Momax Marble & Granite Inc.
Husband-and-wife team lay groundwork for success
In 1996, Momax Marble’s foundation was set in stone with just three employees in the garage of owners Hector and Gloria Cornejo. From there, the husband-and-wife team moved into a pole barn on their property as the company began to expand.
“I was traveling to Chicago doing the same work and I decided to try my luck and open up a shop here in Northwest Indiana,” Hector said.
He and Gloria had both worked for a marble company in Chicago in various positions, including working in the warehouse, being a driver, sales, sorting tiles and for Hector, eventually management.
The husband-and-wife team took their company off their property in 2003 to a small location. Their son Sal and daughter Stephanie joined them in 2005 and 2006, then in 2009, they built the spot that they are at today. They have 18,000 square feet with another 10,000 square feet of warehouse space.
They work in both residential and commercial settings providing thousands of options for slabs of marble, granite, quartz, onyx and soapstone to choose from for countertops. The team sells, fabricates and installs the slabs as well as offers design services. They have put into place technology to help them stay on top of their projects, including a robot-cutting machine, a polishing machine and three laser measurers.
“I love creating stone work, you are an artist in what you do and at the end of the day, a smile on a customer’s face brings a smile right back to me,” Hector said.
Beyond their shop in Merrillville, the Cornejos opened a satellite location in Lafayette in 2017 that includes a 10,000-square-foot warehouse, and it is led by Sal. The company has added 10 jobs in the last three years and continues to seek additional roles to fill. Between both company locations, they have grown to a total of 54 employees.
“It has been a tough past few years, but thankfully I have a lot of good loyal people who work with me and for me. We have a great team,” Hector said.
The team strives to give back to region communities by selecting a project to donate to each year. They have donated materials and installed updated countertops at the Gary Health Department and worked with the Homes for Our Troops project by assisting with the Marine Lt. Cpl. Bryan Chambers renovation in Attica.
“I have never even thought about success really – I am just beyond grateful for our company and as long as I keep doing high-quality work, everything else comes with it.
“Everything matters – from our customer service, inventory and quality, we strive to provide the best for our clients and will continue to do so,” Hector said.
5570 E. Lincoln Hwy. in Merrillville
219-947-1488