Classified ad inspires Marble Works

A blind classified advertisement set this South Elgin business's course for the next 18 years.

It all started when Tom Wienckowski answered a newspaper ad to purchase molds to pour cultured marble into. The ad said all you had to do was buy the molds and you could go into business.

The Schaumburg man decided he'd try his hand at opening a business that specialized in creating countertops. Today, he runs it with his wife, Margie. He answered the ad in February and the store was open by June, he said.

"We saw an opportunity and we jumped, both feet in first," he said.

South Elgin was an ideal place to do business because of all the new growth in the town's western portion.

But the housing market's sluggish pace has trickled down to Marble Works.

"Right now, we're a tad slow," Wienckowski said.

Even so, there's lots of business to be had elsewhere, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Kankakee and Rockford, he said.

The store had been on Sundown Road in South Elgin for 13 years until it moved to its current location on Route 31.

"We needed more room for manufacturing," he explained.

Its work force of 65 employees specializes in creating countertops for homes, hotels and offices.

The company not only creates the countertops, but workers cut and install them as well. Countertops are available in all colors, he said.

There are four types of surfaces available for their creation, Wienckowski said.

The first is there's the naturally occurring surface granite. Next there's Zodiaq, an engineered stone made from quartz and resin. Cultured marble is marble combined with resin and other ingredients. Finally, Corian is a solid, non-porus surface that's stain resistant.

The most popular surface? That honor goes to granite, Wienckowski said.

"It's got a beautiful look to it, it's a choice of a lot of designers and it is becoming competitively priced where it is affordable for most people," he said.