Canadian stone producer revives American soapstone quarry
Although the Quebec-based company Polycor focuses mainly on granite and marble, it recently purchased its first soapstone quarry in Virginia to meet the current demand for the stone and strengthen its North American presence
Staying true to its focus on the North American market, Polycor, one of the nation’s largest granite, marble and limestone groups, recently acquired its first soapstone quarry, the Alberene Soapstone Co., to help meet the current high demand for American soapstone. Located in Schuyler, VA, the 9,000-acrequarry serves as one of the only soapstone quarries left in the U.S.
“All we do, and all we want to do, is obtain quarries in North America,” said François Darmayan, President and General Manager of Polycor. “We already have quarries in Georgia, Colorado and Canada — so it’s [Alberene] right in our way. Right in what we do. We only quarry in the U.S. and Canada, so we saw the stone at different trade shows and our sales people fell in love with it. We first looked at it, and we thought it would be better quarrying it [rather than outsourcing overseas].”