Demo

Coldspring Precision Diamond Tooling
Face it. You can have the best saws, edgers and CNCs, and the best oper- ators running them, but if the diamond tooling you’re running is not performing to its peak, you’re taking the slow road to the finish line each and every job. Good tooling is not an option, it’s a necessity in the competi- tive world of stone, and what’s on the spindle counts as much as anything. So, ask yourself, is my current diamond tooling perform- ing at its best, or is it the weak link in my production chain?
Knowing this all too well, Coldspring, a major stone pro- ducer for 120 years (See our Nov. 2020 feature, Coldspring: The Legacy Continues) began produc- ing diamond tooling for their own production line during the 1930s. As time and the available tech- nology progressed, Coldspring’s engineers and leadership set their sights on adapting new techniques in metallurgy and chemistry, and applied them to their cutting, shaping and polishing processes. Coldspring’s emergence as a U.S. tooling developer is the subject of this story.
Representing Coldspring for this story is Tooling Production
Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Coldspring
Manager Francis Massmann, Product Development Specialist Joel Vettleson, and Director of Operations Josh Reitmeier.
Necessity was the Mother of Invention
In the 1970s, diamond tooling was still relatively new to the market, considering the stone in- dustry was a thousand years old. At the time, industrial diamonds were still extremely expensive and not readily available, but as availability increased and pric- es dropped, Coldspring grabbed hold of the technology and start- ed to develop tooling for their own use. Massmann shares, “Coldspring has always had the mindset of being self-support- ing. Many years ago, we built a building that housed carpenters, machinists, engineers, welders, mechanics, and a tooling divi- sion. The biggest reason for doing this was to ensure we didn’t have to rely on outside sources to keep operations running.”
Please turn to page 2
From Left: Francis Massmann, Joel Vettleson and Josh Reitmeier, Coldspring Tooling Division
NTCA Names Tile Setter Craftsperson of the Year Winners
The Beacon of The STone InduSTry
www.slipperyrockgazette.net
decemBer 2020 Volume 26.12
The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) has announced its 2020 Tile Setter Craftspersons of the Year Award in both the resi- dential and commercial categories.
On the commercial side, the winner is Ferid Hasic of Grazzini Brothers & Company, Eagan, Minn., while the recipient in the residential category is Leo Reynaga of Visalia Tile in Visalia, California.
Florida-Bound
The winners receive round- trip airfare for two to Coverings
Ferid Hasic, Commercial Division Tile Setter of the Year
Leo Renega, Center, with VCT Owners Robby Martinho (L) and Eddie Martinho (R)
2021, scheduled to take place at for a three-night stay. They will the Orange County Convention be recognized at the annual NTCA Center in Orlando, Fla., next April, Awards Night during the show.
as well as hotel accommodations Please turn to page 12