Matthew Qualey talks about his top SBA honor

Photo / Jason P. Smith Qualey Granite & Quartz President Matthew Qualey says the SBA recognition as Small Business Person of the Year gave his company instant credibility, along with two new clients.

Write a Comment

By Matt Dodge

In April, Matthew Qualey was named Maine's Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. His company, Qualey Granite & Quartz in Veazie, used a $200,000 SBA loan to help it expand and maintain an inventory of granite that offers customers a tactile experience they can't find elsewhere. Here's why it made a difference:

Qualey Granite & Quartz was started in 2003, initially to provide granite countertops for kitchens and baths. The business expanded in 2006 to Brewer with the help of an SBA guaranty loan through Bangor Savings Bank, which nominated owner Matthew Qualey for the award.
In 2010, the business moved into a new 50,000-square-foot facility in Veazie, which includes a warehouse and home design center. Qualey Granite now has contracts with several of the largest home renovation and supply stores in the region, and has one of the largest stone inventories north of Boston.
Qualey will be honored by the SBA at a luncheon on June 4 at the Spectacular Event Center in Bangor. The following is an edited transcript of a conversation Qualey had with Mainebiz.

Mainebiz: What does it mean to receive this SBA recognition?
Matthew Qualey: It's a big deal. To start from nothing, and then in 10 years go through this kind of growth, it has finally hit home. It's obviously a good thing when your bank likes you and [you're recognized] for what you've done. It opens a lot of doors … similar to when I bought the current facility — it's instant credibility. I've had two new clients who have come on board, and these are people who haven't given me the time of day in 10 years.

M: How did the new facility bring you instant credibility?
MQ: Well, Bangor Savings worked with me on [acquiring] a large abandoned property. It was incredibly rundown and a lot of people thought we were crazy for doing it. But we put in a lot of capital and more machinery. We have 15,000 square feet of just [granite] slab inventory and are, to date, the only ones north of Boston able to showcase that amount of product inside. The space is imposing, no doubt, but I was surprised by how many doors it opened.

M: How important were the SBA-guaranteed loans in growing your business?
MQ: One hundred percent. Bangor Savings and the SBA didn't know us from a hole in the ground, but they understood where we were going at a time when no one else would fund us. A lot of people familiar with our operation could tell you that we took large leaps of faith in a horrible market, but we're extremely loyal [to Bangor Savings] for that.

M: How have you set yourself apart in the market?
MQ: There is a lot of competition and a relatively low cost of entry, but our market is so big that we decided we had to go big. We have, I believe, the only digital viewing facility in the state and can basically show you what the countertops are going to look like before they are installed.
We were also able to get people off the big-box store's square-foot-pricing metric. When you buy from a big-box store, you're charged by the square foot and pay for everything. But we're able to run a pure manufacturing model and price it so it's inclusive. There are no surprises or change orders. Our dealers have become very receptive to this. It seems like incredibly common sense sort of stuff, but you would think we invented it.

M: How have you weathered the economic downturn?
MQ: Believe it or not, we didn't see a decrease. But it's all relative. Ten years ago, the price we got per job was higher, but we only had two or three jobs per week. When the market really crashed, the slab warehouse is what pulled us through. The market has changed — people want to come and touch, feel and pick up actual pieces of granite. The more hands-on we can make this, the better.