Cosentino’s COO, Brandon Calvo, shares how the company has grown its business through a robust distribution and expansion model

In this exclusive interview with Brandon Calvo, COO of Cosentino North America, he gives us an inside look into the company’s transformation in the region, growth plans, distribution model, and more.

From a few warehouses in the United States to becoming the only vertically integrated stone manufacturer in the world, Brandon Calvo, COO of Cosentino North America has seen the company transform through the years.

We sat down for an exclusive interview with Brandon, where he shared insights into Cosentino’s history, growth plans, navigating through challenging times, and much more.

Brandon, you’ve been with Cosentino for several years in different capacities. Take us through that journey.

It’s been a great journey of many years and growth. I began working for the company when I was only 24 years old, and we were just starting out in North America - there were about five of us. I was first with Stone Systems of Houston as General Manager and soon after we started working with the Home Depot account, which created demand nationwide. That’s when I started traveling, visiting customers, selling, and establishing a national fabrication network.  After several years in that position, I moved back to Stone Systems to help grow and standardize the fabrication business, which was crucial for us. During that time, we built and standardized the processes of 12 fabrication shops. I later moved into a divisional role (similar to a present-day Cosentino Regional Director) while also being responsible for Stone Systems in the Southeast territory. Finally, in 2008 we made an organizational change and I was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of the distribution business. Since then, we have grown from a few warehouses in the USA to a comprehensive distribution business covering all of North America.

Give us a deeper look into the evolution of Cosentino’s distribution model throughout the years.

Our distribution has grown tremendously in the past years. We started with a few warehouses and sales positions and then acquired another company with several locations on the West Coast. After that, we were off and running, and it’s been unstoppable ever since. We have grown our business across North America and now have over 55  Cosentino Distribution Centers and 10 Cosentino City Centers in the region. Our talent has also grown as we’ve added specialized roles in all segments. Our latest example is the Designer Sales Manager (DSM) position, which is a role dedicated to servicing our interior designer segment.

How does Cosentino’s distribution model put the company at a competitive advantage?

We are the only stone manufacturer in the world that is vertically integrated.  This gives us an extreme advantage in the industry as our marketing and sales efforts are in sync with our manufacturing strengths.

What are Cosentino’s growth plans for the coming years?

In the years ahead we will continue to invest in our teams. The aforementioned DSM role will be the biggest growth position in 2023.  We are also establishing a world-class manufacturing location right here in the US. We expect to break ground in Q3 of 2023 and look forward to the site producing Silestone slabs by Q4 of 2025. This is a huge milestone for Cosentino, and we are excited about what it will bring.

Dekton is a major focus for our growth as well.  Cosentino has its third line up and running, giving us new capabilities with a slab wide of 64” which is a game changer for shower wall applications, for example.  We will also be launching full body decoration in the third quarter of the year which will revolutionize the product category.

How has the company adapted and thrived under complicated times such as COVID-19, supply chain challenges, and increased demand, among others?

COVID was a major challenge for us, as it was for companies across many industries. During the first several months of the pandemic, we were met with declining demand, which caused uncertainty. Our teams’ safety was a top priority and we had weekly meetings to discuss health and safety and ensure our guidelines were in line with local government statutes. It took a lot of effort to navigate the pandemic in a safe manner, but we worked together as a team, and I am proud of what we accomplished.

Soon after, demand began to ramp up quickly, which presented a different challenge for us: manufacturing enough stone to meet that demand. Our factory did an amazing job at getting the lines back up and running and I am proud of the job we did to meet customers’ expectations during very trying and uncertain times.

Share some industry forecasts with us.

We’re excited about 2023, despite the new challenges that are always bound to come. We are watching how the market rates are curbing demand, but I know our market share continues to grow and our teams are eager to not only meet our customers’ expectations but anticipate their needs. We have some beautiful new collections coming out both for Dekton and Silestone, and our sales team is ready to go out there to continue developing those relationships and make sure all our clients are aware of the broad portfolio we have to offer. The sky's the limit!