25 years and it worked great but it cuts and you have to stand there while it cuts versus this which is so high tech, part of it is the vein matching and it comes with the camera that we can take photos of the slab and use it with the vein matching.
We didn’t set out to find vein matching software, it was thrown in a with a package, but we were really surprised with how much that helped.
The vein matching was something unexpected, and how much we use it now was extremely unexpected to us.
The products and the customer service are our favorite parts of working with Breton.
What is the best feature about the Vein Matching Software?
“The 3D formatting helps when presenting to the client. A little bit of flash goes a long way to instill confidence in the client that we are working with state-of-the-art tools and equipment.
The complete kitchen put together in 3D is very impressive and extremely useful that they are basically looking at their finished kitchen before slabs have been cut.”
How has the Vein Matching Software changed your process?
“I did not think the product would be of much assistance, but I was very happily proved wrong. The product is a huge help especially in working with products with lots of veining.
We used to do layouts on the slabs themselves with tape, this was the most time-consuming portion of the job, it used to take up to 1 week to complete one project.
The biggest challenge was laying seams and matching the veins.
Slab positioning has been the most useful in our highly veined slabs. It not only makes it much easier for us but also negates all the risk with the client because they can see it ahead of time and sign off with their approval.”
How has Breton changed the type of work you perform?
“We are doing more complicated custom work now with the software and machine.
Jobs that used to take 1 hour are done now in 15 minutes.
I like using the product for those multi-slab jobs since it cuts down on time.
We just did a restoration job that was milling custom molding, we had to bring in 3-inch-thick slabs of travertine from Italy and mill those to match existing molding the Breton Bridge Saw was really awesome for that.”
How has the square footage capacity of your shop changed?
“Our through-put square footage has increased greatly because we are getting through jobs more quickly.
We have been able to have more competitive pricing since we are spending less time on each job and saving money.”
Have you noticed any changes in slab waste since using Vein Matching?
“We have about 15%-20% less waste now due to how much of the slab is being utilized, this also saves money.”
How has Vein Matching impacted your labor costs?
“We don’t have as many man-hours on the machine which allows us to get more jobs through the shop since the jobs take less time and that Breton saw really runs itself, you put the slab on, and you walk away.
We run the saw all day and occasionally, we will have a night shift just so that we can get stuff through.
And if we are getting jobs done faster it just means we can get through more jobs, so our job volume has increased.”
Do you recommend the Breton Vein Matching Software?
“This software helps with a lot of the speed of layout, speed of cutting, confidence in our job and what we will deliver to the client. Ease of mind that everything is figured out ahead of time and the client agreed.
There was lots of interest from our staff and within a couple of days they could do the basics and within a week or two they were fluent with the software.
I would recommend that others get the software because it makes the work faster, easier, and more accurate.”
What are your plans going forward for the company?
“We always want to increase job volume going through. This year we are looking to expand our facility a little bit, grow our building and make more room for more slabs and have more room for growth down the line.
Our shop is getting full of our equipment, so we want to make room down the line for when we are going to need it. We are looking to start doing glazed ceramics in-house so we want to get a big kiln, there is a very traditional craft in Italy which is covering lava stone in glaze and then firing it, it’s usually used in outside tables, we want to bring it over here since it doesn’t really exist in the United States.”
About the Software
Breton’s Proprietary Vein Matching software enables users to transform their 2D DXF files into 3D renders. fabricators are able to map out multiple layouts and compare options, to select the perfect flow for each client and project, before ever making their first cut.
Users can simulate the light and shadows in the room through the software, replicating how veins will appear to a customer as sunlight moves throughout the day in the rendered room.
This unique feature saves fabricators time, money, labor, headaches, and most importantly, ensures a great experience for their clientele.
Incomparable Accuracy
In addition to the Vein Matching software’s computer generated visual aides, Breton provides a leg up through its accuracy in positioning slabs for the perfect match.
Users manage up to 8 slabs at once, of different materials and thicknesses through the Vein Matching software, streamlining otherwise time-consuming multi-slab jobs.
With improved accuracy, fabricators virtually eliminate material waste, drastically reduce time and labor costs, and deliver more premium work with significantly better margins.
Intuitive Software
Vein Match is an extremely intuitive software that is easy to learn. Operators show fluency in the program within a week, and are running i
t within only a couple of days.
Unlike 3rd party applications, Breton’s software is developed to work seamlessly with their machinery, and other programs, like Breton Touch.
Breton’s Vein Match automatically programs cutting cycles, and generates the tool path, applying unique parameters of the material used.
To learn more about how Vein Match can impact your business, write to us at machinesales@bretonusa.com
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