About Us
The Concrete Countertop Institute is your complete resource for concrete countertop success.
Our Mission
The Concrete Countertop Institute's mission is to help concrete countertop professionals succeed.
We do this by providing:
- Intensive training, both hands-on and self-study
- Membership programs
- Events
- Research and testing of the latest materials and procedures
- Advocacy, consultation and guidance to concrete countertop product manufacturers and the design community
Why train with CCI?
First and foremost, you'll have a great training experience and get great customer service. Don't take our word for it. Hear what students have to say.
More reasons to train with CCI:
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You'll get solid information from an engineer:
Our instructor, Jeffrey Girard, P.E., is a licensed professional civil engineer who personally teaches all classes.
Jeff will teach you far more than just the basic, oversimplified skills of creating concrete countertops, leaving you ignorant of how things really work. He will educate you on how to utilize different materials and methods and why they work. Workers have skills, bosses have knowledge.
This knowledge will give you freedom from problems, freedom to choose your own mix, and freedom to be creative without limits. Build your creativity on a solid technical foundation. Choose your training based on the merits of the knowledge you will gain, not based on how cool the instructor is.
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We don't sell proprietary products:
The Concrete Countertop Institute does not push products. Our no BS approach helps you find the best materials from the best vendors. We don't push proprietary products on you. All classes teach inexpensive, versatile, high-performance from-scratch mix designs, and our textbooks include lists of all the equipment and materials you need and where to get them directly from the manufacturer. This means you get the best prices on the best materials and equipment, and the freedom to choose the best sources for you.
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Learn not just how, but why:
Our classes are extremely comprehensive, teaching you not just how to make concrete countertops but WHY to do it that way. You will completely understand mix designs, reinforcing, sealing, etc. so there is no more trial and error or experimenting. You will have total confidence in your countertops.
Still not sure that concrete countertop training with CCI is right for you? Does this sound like you:
- You are serious about your concrete countertop quality and want to learn from a trusted source, in addition to online forums.
- You want to minimize mistakes and callbacks, and increase profits.
- You believe that manufacturing technically superior products that provide long-term performance is key to gaining market dominance and growing your business.
- You want the freedom to choose your own materials and not be bound to a proprietary mix.
- You want to understand why concrete countertop construction is done a certain way, not just blindly follow a recipe.
- You don't like taking shortcuts, but you do want to avoid the pitfalls.
- You take pride in producing high quality designs for the most discerning clients.
To see what engineering can accomplish, read about some of the high-performance countertops Jeff has designed and taught students to create. With a solid technical foundation, not only will you be more profitable because you have fewer problems, but also you will open up endless possibilities to exercise your own creativity without worries.
Not a beginner? What CCI offers experienced concrete countertop makers:
- Training: Even the most experienced person never stops learning.
- In-depth classes about topics important to take your business to the next level, such as sinks & molds, mix design, sales & marketing and project management
- A fresh perspective on concrete countertop techniques and a better understanding of why, through our extremely intensive "beginner" class The Ultimate Concrete Countertop Training.
- A quick, inexpensive way to learn GFRC through our Fast Track training.
- An in-depth class on Advanced 3-Dimensional Concrete, to add fireplaces, showers, fiber optics, fabric forming and more to your portfolio.
- Information and networking: You can't run a successful business in a vacuum.
- Solid information, online networking and product discounts to help you succeed, through our membership programs
We are dedicated to your education and your success. Learn from The Concrete Countertop Institute, and get the knowledge and confidence you need to succeed.
Our History and Instructors
Jeff Girard
The Concrete Countertop Institute was founded by Jeffrey Girard, P.E., in early 2004. It grew out of Jeff's long term desire to raise the standard for concrete countertops through quality manufacturing and education.
Jeff is a licensed, professional civil engineer with a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
Jeff has over fourteen years experience with innovative, cutting-edge civil engineering. After completing his Master's degree from UMass in 1993, he worked for the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory in Port Hueneme, California. There he worked on advanced civil engineering projects for the United States Navy. Much of his research is classified, but the experience enabled him to approach complex challenges from new and different directions.Jeff started making concrete countertops in Raleigh, NC in late 1998-1999. When he decided to make a concrete countertop for his own kitchen remodel, he approached the project as only an engineer would: by pulling his engineering textbooks off the shelf, performing months of research, testing and design, and treating the countertop as an engineering project.
In the course of Jeff's research, he saw that there was a demand for concrete countertops. So he put up a website, set up shop, and his company FormWorks was born. FormWorks grew to be a national force in the concrete countertop fabrication industry. Jeff's unique approach, keen eye for craftsmanship, and strong engineering background made FormWorks a success.
Over the years, as demand grew across the U.S., Jeff saw the need for quality training, to make sure that concrete countertops continue to grow in popularity. Jeff's mission is to raise the standard for concrete countertops through quality standards and comprehensive education, and this lead to his founding of The Concrete Countertop Institute (CCI) in early 2004. Through The Concrete Countertop Institute's training programs, Jeff provides intensive training, both hands-on and self-study, that helps contractors succeed in the business of making concrete countertops. Jeff also offers a Guided Technical Success Program.
In 2006, Jeff grew the CCI website into an in-depth resource that provides information for contractors, the trade and homeowners that helps educate and inform about concrete countertops, promoting their use and helping to grow the concrete countertop industry. The website also offers a membership program, networking group and informational resource for concrete countertop professionals. Jeff also works with manufacturers as a resource for designing and distributing the best possible products for making concrete countertops.
Jeff is a frequent speaker at concrete and countertop industry events, including World of Concrete, Surfaces, StonExpo, and Concrete Decor Show. CCI also produces the Concrete Countertop Industry Conference (CCIC), an annual conference and expo that provides contractors with the latest information about concrete countertops by bringing together industry experts and manufacturers representing all of the resources available for successful concrete countertop making. Conferences have been held in Raleigh, NC, Charlotte, NC, Sacramento, Orlando and Las Vegas. Visit our events page for details about this and other events.
Jeff is an active member in the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Concrete Institute.
Lane Mangum
Lane Mangum was marketing and sales manager for Jeff's concrete countertop manufacturing business in the early 2000s. She transitioned the company from a hobby-level business to the dominant regional fabricator of concrete countertops in just a few short years.
Lane's background is actually in software. She has a Bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Massachusetts and a Master's degree in computer science from the University of California Santa Barbara. Lane started out in 1995 as a computer programmer. In a few short years, she transitioned to project management, technical product management, product management and finally to product marketing and sales support. She then applied her sales and marketing experience to a new industry: concrete countertops. She likes to say that she transitioned from software to hardware.
When she started marketing and selling concrete countertops, Lane took principles of relationship marketing and figured out whom to market concrete countertops to and how. She set up a showroom and had a showroom grand opening. She started booking meetings with kitchen designer and interior designer organizations. She started doing lunch and learns for architecture firms. Her sales and marketing efforts were the driving force behind the growth and success of the company.
Lane now teaches other concrete countertop companies how to do the same, as VP Business Services for The Concrete Countertop Institute. She developed The Concrete Countertop Institute's self-study courses Sales & Marketing 101 and Project Management 101, and has spoken about marketing and selling concrete countertops at multiple events including the Concrete Countertop Industry Conference. Her passion is helping to accomplish The Concrete Countertop Institute's mission of helping contractors succeed in the business of concrete countertops through the Guided Business Success Program.
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