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Coldspring (company)

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Cold Spring Granite Logo
Cold Spring Granite
Company typeprivately owned
IndustryMemorialization, Design & Architectural, Residential, Material Supply, Tooling
HeadquartersCold Spring, Minn.
Area served
North America
Key people
Pat Alexander, Chairman & CEO; John Mattke, President & COO; Greg Flint, Vice President of Operations, George Schnepf, CFO; Dan Rea, Vice President of Commercial Group; Mac Cariveau, Vice President of Memorial Group
ProductsGranite, Limestone, Granit Bronz, Royal Melrose, Accolade Plaques and Signs, Diamond Wright Tools, Blocks
Number of employees
Approximately 900
WebsiteCold Spring Granite

Cold Spring Granite is one of the largest quarriers of granite and natural stone in the United States.[1] More than 110 years ago, a single quarry and a stonecutter named Henry Nair Alexander started the family business which became known as Cold Spring Granite. Offering a complete line of granite and limestone, Cold Spring Granite serves the memorialization market, the design and architectural market and distributes slabs for the residential market, industrial products, raw quarry blocks, and diamond tools.[2]

History

In 1898, a Scottish stonecutter named Henry Nair Alexander laid the foundation for Cold Spring Granite. During this last decade of the 19th century, Alexander joined with a group of men from Rockville, Minn., to lease land with an outcropping of granite. Alexander died in 1913, but his sons Patrick H. and John continued the dream. In 1920, the sons moved the company five miles away from Rockville to the town of Cold Spring, Minn. This move built upon Henry’s single quarry, thus creating the Cold Spring Granite Company that exists today. [3][4][5]

Both Patrick H. and John expanded the business with their plan, which resulted in the company becoming the largest in the country by 1930.

  • 1880-1918: Henry Alexander, age 32, arrives in America from Scotland. Alexander and seven partners form the Rockville Granite Company, and Alexander becomes the sole owner by 1898. The first contract begins with the fabrication of columns for the rotunda of the new Minnesota State Capitol building in 1900. Sons John and Pat Alexander carry on the business after the death of Henry Alexander in 1913. [6]
  • 1919-1928: The business is relocated to Cold Spring, Minn. In 1924, the company name changes to Cold Spring Granite Company. Business continues to grow with projects such as the Nebraska State Capitol; the Toledo Blade newspaper building in Ohio, and banks in Michigan, Iowa, and Missouri. Cold Spring Granite begins memorialization work, including the George Washington memorial in a Kansas City park, which required the use of the largest single piece of granite to date, to be finished at the company’s plant. [7]
  • 1929-1939: Expansion continues for Cold Spring Granite, and in 1929 the company owns four granite quarries and posts record sales of $1.3 million. In 1931, the Great Depression wreaks havoc on businesses, causing office closures, layoffs and revenue falls for the first time to $500,000. However, by 1939, due in large part to the growing monument division, Cold Spring Granite makes a full recovery. [8]
  • 1940-1949: The John Clark Granite Company is purchased in 1942. In 1942, they begin building ship components for the war efforts, but return to granite work in 1945 as the war winds down. In 1948, John Alexander becomes president after the death of Pat Alexander. [9]
  • 1950-1959: Korean Conflict. The Memorial Division expands to include Granit Bronz, supplying markers for the new memorial parks opening across the country. Cold Spring Granite acquires Granite Mountain of Marble Falls, Texas; Pyramid Granite Works and Royal Granite of St. Cloud, Minn.; Raymond Granite Company of Raymond, Calif.; Melrose Granite of St. Cloud, Minn.; and Lake Placid Granite of Au Sable Forks, N.Y. In 1954, work begins on the new U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. [10]
  • 1960-1979: An 11-story mosaic mural at the University of Notre Dame is completed in 1964. Tom Alexander becomes president while John becomes chairman of the board. By 1970, memorialization revenues have doubled, and office building construction sees unprecedented growth. In 1972, Cold Spring Granite provides 350,000 square-feet of Carnelian granite for Bank of America’s 52-story world headquarters. [11]
  • 1980-1989: After Tom Alexander retires, Patrick D. Alexander becomes president of Cold Spring Granite and implements new technology with a rebuilding of the company in 1983. Cold Spring Granite acquires Red Granite Quarry in Fredericksburg, Texas, along with Capitol Marble and Granite. Work begins on the Franklin Delano Roosevelt monument. Granite West, a new plant for building products, opens in 1987. [12]
  • 1990-2000: The Minnesota Vietnam Veterans Memorial is completed in 1992. In 1995, the Lake Superior Green Quarry near Isabella, Minn., opens. The Korean War Memorial located in Washington, D.C., is dedicated, and the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt monument takes place in 1996. Also in 1996, Cold Spring Granite receives ISO certification, and Pat Alexander becomes CEO and Chairman of the Board as Patrick J. Mitchell is named president of the company. In 1997, the MonuWest facility – designed for memorial fabrication – opens. In 1998, Cold Spring Granite celebrates 100 years in business, and the first phase of a new Granit Bronz foundry is completed. Gross sales approach $150 million at the end of the 1990s. In 1999, the Chairman’s Club is established to honor employees with 25 years or more of service. Recertification for ISO 9001 standard in 1999 prompts continuous improvement efforts, such as lean manufacturing and time-based management techniques.[13]
  • 2001-Present: John H. Mattke is named president in 2004. In 2007, consolidating and upgrading technology and equipment – both quarry and plants – Cold Spring Granite completes construction of a new corporate headquarters, located in Cold Spring, Minn. The National D-Day Memorial is opened in June of 2001, featuring 360 tons of green granite.[14] In 2008, the new corporate headquarters achieves LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making Cold Spring Granite one of the first private-sector companies in central Minnesota to achieve LEED certification. [15][16]

Products and Industries Served

Cold Spring Granite has quarries and fabrication facilities located in New York, Minnesota, South Dakota, Texas, California and Canada. These quarries offer a variety of color choices: Academy Black, Agate, Azalea, Carnelian, Charcoal Black, Diamond Pink, Fredericksburg Red, Iridian, Kasota Valley Limestone, Lac du Bonnet, Lake Placid Blue, Lake Superior Green, Mesabi Black, Mountain Green, Prairie Brown, Rainbow, Rockville Beige, Rockville White, Royal Sable, Sierra White, Sunset Beige, Sunset Red, Texas Pearl, Texas Pink and Texas Red.[17]

Cold Spring Granite’s natural stone products from its Commercial Group serve the design community with architectural applications such as commercial interiors and exteriors, landscaping, hardscaping, civic memorials and national monuments. In addition, the Commercial Group serves as the distributor of slabs for the residential market, as well as offers industrial products, raw quarry blocks, jetty, rip-rap and diamond tools. The Memorial Group serves the death care industry, including cemeteries and memorial companies. Products offered by the Memorial Group include bronze statuary, bronze on granite markers, drilled granite bases, columbariums, granite benches, cremation memorials, pillars and boulders, standard and custom designed upright monuments, grass markers, slants and bevels, signage, as well as an array of other granite and bronze products. Further, the Memorial Group offers turnkey mausoleum design and construction for private and community mausoleums.[18]

Sustainability Initiatives

Cold Spring Granite’s sustainability initiative is centered on the Triple Bottom Line, [19]which aligns corporate activities with maintaining a balance between social, environmental and financial impacts.[20]

With a stated mission of being a strong corporate citizen, providing a good place to work and being a good steward of environmental resources, Cold Spring Granite began implementing lean practices in the 1990s.[21] Sustainable practices have grown to include: on-site (quarry) processing to reduce transportation, maximizing quarry yield and minimizing waste by creating stone by-products, updating and modernizing stone processing equipment to optimize energy efficiency, and utilizing a water reclamation facility that recycles more than 95 percent of industrial water.[22] In December 2007, the construction of a new corporate headquarters, together with consolidated fabrication facilities in Cold Spring, Minn., served to further reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Awarded LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2008, the building has 31-percent less square footage than the former building.[23][24]

Cold Spring Granite is a member of the Natural Stone Council (NSC) and President and COO, John Mattke, is past-chairman of the NSC’s Committee on Sustainability, which has partnered with the University of Tennessee's Center for Clean Products to provide research and define the environmental footprint of stone. For the center’s Natural Stone Industry Environmental Benchmarking Study, data was captured from both quarry and processing operations to characterize the environmental profile of the natural stone industry. Findings spurred continuing research on key issues ranging from water reclamation and consumption efficiency, identification of market niches and alternative uses for scrap stone, to the potential establishment of a corporate environmental policy for quarry closure; thereby compelling the development of industry best practices, life-cycle datasets and material fact sheets.[25]

Associations

Cold Spring Granite has memberships in the following associations: Natural Stone Council (NSC), National Building Granite Quarries of America (NBGQA), Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), US Green Building Council (USGBC), Marble Institute of America (MIA), Building Stone Institute (BSI), Building Product Manufacturers Association (BPMA), Northwest Monument Builders Association, International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA), Southern Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (SCCFA), Cremation Association of North America (CANA), American Monument Association (AMA), Catholic Cemetery Conference (CCC), Northwest Granite Manufacturers Association (NWGMA), Monument Builders of North America (MBNA), International Sign Association (ISA), Awards and Recognition Association (ARA)

Awards and Recognition

Cold Spring Granite has been awarded the following honors: International Masonry Institute,[26] Gold Trowel Award, 2001 Award of Merit - Commercial Exterior, Marble Institute of America [27]- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Washington, D.C., 2002 Special Pinnacle Award for Craftsmanship & Design, Marble Institute of America – Minneapolis Beautiful Project & “TEN” Sculpture,[28] 2005 Special Pinnacle Award, Marble Institute of America – Stone Memorial.</ref>[29]

In addition to the awards Cold Spring Granite has received, consumer research has been conducted to show brand familiarity throughout their industry. In a survey conducted by Readex Research in 2006, Cold Spring Granite was recognized by consumers for use of natural stone products.[30]

Notable Projects

  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial: Washington D.C.
  • Korean War Memorial: Washington, D.C.
  • National Japanese American Memorial: Washington, D.C.
  • The Air Force Academy: Colorado Springs, Calif.[31]
  • McGraw-Hill Headquarters: New York City, N.Y.[32]
  • Notre Dame Hesburgh Library “Touchdown Jesus” Mural: South Bend, Ind.[33]
  • Bank of America: San Francisco, Calif.[34]
  • Carlson Center, Minneapolis, Minn. [35]
  • National D-Day Memorial: Bedford, Va. [36]
  • Center for the Intrepid: San Antonio, Texas

References

  1. ^ [1], Cold Spring Granite
  2. ^ [2], Stone World
  3. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages viii-ix
  4. ^ [3],Funding Universe
  5. ^ [4], Stearns County, Minn.
  6. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 1-9
  7. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 11-29
  8. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 31-41
  9. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 43-53
  10. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 55-69
  11. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 43-53
  12. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 71-85
  13. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 87-101
  14. ^ [5], USDA Forest Service
  15. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 103-113
  16. ^ [6],Stone Business Online
  17. ^ [7],Cold Spring Granite
  18. ^ [8], Stone World
  19. ^ [9], Stone World
  20. ^ [ http://www.coldspringgranite.com/About-Us/Sustainability.aspx], Cold Spring Granite, Sustainability
  21. ^ [10], Stone Business Online
  22. ^ [11],Stone World
  23. ^ [12], Masonry Construction Online
  24. ^ [13], International Surface Fabricators Association
  25. ^ [14],Masonry Construction Online
  26. ^ [15], Masonry Construction Online
  27. ^ [16], Marble Institute of America], Marble Institute of America
  28. ^ [17], Marble Institute of America
  29. ^ [18], Marble Institute of America
  30. ^ [19], Masonry Construction Online
  31. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 67-69
  32. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 75-76
  33. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Page 73
  34. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 75-76
  35. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Pages 100-101
  36. ^ "A Century of Enduring Beauty" Copyright 2002, Cold Spring Granite Company. Page 113
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