40 Years Legacy Updated

In The Beginning

(1983-1990)

Whether it’s the unique, one-of-a-kind patterns of rock formations, created over millions of years, or the layout and finishes of a designer kitchen – the heart of a home and a hub for the whole family – you can’t rush perfection.

Still, since it was founded 40 years ago, Stone-Tech has always stayed the course in its pursuit of perfection. From the people who started the business, to those leading the company now, Stone-Tech has always prided itself on offering quality workmanship, expert product knowledge and a dedication to customer satisfaction – values that never go out of fashion.

The Founder

Founded in 1983 by young entrepreneur Mr Sabah Obaidi, following a decade working in the stone and cabinetry industry, Stone-Tech was founded on offering the latest in industry trends and innovations – focused on providing customers with quality solutions and expertise.

Identifying Our Niche

(1990-1993)

Joining the team in 1990 was one of Stone-Tech’s future leaders, Jackie Yousif. Much like Sabah himself, Jackie would soon form part of the bedrock that established the business as it stands today.

“In 1990 the company moved to a new office and warehouse location in Villawood in Sydney. This is where my journey started; signing on as Sabah’s PA and Stone-Tech office manager,”

Jackie describes.

Stone Setting

“In that same year Sabah decided to change the company’s direction and began manufacturing kitchens and bathrooms joinery works, as well as importing a small quantity of natural stone from Italy to manufacture bench tops. At that stage we were just three employees, but due to the success we were already seeing the decision was soon made to concentrate on installing stone tops only for the major builders and cabinetmakers of Sydney,”

she continues.

In time, Jackie would go on to become Stone-Tech’s head of sales. Much like the company’s other senior leaders, one thing would invariably lead to another, with more key elements of Stone Tech’s success falling into place.

In 1993, Mr Hisham Janabi joined the team, which now had three team members in the office, and five in the factory. Within just a few weeks, Hisham went from working Sundays in the showroom to becoming a full-time employee, taking on the design and drafting side of the business.

Not ones to sit still, Hisham, Jackie and Sabah soon realised the key to Stone-Tech’s continued success was to further build knowledge and experience in emerging areas that had the power to change how the growing Aussie business would attract new customers: a little-known technology called the internet could prove just the ticket.

Entering the Cyber World

Hisham’s interest in network and IT management meant that Stone-Tech soon had a website (a rarity for any business in the 90s) and a suite of digital quoting and communication programs – once again solidifying Stone-Tech’s reputation for transparent customer communication and attention-to-detail.

In many ways, this also further solidified Stone-Tech’s own mission statement: to offer customers a high level of quality, communication and on-time delivery.

Innovation Automation

While Stone-Tech continued to grow in cyberspace, its factory was also cutting-edge: Stone-Tech imported and installed Australia’s first ever CNC machine: a device that automated the stone finishing output and process, which was normally too expensive to be completed manually. Stone-Tech’s current Production Manager and co-owner, Mr Sabah Saroo, is credited with this important technological milestone.

As Sabah puts it, arriving at Stone-Tech and building the company’s technical capability was destiny, but it still took time.

“I worked for 17 years in my previous home, Iraq, as a manufacturing mechanical engineer in the steel industry. When I arrived in Australia in 1995 I was 41 years old, and ready to challenge myself; so I started studying a masters at UTS in Sydney,”

Sabah recalls.

“I still remember the day I received the offer to join Stone-Tech, in the position of factory manager. The moment I walked into the factory and looked at the machines, I was instantly happy. I remembered my previous life in Iraq, working with machines and observing production lines; it was like everything before had led me there,” he continues.

Challenge Accepted

Come 1999, the ever-evolving company was ready for a new chapter, which began with founder Sabah Obaidi posing a relatively simple question of Hisham.

“Sabah asked me if I could run the business while he was away,

“Hisham recalls.

“I replied that, yes, I could – but I was still unsure what Sabah meant. Sabah then tells me he was going overseas, and when I asked for how long, he replied, ‘For good!’,”

he continues.

Three Determined Partners

So, with Hisham accepting Sabah’s offer, 40 per cent of Stone-Tech’s shares were sold to employees Hisham, Sabah Saroo and Jackie Yousif, with Hisham becoming Stone-Tech’s managing director – a position he still holds today.

Pushing Through the Challenges

(2008-2020)

By 2008, the trio of Hisham, Sabah and Jackie would own 100 per cent of Stone-Tech, and start to map-out a new phase of growth for the business, which, like many of tales of the trials and tribulations of business, is not always smooth sailing.

Celebrating 40 Years
and Beyond

(2023 …)

Fast forward to 2023, 40 years after it was first established by young entrepreneur Sabah Obaidi, Stone-Tech is ready to celebrate this significant company milestone, and look back on the ups and downs of this successful Australian business. While systems and processes may have changed over the years, Stone-Tech stands ‘solid as stone’, as Hisham would say.

If anything, much like the high-quality products and service Stone-Tech has always offered its loyal network of customers, the business is the result of time, pressure and perfection; but more than that, its enduring legacy will be that of the people who made Stone-Tech what it is, continuing to push the company forward today.

As someone who has been a major part of Stone-Tech’s 40-year journey, head of sales and co-owner, Jackie Yousif, sums-up an amazing story perfectly:

Over the last 33 years, I’ve been privileged to experience many challenges, growth and opportunities within our organisation. Along the way I’ve created a strong professional network and made lifelong friends,” she said.

Our business has gone from
Strength to strength

And with the support of my partners, staff and clients, we have weathered every storm and overcome many challenges to become, and remain, one of Sydney’s major stone manufacturing companies.”

Tested over time. Forged by resilience and shaped by a team of dedicated professionals. Just as the kitchen is the heart of any home, at the heart of Stone-Tech is a team ensuring a continued, lasting legacy; well beyond the next 40 years.