Fresh off the back of the Auckland Airport Novotel refit, where Granite Workshop’s signature craftsmanship allows Italian Travertine and natural stone to sing, Directors Mark and Sue Hopwood are continuing to make magic.
In a time of great hardship and uncertainty, the Auckland-based stone importer and manufacturer lies as a post-pandemic buffer – nurturing its clients with the intuitive level of care only a specialist family owned and managed business can provide and delivering results with the unparalleled luxury and expertise of a market-leading business of more than 20 years.
“We have a real passion for people, product and business,” says Sue Hopwood.
“We understand the critical importance of working hands-on with clients, staff and suppliers. Our integrity and commitment to excellence is our core focus”.
Granite Workshop’s award-winning stonework is exhibited in many high end residential and commercial locations across New Zealand including Auckland premium suburbs of Remuera, Herne Bay and Takapuna, New Zealand’s renowned Golf courses of Kauri Cliffs, Tara Iti and Millbrook, and the recently opened Commercial Bay Precinct in downtown Auckland.
The team hand-selects the raw material from premium global sources and says natural stone amplifies the glamour in any architectural concept.
The Travertine adorning the reception counters, in the Novotel Hotel is a natural stone formed from the precipitation of calcium carbonate in hot springs or limestone caves. Completing the stone selection is the beautiful Verde Bagogna quartzite in the kitchen and bar areas, whilst the dining tables have been manufactured with stunning 30mm thick honed White Macaubus.
Director Mark Hopwood describes the stone selection process as an “amazing and extraordinary experience”.
“We enjoy sourcing the best quality raw products and taking it to the next stage of manufacturing a precious and exotic slab that serves for both function and aesthetic,” he says.
“Bringing this into our client’s project and seeing the end result is simply the best feeling”. The entire Granite workshop team operate with the same purpose, passion and commitment. With over 140 years of experience spanning across the team it’s no wonder they are market leaders.
Granite Workshop’s showroom boasts a treasure trove of options to choose from including natural Granite, Marble, Travertine and Quartzites slabs, an extensive selection of porcelains and premium engineered stone products. Viewing the stone in person is an experience and key part of the process that Granite Workshops clients seem to really appreciate.
Their specialist craftsman utilises state-of-the-art 5-axis Italian Waterjet cutting technology, CNC machinery which efficiently controls complex factory machinery and the latest laser technology for precision measuring.
It’s this high-end technology and meticulous workmanship that is the cornerstone of Granite Workshop’s expertise.
The small team have carved a space in Auckland’s top three manufacturing companies and Mark says this is a testament to their diverse business model offering end-to-end seamless sourcing, importing, manufacturing, installation and quality control.
“We have built an extraordinary team who are experts in their field and can conquer extraordinary projects and we all have a very approachable style,” he says.
“We’re big enough to handle the large-scale projects and closely involved in every aspect of the project to monitor quality control all the way through”.
Mark and Sue joined forces in 2018, fusing Mark’s wealth of expertise as an ex-CEO of a leading property and construction firm with Sue’s management experience owning and operating a small engineering manufacturing business.
“We enjoy immensely seeing the success of our finished product from a simple benchtop to a bespoke hand-crafted statement piece”.
Granite Workshop’s selection of exquisite stone is available to view in their Glenfield, Auckland showroom and their work can be found on their website www.graniteworkshop.co.nz and/or follow Granite Workshop on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Written by Courtney McAllister and Sue Hopwood
Photography: Accor photography
