Fabricator Focus
Ceramic Tile Plus & Exclusively Yours Design Kahului, Hawaii
"We’re always investing to protect our employees."
All photos courtesy Ceramic Tile Plus and Exclusively Yours Design
By K. Schipper
KAHULUI, Hawaii – With companies named Ceramic Tile Plus and Exclusively Yours Design, it’s fair to ask, “Just where are the countertops?” The short answer is they’re sharing a 40,000 ft2 building at one of Maui’s main intersections with a mix of tile, luxury plank flooring tile, cabinets and even appliances. The longer answer is they’re an integral part of this second-generation family business. CEO James R. Doran III notes that almost half of the company’s 30+ employees are devoted to fabricating and installing two to three full kitchens every business day. Ceramic Tile Plus also invested almost $1 million to upgrade the shop and install robotic equipment. And while the upgraded facility is a boon to speed and efficiency, Doran says it also follows on something he learned from his father. “We’re always investing to protect our employees.”
"When I got the call, I came here to give it a year, and that’s been almost 21 years ago. It was a good move."
James R. Doran III
Family Affair
Although both companies operate under the umbrella of JRDoran Inc., Doran says the Ceramic Tile Plus name is the oldest. The company was founded 45 years ago as a tile business by his father, James Doran Jr., and one of his uncles. The Dorans and tile go back to James Doran Sr., who started a tile business in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Then, in the late ‘70s, he says, his dad’s brother came to Maui and saw an opportunity. “Construction was really booming here on Maui with lots of condominiums being built,” he says. “My father came out and agreed there was an opportunity, so they opened the business here in 1977. It was just the two of them, and they had a retail tile store, and installed tile.” However, part of the older Doran’s philosophy was to reinvent the business as opportunities presented themselves. For instance, the company added stone countertops in the 1990s, and – following his dad’s lead – the younger Doran is responsible for the expansions into design and cabinetry. The son’s involvement in the business didn’t begin until 2002. After the family move from Massachusetts to Hawaii, he says he spent comparatively little time in that state before heading back to the mainland for school. He was pursuing a career in higher education when his dad thought about retiring and gave him a call. “I’m the oldest son,” he explains. “When I got the call, I came here to give it a year, and that’s been almost 21 years ago. It was a good move.” Ironically, his father never did get around to retiring, working in the business up until about three weeks before he passed away in June 2017. “When I came back in 2002, again it was at a time when we wanted to expand, and not just be an in-stock tile store,” the younger Doran explains. “We added the Exclusively Yours Design component. At that point, our showroom was about 2,000 ft², so we took part of our 5,000 ft² warehouse (at a different location) and turned it into a design center with all special-order materials, more exotic materials, and new vendors to supply a broader range of materials.” The biggest change to the company’s fortunes came in 2008 when it purchased the property of a car dealership at what Doran describes as “one of the best traffic locations on the island.” The space provided both plenty of parking and a 30,000 ft² building that’s subsequently been expanded by a 10,000 ft² addition. (Another similar expansion is now under consideration). “We were able to combine the in-stock showroom and the design center in one space,” he says. “The addition is for our in-stock cabinet series. It’s a concrete and steel building. We’re in the tropics and we don’t want to have to worry about termites and that kind of thing.”
“We’ve improved our ability to reduce waste by not making mistakes.”
James R. Doran III
Improved Ability
The building also provides about 10,000 ft² of space for the stone fabrication shop, which can easily be described as state-of-the-art. However, it hasn’t always been that way. Like so many other shops, Doran says that part of the operation began with basic tools: saws, grinders, and a hose for wet fabrication. Later, the shop automated with Park Industries® equipment. Ceramic Tile Plus still utilizes one Park Industries Yukon® II saw and that company’s Pro-Edge® profiling machines. However, Doran believes it took a giant step forward when it added a twin table BACA Systems Robo SawJet and Miter X. “We’re the only place in Hawaii that has it,” Doran says. “We rebuilt our shop around it about two-and-a-half years ago and added their state-of-the-art water treatment system (BACA Pure Water Filtration System) last year.” The shop also utilizes a Laser Products Industries templating system, and Doran says he’s been impressed by how it has increased accuracy and reduced the amount of waste generated. “We’ve improved our ability to reduce waste by not making mistakes,” he says. “And then laying each job out with the BACA cameras in the ceiling lets us get the best use of the slab material.” Doran also committed to moving the shop completely to wet fabrication because of concerns about silicosis. If something must be worked dry for some reason, the company has a Weha Dust Wall. With the design center and plenty of storage both indoors and out, Ceramic Tile Plus also boasts the largest selection of countertop materials on Maui. The selection goes beyond slabs. “We stock about 80 different colors of slab material,” he says. “That includes granite, marble, and quartzite, plus we have a growing inventory of man-made quartz materials. “We were also the first people to bring into Hawaii prefabricated components. We stock about 18 colors of granite prefabs and another 14 colors of quartz prefabs.” The reason behind the prefabs is simple. The company’s business mix includes everyone from the high-end homeowner working with a designer or architect to contractors adding to the island’s inventory of second homes and vacation condominiums. “We just did 50 homes in Lahaina, where we did all the appliances, too, although appliances are not really the business we’re in,” he says. “We just finished 151 homes in Kihei where we did the countertops, cabinetry, tile and carpeting. We had another project in Lahaina where we did the countertops and tub and shower surrounds in large format tiles. And, we just specified the countertops in one development that has 200 units that we’ll start this fall.” Regardless of what materials the company is cutting, Doran says it’s also important to keep in mind that its island location makes for some unique challenges – and that was even before COVID upended the supply chain. “One of the things that’s unique about Hawaii – and I believe Alaska, too – is we’re doing mostly 2cm work, and it’s all laminated,” he says. “The reason for that is shipping. If we put in an order for 3cm material, the container is one-third empty. “In Hawaii, full-weight containers can go to Oahu, but when they’re shipping to the outer islands, they make us have less weight in the containers because the equipment isn’t as new or as strong These are just some of the challenges of doing business on the most remote place on the planet.” He adds that while the company has brought in 3cm slabs for special jobs, probably 95% of its work is 2cm.
"The team is so busy I don’t know how much more we could handle, honestly.”
James R. Doran III
"Good People"
Doran says many of his biggest supply headaches come from the tile side of the business, which also is facing the same tariffs on Chinese-made products as quartz slabs. However, Ceramic Tile Plus enjoyed some record months during the pandemic, as did many other shops around the country. “We were part of the construction exemption, and it was amazing how many people were remodeling their homes,” he observes. “They were off work; they were getting money with unemployment and the remodeling business was just incredible.” Still, Doran maintained a steady stream of advertising, even while admitting that after 45 years in business, “word-of-mouth is the best marketing you can have, especially in a small island like we are.” Much of his effort has gone into branding. That includes everything from hiring a company to manage the company’s social media presence to advertising in the local magazine Maui No Ka Oi, which translates to “Maui is the Best.” “We do some advertising every weekend in the local paper, just because we want to support the local newspaper,” he says. “And we do some radio advertising. I just started that again at the beginning of the pandemic because people were listening to radio more.” A major piece of that effort was to tell people Ceramic Tile Plus was open and participating in a local program to support local businesses. The radio also helped Doran let his customers know that he reduced hours. The showroom is currently open Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the early part of the pandemic, the business was only open weekdays. There are several reasons for that, Doran says. Among them was the desire by many sales employees – early in the pandemic – to stay at home to protect themselves and family members. Early on, he also had two people leave, with one relocating to the mainland. More recently, he’s also lost three of his cabinetry designers. “I’m trying to hire a few more people, but like everyone else in business today, it’s very difficult to find people,” he says. “Right now, I’m going to stay with these hours for the foreseeable future. I’m sure I lose a tile sale now and again to the big-box stores, but the team is so busy I don’t know how much more we could handle, honestly.” Doran’s use of the word “team” to describe his workforce is no mistake. The departing employees notwithstanding, most of Ceramic Tile Plus’s workers have been there for more than a decade. The shop manager has been with the company 28 years. “We really don’t have a formal apprenticeship program; we train in the shop,” he says. “We currently have 14 people who work in the shop, including the six who are our installers.” Doran works hard to keep his workers, too, and it’s paid off. Recently, the company was named one of the best places to work in the state by Hawaii Business Magazine – for the fifth time. Among the other benefits the company offers is participation in IncentFit, a program that rewards employees for healthy activities. “If they get their annual flu shot, they get $25,” Doran explains. “If they get their annual physical, they get $50. And, we added a $75 incentive for the fully vaccinated. It’s like with the flu shots; we don’t want to have half the building out with the flu in January; we want to incentivize staying healthy.” While Doran is justifiably proud of being the second generation of his family to run the business, he says he’s also extremely proud of his employee team. “They’ve weathered this pandemic like heroes,” he says. “They’ve made us successful because they’re here. We’re lucky to have amazing people that are a part of our ohana (a Hawaiian term meaning family in an extended sense of the term). They treat our clients well, and each other with dignity and respect. “They’re just good people serving good people.”
