Advantage Stone Inc. focuses on craftsmanship

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A large slab of marble has just been delivered to Advan-tage Stone Inc., and work has come to a standstill. Everyone has filed into the company's warehouse-style showroom to inspect the new merchandise. |ret||ret||tab|

"It's like a work of art," said Steve Myers, as he ran his hand across the marble's smooth, glassy surface. "Every piece is different. Look here in the corner. There's a little piece of gold."|ret||ret||tab|

A master craftsman, Myers has spent 12 years of his life learning how to work with all different types of stone marble, granite, tile, terrazzo, brick and block. For him, working with stone is more than just a job. It's his passion.|ret||ret||tab|

Myers, who hails from Car-thage, grew up in the trade. In fact, he is a fifth-generation stoneworker. |ret||ret||tab|

Although he grew up in southwest Missouri, Myers honed his skills in the trade while living and working in Los Angeles. In 1993, he and his wife Cathy returnd to the Ozarks, and two years later, they opened Advantage Stone Inc.|ret||ret||tab|

Like many small-business owners, the Myerses wear many hats. Steve Myers is in charge of all of the hands-on work, while his wife Cathy does design specifications, project evaluations, estimating and some fabrication work. |ret||ret||tab|

In its six years of business, the company has racked up its share of high-profile projects. In one such project, which lasted more than two years, Advantage Stone cleaned and restored many of the granite, marble and stone fixtures inside and outside St. John's Regional Health Center, including the chapel.|ret||ret||tab|

"The pressure on a job like that is tremendous," Steve Myers said. "When you're moving big heavy pieces of granite and marble around there's no room for error. Many of the things we worked on were priceless."|ret||ret||tab|

Advantage Stone also has done repair and restoration work for area businesses such as Mr. Yen's, the West Plains Bank and Systematic Savings and Loan. Right now Steve Myers is cleaning and restoring a large piece of hand-carved marble statuary from China, which a local benefactor is donating to the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield. The piece features a family of lions.|ret||ret||tab|

Advantage Stone also works with many local building contractors, and the company has done custom kitchen countertops, bath vanities, bathtubs, shower stalls and fireplaces in residential developments such as Millwood, Rivercut and The Terraces. The Myerses also travel to different parts of the country to work on various projects. |ret||ret||tab|

"We have a Web site, which has helped us get some business nationally, but the main thing I have going for me is my reputation," Steve Myers said. "In this business, your reputation is everything. Being a fifth-generation stoneworker also has helped me because so many people have worked with or know someone in my family."|ret||ret||tab|

According to the Myerses, marble has become an increasingly popular construction ma-terial in recent years, thanks to better quarrying methods, which have helped increase selection and reduce price. In fact, Advantage Stone's customers can choose from more than 9,000 different kinds of stone that is mined in such countries as Morocco, Brazil, China and India. |ret||ret||tab|

Once the marble is delivered, the craftspeople at Advantage Stone inspect each slab and then cut it to fit. A large, water-fed, diamond-tipped machine is used to cut and size large marble slabs in-house while several smaller machines are used onsite to make adjustments during the installation. |ret||ret||tab|

Currently, Advantage Stone is working on several notable projects including the old Heer's building in downtown Springfield, and workers recently completed an extensive project for Wells House at South-west Missouri State University. |ret||ret||tab|

The Myerses also are in talks with officials about the construction that will take place at Jordan Valley Park. In addition, the company is bidding on work at St. John's Regional Health Center, which will spend an estimated $300 million during the next five years revitalizing and renovating the hospital. |ret||ret||tab|

"We just hired a national marketing director who is working with us to target more local and national business," Steve Myers said. "That will help us achieve our next big goal increasing volume."[[In-content Ad]]