T.J. Henderson started Modern Countertops in a single-car garage in 2012. The early years focused on learning the craft and building strong systems. Over time, the company has grown into a 25-person team that completes nearly 100 projects per month across Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Indiana.
“We’ve always believed that investing in equipment and systems should make work better for the people doing it,” Henderson said. Along the way, we’ve navigated restructuring and leadership changes that ultimately strengthened our organization and clarified our standards.”
Employees are a major reason for the success of Modern Countertops, as many team members have been with the company for nearly a decade.
“We are humans working with other humans. That applies to how we treat customers and how we treat our team,” Henderson said. “We provide full health, dental and vision coverage, and we’ve implemented communication systems that protect employees’ personal time, so their work doesn’t follow them home unnecessarily. We invest in safety, training and tools that reduce physical strain and make jobs more sustainable.”
The company is currently designing a formal apprenticeship and training center in order to structured career paths. The long-term vision is to build an apprenticeship framework that could be adopted to help standardize training and elevate the industry as a whole.
“If we contribute to raising industry standards, that benefits customers, tradespeople and businesses alike,” Henderson said.
This past year, Modern Countertops has focused on strengthening its foundation.
“We continued steady growth while maintaining strong profitability and operational stability,” Henderson said. “We improved lead times to an average of nine business days – significantly faster than typical industry timelines – while keeping quality standards high.”
The company implemented structured communication tools to protect employee work-life balance, expanded internal data systems to improve visibility and accountability and hired key leadership that elevated field operations.
“We also reached more than 60 five-star Google reviews and continued active involvement in the community through youth sports sponsorships, charitable donations and a give-back program tied to customer reviews,” Henderson said.
Recently, the company began construction of a new design center focused entirely on customer experience.
“Buying stone can feel overwhelming, especially for first-time buyers,” Henderson said. “This space is designed to make the process clear, comfortable and collaborative. Our goal is to build design centers that function not only as customer-experience spaces but also as community hubs within each territory we serve.”
Each center is designed to pair local contractors, builders, designers and suppliers with area projects. The company plans to expand the model into additional territories throughout the Midwest, with each location operating as its own structured business unit supported by regional leadership.
“Growth for us isn’t simply about scale,” Henderson said. “It’s about building a company that is financially disciplined, operationally strong, culture-driven and capable of providing long-term careers in the trades. If we focus on that, the rest follows.”
For Henderson, the most meaningful part of his job is watching people build better lives.
“We’ve had several team members purchase their first homes while working here,” he said. “Others have grown from entry-level positions into leadership roles. Many have significantly increased their income over time. Being in a position to support someone through a difficult season or see them reach a milestone they once thought was out of reach is incredibly rewarding.”
This article appears in Best Places to Work 2026.