Albert Einstein is credited with the famous quote “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity”.
It’s a saying that can be applied to long-standing Dundee business, Ravensby Glass.
The business was faced with its energy costs doubling from £700,000 to £1.4 million a year when its fixed contract ended at the start of this year.
It led the directors to consolidate its two Dundee factories into its newer Tom Johnston Road site while being able to maintain previous levels of production.
But now it only needs to run one furnace which heats glass to 680 degrees.
Initially it planned to rent its Fowler Road premises to other companies and split up part of the building.
However, a chance conversation has sparked the birth of an entire new business specialising in stone worktops.
New Dundee business specialises in stone
The idea for the new business – Discovery Stone – started when director Mike Fenton was trying to sell some unneeded equipment.
He said: “One of our contacts was looking at purchasing a CNC machine and mentioned it was for a stone manufacturer.
“Looking at the Fowler Road factory, he said the location would be perfect for a stone factory. It made me think ‘are we missing a trick here?’.
“With director Harry Ogilvie we did some due diligence around other stone manufacturers in the area.
“It quickly became the case the machine was no longer available for sale!”
Discovery Stone services
Since then more than £400,000 has been spent on equipment for cutting, polishing and edging stone.
Work is under way to create a showroom which will be open to the public to select the stone they require for kitchen and bathroom worktops.
The company is working with a range of suppliers including Cosentino, Ceralsio, Dekton and Caesarstone.
It is also anticipated there will be demand from the commercial sector from hotels and offices.
Mr Ogilvie said: “It’s a significant investment but we think there’s a real opportunity in this area. There’s no one doing it at scale to satisfy the Dundee, Aberdeen and Fife market.
“We want to stock the actual slabs so people can come and see them in person.
“We’ll template, cut, polish, edge and be responsible for the installation. We are creating a showroom, which will open next month.
“We will be able to do a quick turnaround of just seven days from templating to installation.
“A website has been created and so far we have hired three staff but we are expecting to scale up a lot next year.”
The business will stock stones at a range of price points for kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor spaces.
Even in the current cost-of-living crisis, the directors expect strong demand.
“There’s been a lot of interest in what we’re doing locally,” added Mr Ogilvie.
“Local stone company Denfind Stone is also using us to cut stone for feature paving near Castle Green in Broughty Ferry.”
Conversation