Much
effort was taken into the preparation and production of the
elaborate floor medallion - featuring tiny, detailed pieces of stone - that is
a
setting for the Foucault Pendulum inside the Hunt Oil Co. headquarters.
Despite the recent economic slump, Twin Stone Marble of Hollywood, FL, continues to grow with large-scale projects - and it has undergone several shop expansions and a recent upgrade to a new line of machinery from Coch Corp.
Although Stone Concepts of Eagle, CO, may sometimes only complete one house a week, owner Mike Hamrick explained that the work his company performs is very unique. “This isn’t your basic fabrication process -- this is [working with] custom, and at times, one-of-a-kind creations,” he said. “You don’t see many tract homes in these resort areas, so a majority of the work is very [detailed] and therefore time consuming.”
Once a month, Keith and Betsy Klein, owners of Renaissance Stone in Mills River, NC, set aside a day to be creative, where they ask their employees to try something new - regardless of whether or not it will be successful. “I want them to be creative without worrying if we’re making big money, and at the end of the day, something can come up where we’re like, ‘Hey let’s show this to a customer,’” said Keith Klein. That’s just one of the many ways the couple finds new ideas for the stone industry, in addition to making their employees feel like they are part of the bigger picture.
Set in the desert region of Phoenix, AZ, the architects for the Riverpoint Center sought to connect the corporate facility to its natural surroundings, while also maintaining its corporate appeal. To help achieve these goals, the design includes sandstone from India, which was used for both exterior and interior applications.
Starting out dealing 100% with plastic laminate, Maxwell Counters, Inc. of Farmer City, IL, expanded into solid surface fabrications and, more recently, it began measuring and installing quartz products. The addition of digital templating technology has been an integral part of the company’s flourishing development.
For decades, Kyanite Mining Corp. of Dillwyn, VA, has been quarrying the mineral kyanite for refractory purposes. Preserved through the years by four generations of the Dixon family, the company recently incorporated the quarrying of dimensional blocks into its operations.
The owner of a successful stone fabrication company that bears his name, Michael Homchick has worked in the stone industry for more than 30 years. The current facilities for Michael Homchick Stoneworks, Inc. in Kenmore, WA, rely on advanced machinery to meet the demands of its high-end market.
Serving as a model for future National Park Service sites, the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center - located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee - was built with sustainability in mind, and it is on target to become one of the National Park Service’s first LEED-certified buildings in the southeastern U.S. To adhere to the sustainable objectives of the project, regional river stone was applied as a battered wainscot around the exterior of the structure to help it harmonize with its mountainous surroundings, which also aided in taking advantage of the natural resources around the site.