TAIVASSALO, FINLAND — Palin Granit Oy is continuing to equip its quarries with modern and well-maintained equipment, including its site for Balmoral Red granite (quarry no. 5), which is located in Taivassalo, Finland. The quarry is a challenging site for stone extraction, and Palin has enlarged it to have more space. The basic technology in place is hydraulic drilling machinery, and quarrying is done using the traditional “Finnish method.”

Production at the quarry is approximately 450 cubic meters per month, and the material is used for indoor and outdoor applications, as well as for monuments. Since it is used for a variety of purposes, the block sizes are variable — with both large and small blocks available. Like all of Palin Granit’s quarries, the Balmoral Red sites work with care to respect the environment in and around the quarry. Earlier this year, the Finnish Natural Stone Association — together with Geological Survey of Finland and Finnish Environmental Agency — has started a project where the best environmental practices in the natural stone industry will be studied.

Heikki Palin, Managing Director of Palin Granit, is serving as Chairman of the steering group for the project, with Olavi Selonen, Environmental Manager of Palin Granit, serving as Vice Chairman. The project is financed by the Centre of Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of South-East Finland and the Renlund Foundation. The duration of the project is 2013 to 2014.