Caesarstone Sdot Yam Ltd., the maker of quartz countertops, is heading for its first-ever quarterly stock loss amid concern the companys push to ramp up output is coming just as the U.S. housing recovery weakens.

Yet Chief Executive Officer Yos Shiran is unfazed.

The way he sees it, the success or failure of the Israeli companys expansion wont be determined by the strength of the American housing market. Thats because Caesarstone, which gets about 35 percent of its revenue in the U.S., is counting on taking a bigger slice of the countertop market by getting more shoppers to choose quartz over competing materials, such as granite and marble.

Caesarstones growth engine is based on a material-conversion story, so this is a growth that happens regardless of whats happening in the market, Shiran said in a phone interview on June 13, two days after checking on the construction site of the companys first U.S. plant in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Of course, if theres a strong rebound, it helps, but we are not depending on it and our plans are not based upon it.

The weakness in the housing market, which Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen called disappointing on May 7, is worrying investors after they bid the stock up 211 percent in New York last year in what was the biggest gain on the Bloomberg Israel-US Index. Caesarstone, based in Sdot Yam, Israel, fell 1.5 percent last week to $46.53 in New York, extending its decline this quarter to 14 percent. The stock is down 6.3 percent this year, compared with a 1.8 percent advance in the Israel-U.S. stock index.

The stock is vulnerable to perceptions in the U.S. housing market, Bruce Schoenfeld, research director at New York-baseXAUUSDd BlueStar Global Investors LLC, said by phone June 13. The data about housing in the U.S. has been pretty fairly muted.

Yellen flagged the industry as a risk to the economic outlook in testimony to Congress in May, while Treasury Undersecretary for Domestic Finance Mary Miller said last week the recovery has been uneven.

While sales of previously owned homes rose for the first time this year in April, they were still some 7 percent lower than a year earlier, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. New single-family house sales were 4.2 percent below the year-earlier level, Commerce Department data showed.

The Standard and Poors Supercomposite Homebuilding Index, which includes companies such as Lennar Corp. and PulteGroup Inc., has declined 2 percent this year, compared with a 4.8 percent gain in the broader S&P 500 Index.

Shiran was in Richmond Hill, a town south of Savannah in Georgia, to visit the site of Caesarstones new plant, which will be its first in the U.S. The company is investing about $100 million in the facility, which will have two production lines. The first should be up and running by the first half of 2015, and the second should be operating by the end of next year, he said.

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End to 211% Caesarstone Stock Rally Is No Deterrent

Painting Laminate Bathroom countertops to Gloss black finish - Repairing Burned Damaged Countertops
I repair a countertop.

By: Tyler R

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Painting Laminate Bathroom countertops to Gloss black finish - Repairing Burned Damaged Countertops - Video

GLOBAL STONE COUNTERTOPS FLOOR COVERING

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Ivory Coast Granite for Countertops
Beautiful Ivory Cost Stone.

By: Kartik Kamat

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Tiled Kitchen Countertops
Beautiful Kitchen Countertop Design Options for Ideas! For an inexpensive solution to replacing kitchen counters, tiled kitchen countertops make for an attra...

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The concrete countertops in Eleanor Zuckermans San Francisco kitchen are handcrafted works of art.

Custom-designed by Fu-Tun Cheng of Berkeley, Calif.-based Cheng Concrete, they feature colors like brick, flowing lines and pictures of nautilus shells.

With concrete there is a lot of room for creativity, to say nothing of color, says Zuckerman, a retired psychologist. It gives you flexibility.

Homeowners looking to spice up their kitchens can install a variety of countertops that go beyond the traditional laminate and tile. Todays options include concrete and butcher-block-style wood, and a range of custom-designed colors and shapes. IceStone countertops use recycled glass from broken bottles.

So many different materials are used in countertops these days, says Tony Izzo, Curtis Lumbers corporate kitchen and bath manager in Albany, N.Y. Until about 25 years ago, he says, roughly 90 percent of countertops in U.S. homes were laminate, and the rest tile.

Then DuPonts Corian hit the market, followed by granite and quartz, which are current favorites, he says. Today, just half of countertops are laminate, Izzo says.

The burgeoning interest in alternative countertops is the natural extension of that trend. And they are becoming more affordable.

Slowly, over the years, the market has really grown, says Mike Heidebrink, president of Cheng Concrete. When the company opened in 2002, it catered mostly to well-heeled dot-commers willing to spend more to bring an artisans touch to their kitchens.

Today, Heidebrink says, Cheng also serves a growing number of skilled do-it-yourselfers who want to shape, mold and install countertops themselves. They can choose the color and lines of their countertops, he says. Once installed and sealed, he says, concrete countertops are as durable as limestone and marble.

They can have that for $10 a square foot, he says.

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Creative countertops: Wood, concrete and recycled glass

(PRWEB) June 07, 2014

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Each of the companys brand new bamboo countertops is unique and elegant. For additional information, they are available in several different specifications. All of them meet the international standards in every regard. In addition to bamboo countertops, BambooIndustry.com is now offering many other excellent bamboo items. Most of its products are now offered with big discounts or eye catching promotional offers.

The company is excited to launch the bamboo countertop promotion. All its clients can enjoy the special offer before June 23, 2014; the current discount is up to 28% off. It is a good opportunity for those who are thinking of buying cheap bamboo countertops online.

About BambooIndustry.com BambooIndustry.com is a website that belongs to BothBest Bamboo Flooring Co. Ltd., a professional supplier and exporter of bamboo products. Certified by both ISO9001:2008 and ISO14001:2004, the company has 8 years of experience in the manufacturing and wholesale of bamboo flooring products. It strives to bring its customers the latest styles and innovations of bamboo flooring, bamboo paneling, bamboo plywoods, bamboo furniture, and other bamboo products.

More information can be found at http://www.bambooindustry.com/clearance/.

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BambooIndustry.com: High Quality Bamboo Countertops For Sale

Stone Quest - Kitchen Countertops Kelowna
Stone Quest - Kitchen Countertops Kelowna. We carry our own high quality stock of granite, marble and quartz products which we personally hand select direct ...

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5 Paradise Developments - Countertops

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5 Paradise Developments - Countertops - Video

Granite Prices, LA Stone , Pocono Custom Kitchens,Granite Countertops Poconos, 570-484-5353

By: Don Jordan

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Granite Prices, LA Stone , Pocono Custom Kitchens,Granite Countertops Poconos, 570-484-5353 - Video