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Slippery rock Gazette
Danby Marble
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Inside Dorset Mountain, the temperature stays between 48 and 52 degrees, year-round. “During summer we love it because it’s free air conditioning. During win- ter we love it because it’s free heat,” says Prvulovic.
From Quarry to Countertop in 160 Miles
It would be hard to imagine a shorter production chain from quarrying a rough block to pro- ducing a finished, packaged prod- uct, all before the stone sees the light of day.
From there, most of the stone is shipped a short distance to meet bustling demand in the Northeast. “Obviously this makes it a more sustainable material because we’re not wasting fuel to ship material all over the place,” says Prvulovic.
Danby marble earns LEED points for locally-derived materi- als when used within a 500-mile radius. Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City, all sit inside that perimeter. For example, it’s only 160 miles from the Danby quarry
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to downtown Boston. Compare that with a shipping distance of around 4,000 miles for a stone imported from South America or Europe, or a whopping 7,700 miles from Asia. Using Vermont marble would shave off 96 per- cent to 98 percent of the shipping distance compared to an imported stone.
Another advantage of the direct supply chain is quick turnaround. “We’re able to deliver to the mar- ket in days, what other places would take weeks or months,” saysPrvulovic.Betweenfastpro- duction and short shipping dis- tance, the company can get stone to its customers quickly, and keep projects running on schedule.
Colorado Stone Quarries is the sister company to Vermont Quarries, and each helps the other. Stone from Vermont is staged in Colorado so it can be shipped quickly to the west coast. “Having the material in Delta [Colorado] keeps it in easy strik- ing distance for Los Angeles or San Francisco,” says Mannolini.
“And we cut Colorado marble here and service the northeast,” says Prvulovic. “It’s really a partnership.”
Mannolini says, emphasizing a quintessentially Italian sense of style. Prvulovic follows up with the practicality, pointing out that Danby’s low absorption rate (0.06 percent to 0.08 percent compared to other marbles (typically 0.1 to 0.2 percent) means Danby marble is less likely to stain. It’s also why Danby marble shrugs off the ele- ments when used outdoors, where it’s been a reliable, historical building stone for over 100 years.
The U.S. Supreme Court, Jefferson Memorial, headstones and amphitheater at the Arlington National Cemetery, and the New York public library are a few well-known examples of Danby marble. “It’s been tested, so to speak,” says Prvulovic.
Colors and Patterns to Suit Many Tastes
The company is best known for Imperial Danby, which has wispy veins of caramel bronze and warm grey on a pure white back- ground. But several different stra- ta of marble run through Dorset Mountain, allowing for variations in color, veining, and pattern. “We have different sections for different colors,” says Prvulovic.
The quarry produces ten dif- ferent varieties of marble, from the green-on-white of Vermont Cipollino, to the vivid grey and brown Fantastico Danby, to the serene subtlety of Olympian White.
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The layered deposition of Danby marble reveals a wealth of variations and colors, like the four distinct layers in this seam.
Sustainable from Start to Finish
The minimal footprint of the Danby quarry creates a low envi- ronmental impact. The landscape is not disrupted, blocks are not cleaved from a mountainside, and the operations don’t generate a big hole in the ground.
“We’re basically occupying parts of the mountain that are al- ready vacant,” says Prvulovic. “It just made sense for us to fill those voids and repurpose them.”
In an underground workplace, air quality is of utmost impor- tance. Mannolini explained that all the cutting and polishing ma- chinery is electrical, and the mod- ern diesel loaders are equipped so they produce minimal exhaust.
The quarry has a large ventila- tion shaft to circulate fresh air, and the operation is subject to frequent air sampling. “We never
had a single day where we didn’t pass,” says Mannolini. A major advantage of American stone is the stringent measures in place to protect workers and the natural environment. For some custom- ers, that’s one of the appeals of domestic stone.
Companywide, R.E.D. Graniti strives for sustainable practices, and the Vermont Quarries are beginning the process of pursu- ing National Stone Council sus- tainability certification. “We as a company believe it’s a very important aspect for us,” says Prvulovic. NSC’s formal sustain- ability assessment will help the company “see exactly where we fit in,” says Prvulovic. “We’re just getting started.”
Trusted American Heritage
“What people are looking for in the stone is mainly the beauty,”