"Cool Employers"

The Plain Dealer

Very few entrepreneurs start an entire new industry, but Russ Masetta, founder and president of Bedford's Nature Stone^®, is the leader of a whole new flooring product. "We have actually created an industry here," says Masetta.

Nature Stone, over the last five years, has become the largest stone and epoxy company in the U.S. The innovative stone/epoxy flooring he pioneered has become an industry of its own. And Masetta is still experimenting, investing heavily in research and development to assure customers the best possible materials and installation processes. And the company, which currently has about 80 employees, is looking for people who can help them with their expansion.

Nature Stone has offices all over Ohio and in Pittsburgh, creating and installing the product developed by Masetta, which is also called Nature Stone. "I came from a family background in service an maintenance of concrete," he says. At one point, Masetta saw a similar product in warmer climates. After experimenting with different combinations of epoxy and concrete, he finally developed a workable product that would withstand the extremes of temperature that we get around Northeast Ohio. "In 1992," he says, "I decided to concentrate solely on Nature Stone."

Over the years, Masetta has slowly expanded the business to its present size, and is looking to expand even further. To do this, the company needs a certain kind of employee. "We are looking for people who take pride in their work and in the products that we offer," says Masetta. Because their product is something new, the company has to train all of their employees from scratch. "This is a unique business," he says. "There aren't trained people that you can hire to deal with this product, and that goes from installation to sales. That's why loyalty is also a big thing here."

Something else that Masetta faces is letting people know just what his product is, especially since there are now a few other companies springing up selling similar products. "Our greatest challenge is to educate consumer to this product - what questions they should ask; what they should expect. There aren't any written specs." Masetta also gets involved with the community, and encourages his employees to do the same. He is on the Board of the Better Business Bureau, is president of the Cleveland Chapter of NARI, and Nature Stone gives back one percent of every job to a charity of the customer's choosing. A true local success story, Nature Stone is firmly grounded.