Sharon Koehler

Artistic Stone Design

Brighstone, Menai, Shirebrook, Kentmere and Templeton are all very nice, picturesque, touristy haunts over in the United Kingdom. Brighstone is a village on the Isle of Wight, an island just a ferry ride away from England’s south coast. Menai (Bridge) is a small town on the Isle of Anglesey in north Wales. Shirebrook is a town in England, and their biggest claim to fame is Jason Statham (of the Transporter film series). Kentmere is a valley in England that boasts a population of 160 people (+ or -) and Templeton is a town in Wales, whose claim to fame is it may have once boasted a place of worship for the Knights Templar order, back in the 1200’s or so. 

However, more than being the names of beautiful villages, towns, haunts and hangouts, these are also the names of Cambria quartz designs (colors). Even the name Cambria is steeped in the United Kingdom’s history and legend. It is legend that when the Trojan Brutus landed in Britain, he divided the land between his three sons. His youngest son Camber, was given land west of the Severn River and it was renamed Cambria in his honor.

Here’s the rub: Cambria is not created over in the United Kingdom. It is created right here in the good old U. S. of A.  And as far as I know, they are the only quartz line to be solely made in the United States – LeSueur, Minnesota to be more exact. 

We all have heard of Cambria quartz. As a collective group we sell it, order it, fabricate it and install it often. But how much do you really know about it? Let’s start with the obvious: 

  • Currently over 146 designs
  • Made in the USA  
  • Family-owned by the Davis family

But did you know that this huge family-owned enterprise didn’t start out in the solid surface business? They started as a dairy company. 

The 400,000 square foot plant in LeSueur is big enough to have its own fire department. Want a tour? Just call and ask.

The 400,000 square foot plant in LeSueur is big enough to have its own fire department. Want a tour? Just call and ask.
The 400,000 square foot plant in LeSueur is big enough to have its own fire department. Want a tour? Just call and ask.

Back in 1943, Stan Davis bought the St. Peter Creamery with a partner. The partner eventually exited the business, and Stan Davis became its sole owner. In 1969 the Davis family purchased the LeSueur Creamery, and Mark Davis was tapped to be the manager of LeSueur Cheese. By 1986 the Davis family owned three distinct food and dairy businesses. They decided to bring them under one company name: Davisco Foods International. The Davis family had been in business 43 years with no thought or mention of quartz, only dairy and food.

It wasn’t until the year 2000, 57 years after entering the dairy business that quartz finally made it into the Davis family vision.  They received an opportunity to purchase some quartz equipment. They opened their Cambria plant in LeSueur, Minnesota in 2001 with a contract to provide slabs to DuPont. Technically speaking, I believe that makes them the first Zodiac. Let that sink in for a minute. Cambria was apparently the first Zodiac. In 2003 they broke away from DuPont and entered the retail market with 33 designs and a 150,000 square foot plant. 

In 2006 they more than doubled the size of the LeSueur plant to 350,000 square feet. Then in 2012 they added two more production lines and another 408, 000 square feet to the plant. That is two huge plant expansions in just 14 years. We certainly cannot forget about the more than 100 designs they have created in the last 14 years.

Interesting fact – Cambria does not discontinue their designs. They group those 145+ designs into collections. Their earlier creations are still available in their CLASSIC Collection, while two of their newer designs, Highgate and Ironsbridge can be found in their Marble Collection, and two of their most widely popular designs, Berwyn and Praa Sands, are in their Waterstone Collection. In March 2017 Cambria introduced its “matte” finish.  The matte finish is available on all designs and carries the same warranty as their normal polish finish. 

If you turn over a sample of Cambria, the label declares Cambria to be NSF certified and GreenGuard Gold certified as well. However, Cambria has also become Declare certified and a member of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative. Another interesting fact –  Cambria helps with LEED points. You can pick up one point for a low emitting surface and possibly another ¾ of a point for local manufacturing if you are within a 500-mile radius of LeSueur, Minnesota. 

Cambria comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty for both their polish and matte finishes. The warranty basically says the product must be fabricated and installed by a Cambria-approved fabricator and installer, ownership is not transferable and it must be paid for in full for the warranty to kick in. Interesting fact – Cambria has created a company position called Field Service Technician (FST). If for some reason a consumer has an issue with their Cambria they can call their fabricator, their distributor or Cambria itself, and a local FST will be sent to their home to investigate, help resolve or fix the issue. I don’t know another quartz company that does that. Please bear in mind that not all the Cambria FST positions have been filled yet, so if there is not an FST available in your area yet, just call your fabricator or Cambria.

Here are  a few more interesting facts:  

#1: The Cambria plant in LeSueur, Minnesota has its own complete, fully functioning fire department (Well, when you create something that large, you need to protect it.)

#2:  If you are interested in seeing how Cambria is made, simply call the plant in Minnesota and schedule a tour.

#3:  Cambria has a philanthropic side. They have teamed up with The Arthritis Foundation and created Camp Cambrias in two different countries (one in the United States and one in Canada). These camps are for children with Juvenile Arthritis. They offer a free, overnight, six-day camping experience for children who, because of their illness, might not otherwise ever have a camping experience.


Cambria quartz is but one of the many brands available. More brands are popping up all the time. Quartz products in general are making a strong play for the stone market and they are here to stay. 


These “Interesting Facts” are just that – FACTS. They are not meant to promote Cambria quartz or to try to coerce you into buying it or selling it. Hopefully, as time goes by, we will all learn more Interesting Facts about other quartz brands and we will all be able to help our customers make informed, educated decisions.



Please send your thoughts on this article to Sharon Koehler at Sharon@asdrva.rocks.