AUSTIN (KXAN) — When Stacey Shackelford first ordered her parents' headstone last summer, she had a feeling it would take some time, but she never imagined it would take as long as it has.
"I knew that with COVID things would be delayed, and I had no problem with that," she said. "Then, when I called in January to check on the status of it. I was told they were a bit frustrated."
Frustration because many monument companies don't have what they need to engrave the headstones.
"It's definitely nationwide," Jonathan Modlich, a monument industry leader and owner of Ohio-based Modlich Monument Company said.
Modlich said the problem first started last fall when one of the biggest producers of the rubber stencil, 3M, decided to stop making the product.
In a statement, 3M officials said, "In October 3M, notified its customers that the company will no longer manufacture Sandblast Stencil Products. Severely constrained raw material availability, exponentially increasing costs, and strategic business focus factored into the decision."
"Honestly, at that point, just wondering how we were going to, as a small company, continue production," Modlich said.
Modlich said there are smaller companies to go to, and even options overseas, but it's not enough to fill the void left behind by 3M. Yet, he remains optimistic.
"We are starting to see signs of things improving but I think we have a pretty wide gap to bridge between where are and where we were," he said.
Shackelford is hopeful and remains patient.
"Although sad, it was in many ways a happy death, (my parents) had lots of family and friends around them so we did have a chance to have closure while they were here," she said. "But I do know there are many families who have suffered losing loved ones from covid that are still awaiting monuments to have some closure."
She ordered the headstone for her parents last summer and was recently told last month that this summer could be the earliest she could receive it.
This is not the first problem this industry has had to face because of supply chain issues. When the pandemic first started, it delayed granite shipments, causing major backups for months. For some companies, that continues to be an issue today.
0 Comments