Book Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Largest Granite Quarrier and Manufacturer of Memorial Products

Oct. 21, 2002

COLD SPRING, Minn. - A book commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Cold Spring Granite Co., "A Century of Enduring Beauty," details challenges and innovations that helped make Cold Spring Granite the largest granite quarrier and manufacturer of commercial and memorial products in the world.

Established as the Rockville Granite Co. in 1898 by Scottish stonecutter Henry Nair Alexander, the company owes its modern success to Henry's sons Patrick and John. The brothers expanded the firm after their parents died, relocating it to Cold Spring, Minn. Minnesota was a leading granite producer then. From the start, the brothers placed great emphasis on adopting the best-available machinery, hiring and rewarding reliable employees, and making necessary changes to survive volatile market conditions.

Cold Spring Granite was the first granite manufacturer to employ modern production-line methods in the 1920s and the first in the granite industry to be awarded ISO 9001 certification, an internationally recognized standard for quality management, in 1996.

The firm pioneered development of quarrying and granite fabrication machinery in the 1930s and modernized quarrying methods in the United States, including the drive-in system that eliminated the need for derricks to lift granite out of quarries, in the 1980s.

A prescient move into the monument business allowed Cold Spring Granite to survive the Great Depression. When the government banned building construction to secure resources for World War II, Cold Spring Granite adjusted its plant to manufacture ship hulls, machinery foundations and engines for destroyer escorts.

With the death of Pat Alexander in 1948, John Alexander assumed full responsibility of the company. In the 1950s, a new company, Granit Bronz, was formed to supply markers for memorial parks. A string of acquisitions resulted in quarries in California, Texas and New York. A merged firm, Royal Melrose Granites, introduced lighter granite colors and a standard line of polished monuments in the 1960s. The last decade saw a new memorial company, Private Estates, generate significant growth in private mausoleum sales. It now accounts for 70 percent of the national market.

Granite from Cold Spring clads buildings around the world, including the Bank of America in San Francisco, the giant 311 Wacker Drive in Chicago, the Canada Trust in Toronto and the headquarters for Dong Ah Insurance in Seoul, South Korea. Well-known memorials developed by the firm include the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Cold Spring Granite operates 30 quarries in five U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. It is the largest U.S. importer of granite and granite colors. Recently the company established global partnerships with India's largest granite distributor and Europe's leading bronze memorial producer, making it the only fully integrated private-owned granite manufacturer offering a full line of granite and bronze memorial products. Its most ambitious project this decade, a modern bronze foundry, will be in full production by 2003.

The Alexander brothers employed a dozen or more workers in 1919 when their company's assets were valued at $19,215. Cold Spring Granite now is led by John's son, CEO and Chairman Pat Alexander. The company employs 1,200 people and its annual sales are approaching $150 million.

###

The Cold Spring Granite Co. is a leading manufacturer, designer and distributor of granite and bronze products. The Cold Spring Granite Memorial Group offers the broadest line of memorial products, including upright monuments, flat markers, cast bronze and granite bases, urns, columbaria, community and family mausoleums, benches, and specialty cemetery features. For more information, visit www.coldspringgranite.com.

[home] [site map] [contact us] [granite colors]
©2003 Cold Spring Granite Inc. All rights reserved.