COMPANY HISTORY
June 2006
Austin Granite Direct was founded by Jose Berbel with an initial investment of $1,000.
In the first three months of operations, the company was run from the back of a pick-up truck, and the granite slabs were delivered to different competitors willing to cut the materials for a fee.
During the following months, operations were performed out of the backyard of a mobile home in Southeast Austin. Due to a lack of resources and equipment, the granite was cut manually with a hand saw and the slabs were handled with a rented bulldozer. Jose and a group of 5 workers still managed to reach almost $1 million in revenue in the first year, after installing over 18,000 square feet of granite.
July 2007
Austin Granite Direct signed a facility lease agreement for a 5,000 square foot facility at the 5214 Burleson Road location (Austin Industrial Park). The company stayed in that location for the following 8 years. Trent Thompson was hired as the first office employee for the role of Sales/Project Manager.
December 2008
The economy entered a full recession and home building in Austin practically stopped. Austin Granite Direct experienced some serious difficulties after two of its larger home builder customers defaulted on their payments simultaneously in the same month. In spite of these difficulties, the company managed to continue growing and preserving job consistency for all employees.
February 2009
Austin Granite Direct was awarded a contract to provide granite for all the rooms at the Keith Ware Holiday Inn Express in Fort Hood. This project was successfully completed in December of 2009.
January 2010
Austin Granite Direct became the first fabricator in Austin serving the retail market that stocks its own inventory of granite colors. The selection was limited to the five most basic and inexpensive colors.
October 2013
After years of fast revenue growth, Austin Granite Direct outgrew the facility. Large granite pieces were overflowing into the parking lot, and as a result, friction started to develop with the landlord, the Fire Marshal, and the neighbors. It was time to move to a much bigger building. Austin Granite Direct signed a new lease and moved to the current location at 6600 Burleson Road.
October 2014
Austin Granite Direct was named to the Austin Fastest 50 Growing Companies in Central Texas by the Austin Business Journal, for the first time.
November 2014
One of Austin Granite Direct’s kitchen projects was featured in the November edition of Southern Living Magazine, as a result of the Builder of the year Award received by our customer, Henley Homes.
January 2015
Austin Granite Direct remodeled the current facility to accommodate for a retail showroom where customers could stop by and make their selections.
March 2015
Austin Granite Direct purchased its current facility from the landlord.
October 2015
Austin Granite Direct was named to the Austin Fastest 50 Growing Companies in Central Texas by the Austin Business Journal, for the second year in a row.
April 2016
The material inventory at Austin Granite Direct reached 30 different color selections, including marbles, quartzites, calcites, granites, and engineered stones.
