Indiana limestone forges partnership

With a common goal to fabricate and deliver Indiana limestone easily and efficiently to projects across North America,two industry members joined forces to build TexaCon Cut Stone in Bloomington, IN

**Photos courtesy of Herald-Times**

TexaCon Cut Stone was opened on December 2, 2013, to fabricate custom Indiana limestone pieces for projects throughout North America.

Among the equipment in the mill are Bedford and Bisso planers.

On December 2, 2013, TexaCon Cut Stone was born. The mill was originally built in Chicago in 1930, and it had been dismantled and shipped to Bloomington, IN. The facility had been closed for five months prior to TexaCon Cut Stone purchasing it.

The idea for the new company was conceived by co-founders Joe Dellacroce of Connecticut Stone in Milford, CT, and Brenda Edwards of TexaStone Quarries in Garden City, TX. While Dellacroce needed to supply Indiana limestone in many of his projects and was having difficulty with fabrication on a timely basis, Edwards was receiving many requests to fabricate Indiana limestone but was not cost effective due to shipping of block to Texas and then to a jobsite.

Dellacroce and Edwards had known each other many years through the Building Stone Institute (BSI), of which they are both members. In fact, they have both served as past presidents. After sharing their struggles with each other, the two decided to look into purchasing a mill in Indiana.

The pair dedicated time to visiting Indiana many times to check out various mills before deciding on the one that they did. They also then brought in a third partner, Tevin Norman of Bedford, IN, who is now co-owner and general manager of TexaCon Cut Stone. Norman is also a member of BSI.

The 21,000-square-foot mill purchases Indiana limestone blocks — from various quarries in the Indiana Belt, which includes Monroe, Owen and Lawrence counties — for fabrication purposes. As of press time, in the two to three full months that TexaCon Cut Stone has been producing stone, it had shipped 3,385 cubes to various jobsites in the U.S. and Canada.

With limestone blocks weighing as much as 25,000 pounds, a lineup of machinery is in place at the mill to cut the stone down to size — depending on the requirements for each specific project. Currently, the majority of TexaCon Cut Stone’s machinery is from Park Industries of St. Cloud, MN.

Among the roster of equipment are two Park Infinity multi-purpose machines that combine precision sawing performance and complex shaping into one. The Infinity assists in creating curved or straight stone profiles such as archways, coping, column caps and sills. Additionally, there is a Park Jaguar 1 and a Park Jaguar 2 bridge saw, a Park Hydasplit, a Park Narrow belt saw, Bedford and Bisso planers and a GMM Radia 38 full automatic bridge saw and shaping machine.

At the present time, TexaCon Cut Stone employs 12 workers. The company provides custom Indiana limestone pieces for residential, commercial and institutional projects in the U.S. and Canada as well as anywhere else that has a need for the material.

For the short term, the company owners are set to getting the mill to run at full capacity. When looking to the long-term future, TexaCon Cut Stone intends to promote Indiana limestone — partnering with other Indiana companies in order to benefit all quarries and all fabricators.

As Group Editorial Director of Stone World, Contemporary Stone & Tile Design and TILE, Jennifer Richinelli has been covering the stone and tile industries since she launched her career at BNP Media in 1996. Throughout her tenure, she has visited and reported on numerous national and international quarries, stone fabrication shops, trade shows and other industry events. She has also collaborated with members of the A&D community, including many renowned architects, on articles about designing with stone and tile.

Contact Jennifer at richinellij@bnpmedia.com or (201) 245-5204.