Working with nine of his brother-in-law’s tiling malls all over the country, Mr. Boatman had years of education in the tile trade before starting his own business, Boatman Tile Company. Jeremy Boatman, current owner of Boatman Tile, spent his summers working with his father starting at the age of 13. Jeremy’s running total today is about 30 years in the family tile business.

Boatman Tile began cutting granite in 2006, with the purchase of a bridge saw. A few years after that, Boatman Tile upgraded to a semi-automatic bridge saw in 2009. They moved into a larger building and purchased a CNC router. In 2016, their CNC saw could not keep up with the router. Jeremy researched many CNC machines. He was drawn to Park Industries®, as an American Made company with parts readily available. When it came down to the final decision – Park Industries’ SABER™ CNC Saw was a perfect fit for their shop. 

Boatman Tile could not be more impressed with the capabilities of the SABER™. Jeremy shares, “It used to take our employee 4-5 hours to complete one kitchen. It takes our SABER™ 30-40 minutes, and the machine operator can hit the start button and walk away.” The ability to walk away from the machine has allowed Boatman’s employees to work more efficiently. Jeremy also shares, “That SABER™… for the price of the machine, it is the TOP machine in the market. Our SABER™ could outrun two routers going at once.” Boatman is particularly excited about a few more features on the SABER™ that have helped ease the shop’s process immensely.

• The LT-55 laser templator with alphacam communicates directly to the SABER™.
• The SABER™ toolbar is easy to use and it even labels the parts, like bullnose.
• The load control of the SABER™ makes it easy to cut different stones with varying hardness because it will automatically slow down or speed up based on the type of material it is cutting.
• The accuracy of the SABER’s mitering capabilities has allowed Boatman Tile to complete their mitered flower pots and 4-5 inches thick kitchen countertops with a nearly flawless precision.

Boatman Tile enjoys the customer experience that Park provides. Jeremy explains, “Our week of training at Park was exceptional! From the trainers, to anyone we passed in the hallway, to the two Co-Presidents peeking their heads into our class to say hello. Park is truly a family-run company, and the personalized touch goes a long way.” 

Boatman Tile’s machines were running smoothly and they were happy with their production. Then one morning in early 2017, the neighboring company to Boatman Tile smelled smoke. Boatman Tile Co. had caught on fire. The firefighters battled the flames for 7 hours. Boatman Tile had 100% loss. Thirty years of tools, files, computers, and papers – gone in an afternoon.

After moving to a temporary location, Boatman Tile had time to breathe and assess the equipment and changes they would like to make moving forward. Jeremy reflects, “There are challenges in life that make you take a step back and really look at things. This was a moment that, no matter how bad the circumstances, allowed us to ask ourselves how we can do better?”

While assessing the needs of the shop, they realized that it took one employee 40-50 minutes to polish a backsplash by hand and concluded they needed an edge polishing machine. Boatman decided that the shop needed the high-quality and simple to operate, FASTBACK® II.  The simplicity of the machine allows employees to stick the slab in one end and it comes out the next. 

Park Industries® helped Boatman Tile replace their SABER™, as well as their alphacam licenses that had burned in the fire. Boatman Tile Co. has moved into a new building with all of their new equipment as of June 2017. Jeremy believes Park has excellent customer service and shares how they go above and beyond, “Even if it is a particularly busy day, Park calls me back within 15-20 minutes. This shows me that the customer experience at Park is a priority.”

QUICK FACTS

Boatman Tile & Granite
Sioux City, IA

Weekly Production: About 7 Kitchens
Park Equipment Owned: SABER® CNC Saw, FASTBACK® II