How Capstone Unlocks Value Through Integration

By the Capstone Editorial Team

Capstone often speaks about the value of consolidation in building products. Scale delivers pricing power, efficiency, and geographic reach - but most operators are too small to capture those benefits. That's why Capstone continues to add strong, well-run businesses to its platform.

But buying businesses is only step one. Capstone's success in M&A owes as much to how it integrates as to what it acquires. The company has built a process that makes acquisitions accretive right away and ensures both sides benefit from the combination.

To shed light on that process, the team spoke with Northeast Masonry, the largest distributor of natural stone in New England. Acquired by Instone in 2019, the business gave Instone entry into hardscape products and a stronger foothold across the region.

Pairing Product Strength with Distribution Scale

By 2019, Northeast Masonry was already one of the most respected names in natural stone. The company had built a loyal customer base across New England and a reputation for sourcing distinctive products, including the widely copied Blue Mist granite.

For Capstone, the acquisition offered a clear opportunity: combine Northeast Masonry's strong product lineup with Instone's distribution platform and complementary portfolio.

"Northeast Masonry had the natural stone products and a strong customer base. Instone had manufactured products and a multi-state distribution network," explained Jim Palatine, then General Manager of Northeast Masonry. "Put the two together, and there was a lot of potential."

Aligning Systems and Teams to Unlock Growth

The deal looked strong on paper, but realizing its potential depended on a fast, successful integration. That meant trusting the expertise of the team Capstone acquired. Palatine had been through acquisitions where new owners imposed unfamiliar systems and cut back autonomy. This time, he said, was different.

"In acquisitions, you're usually asked to get off your horse and ride someone else's. That was never my experience here," Palatine shared. "Capstone trusted the people they acquired, which allowed us to focus on the real work: integrating systems and serving customers."

In the weeks that followed, the teams modernized day-to-day operations. They introduced route trucks and improved yard management. They also harnessed their collective engineering and operational experience to integrate ERP systems in record time - giving the combined business sharper visibility and stronger tools to scale.

"With Kevin, Rob, and the rest of the Instone team, we were able to split responsibilities in a really productive way," Palatine said. "That collaborative culture made it possible to get exponentially more done."

COVID struck only four months after the deal closed, but by then the integration was firmly in place. By 2021, the combined business had extended natural stone across Instone's network, opened new hardscape channels, and reached a record number of customers.

A Blueprint for Future Deals

The Northeast Masonry experience has become a model for Capstone's M&A strategy. By moving quickly on integration, respecting existing teams, and aligning systems and leadership, the business delivered value from day one. The goal now is to bring new companies onto the platform with that same speed and seamlessness - or even greater.

"With Northeast, we moved quickly, but our goal now is to get on the same system even faster," said Kevin Grotke, President and CEO of Instone. "We want to be focused on sales from day one."

In August, Capstone announced the acquisition of Carolina Stone, where this proven integration playbook is already underway. The company expects the combination to create value from day one, just as it did with Northeast Masonry. And looking ahead, Capstone sees a rich pipeline of acquisition targets that will continue to strengthen its platform.