Desmond Keogh, owner and President of Haifa Limestone has the level of passion and energy that makes you think wow, I should really get some more sleep.

His company, Haifa Limestone, sources stones from across the globe and offers a one-stop-shop experience, overseeing projects all the way through to installation and maintenance.

From an outdoor (non-slip) pool deck to a custom indoor marble tub, the sky’s the limit when it comes to executing your vision with this team.

We met this past week at the Haifa compound where we got a crash course in (and later quizzed on) all things marble, limestone, seaglass and beyond.

 Written by TSG Contributing Editor, Kate Rowan

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With fully custom, start to finish project management, Keogh is confident that Haifa is a cut above the rest – literally and figuratively.

“I’ve been to every quarry in every country. We import, design, fabricate, install, plus restoration and maintenance. We do all the steps of the entire process,” he says.

“We’ve made the mistakes, we’ve learned the lessons, so we can really give people good, accurate advice. We are risk mitigation.”

 

When you pick a career at 18 and stick to it for 37 years, you kind of get bragging rights.

Not only did he land in the industry as a teenager in the 1980’s, but intentionally chose Palm Beach as his point of interest.

The story, fateful and inspiring in every sense is so much more than that.

After being recruited to play soccer in the North American football league, his mentor in Chicago sent him on a week-long trip to Palm Beach.

“I got to the airport and I told the lady, I’m going to Palm Beach, California,” he joked.

“I was a greenhorn – straight from Ireland,” he added.

Keogh was introduced to his mentor’s friend, then head of Haifa, and ended up working with him every single day of his trip.

Immediately following the trip he announced, “I’m going back to college and the day I finish, I’m moving to Palm Beach.”

From there – the rest is history; he’s spent his entire adult life building and growing with the organization.

 

Haifa offers project management around the country in both residential and commercial capacities.

At any given point, Desmond is balancing 60-70 projects in addition to a family of five.

They import from quarries all over the world – Italy, Spain, Israel, Portugal, to name a few – where Desmond has personally facilitated longtime and often exclusive partnerships.

Here locally, the team can provide custom colors, sizes, materials and finishes to the client’s liking; all on a faster timeline than the competition.

“What other businesses can’t do and won’t do, we do,” says Keogh.

Desmond’s passion trickles down to the full team (50-80 people at any given time) who live by the company’s core values posted in plain view on the main wall of the meeting room.

The company’s motto: Trust and Verify.

Another sub header, naturally: Measure twice, cut once.

 

With the recent boom in real estate and construction, I was curious to hear what trends are emerging in the market.

“The big shift is aesthetic,” says Keogh.

“It shifted from revival Mediterranean to this more minimal, contemporary feel. Now everyone wants white and cream and beige…if you have a quarry that has white marble, you’re in a good spot right now.”

When you meet someone so fully invested in their job, sometimes you just have to know: what would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?

“If I wasn’t here, I’d be running my dad’s dairy farm in Ireland. He produces milk for Bailey’s cream liqueur.”

 

 

Haifa Limestone is located at 1891 Old Okeechobee Rd in West Palm Beach. You can visit them online at www.haifalimestone.com