* Name: Appalachian Stone
* Location: 6101 Mountain View Road, Suite 2
* Products/services: The brainchild of brothers David and Duane Zollinger, six-employee Appalachian Stone represents the retail phase of a plan to bring a full vertically integrated stone business to the Chattanooga area. The company has been in the quarry business for some time through its other company, 45-employee Majestic Stone, and now will be able to bring its stone from the ground to the customer without any middlemen, giving the brothers greater quality and price control.
* Age: Appalachian Stone celebrated its grand opening earlier this month.
* Startup investment: Chief Operating Officer Jerry Sterling said the Ooltewah location is just the first of a network of sales yards planned for the region. Each yard can cost up to $250,000 to get started, depending on market and regulatory conditions.
* Target market: Homeowners or builders who want a stone product that will give them a unique and long-lasting home design.
* Biggest reward: The principals have been in the stone business for many years, so they’re looking forward to finally being able to use their experience to help customers on a person-to-person basis.
* Challenges in the future: Expanding throughout the Southeast while remaining profitable is the primary challenge. The owners have tentative plans to expand to 15 retail locations within three years.
* Lesson learned: “When the going gets tough, the tough cut sales and marketing, then they go away,” said Mr. Sterling. He intends to continue to reach out to customers through the ups and downs of the economy.
* Five-year goal: Becoming more green, attaining LEED status at the quarry.