A student at Danbury High School, Fabio Figueiredo, recently completed a class assignment that really rocked. "The whole granite idea was a small marketing project at school," admits Fabio who was tasked with creating a business plan. His brilliant plan of importing granite to the United States earned him an "A" and laid a solid foundation for a successful family business.

La Pietra is a family owned custom marble, granite and tile business with three locations in Connecticut. The full scale fabrication facility boasts a 10K square foot warehouse in Brookfield and houses two state of the art showrooms in Monroe and Ridgefield. And yes, the business concept was conceived while Fabio was a senior at Danbury High School.

A native of Brazil, Fabio was aware of country's abundant natural resources. "I thought, is there an advantage that I have? Is there something that I can bring to the United States?" "My family and I started to do some investigating and took a trip to Brazil" he adds.

As luck would have it, Fabio discovered something that would become the cornerstone of the business. "I found out that my uncle works at a quarry and with the American market," explains Fabio. "My uncle helped me make some connections and I established credit lines so I could get the granite to the US," he adds.

Voila- La Pietra, a name that in Italian means "The Rock" was born. Fabio, together with his brother and his father began importing granite slabs and selling them wholesale from a modest warehouse on Miry Brook Road in Danbury. "I was 18 years old and a freshman in college [Western Connecticut State University] when we got La Pietra up and running," says Fabio, who served as the company's first sales person.

A turning point in the family business came in 2003 when La Pietra began fabricating their own granite and marble. "We hired top fabricators in Connecticut, purchased our first piece of equipment from Italy, and started fabricating," says Fabio. The business thrived. "By 2007, we had outgrown the Miry Brook location," says Fabio. La Pietra moved from Danbury to Brookfield and, additionally, opened a showroom in Monroe.

Today, La Pietra owns and operates fabricating equipment that is among the best in the area allowing them to create intricate custom pieces with seamless accuracy. They work with a host of local builders, designers and architects and offer a wide variety of granite, marble, limestone, and quartzite. Additionally, they stock thin stone veneers, stainless steel, porcelain, and natural stone sinks. "People don't know that we offer so much. We have custom tile, water jet mosaics, architectural fabricational fireplaces and veneer stone - it's so much more than granite countertops," says Fabio.

Not one to rest on his laurels, this past year, Fabio opened a third location, a showroom and design center, on Ethan Allen Highway in Ridgefield where La Pietra shares space with Riverbend, a company that sells custom wood floors. "The opportunity presented itself to open the showroom together with Riverbend and i thought it was a perfect opportunity - there is synergy between our companies," Fabio explains.

Great things are on the horizon for La Pietra in 2014. "Our business has grown since we've moved to Ridgefield and I think this is going to be the busiest year we've ever had," says Fabio.

"I'm proud of what we've accomplished," says Fabio who is quick to add, "I can't do this by myself, our employees are La Pietra, and they help take us to the next level."