Graniterock
Encyclopedia
Graniterock is a 100+ year old American corporation based in Watsonville, California
. It operates in the construction industry providing crushed gravel, sand, concrete and asphalt. The company won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
in 1992 and has been named one of Fortune Magazine's Best 100 Companies to Work For.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake
flattened the new steam crushing plant and temporarily halted operations. Train rails were twisted, rail cars overturned, and the quarry operation generally devastated. Fortunately, the earthquake's devastation created a new demand for construction: In the years that followed, Graniterock Company supplied materials for a number of important buildings in San Francisco and around the Monterey Bay area. Among those still standing are the old Gilroy City Hall and the old San Francisco Wells Fargo Building.
As automobiles began to replace the horse and buggy, street paving became a necessity. Graniterock Company received its first contract for placement of water-bond macadam
on Lake Avenue in Watsonville, from Walker Street to the northeast city limits. The total contract, including grading and gutters, amounted to $18,000. In 1915, the California State Legislature passed the "Get Out of the Mud Act", a bill encouraging the modernization of streets. Over the next few years, the streets of Santa Cruz
and Salinas
were paved with Graniterock concrete.
World War I
caused freight costs to skyrocket, and as a result, local plants were developed so that rock could be sold in small truck lots. Graniterock Company built bunkers along the railroad from South San Francisco to San Luis Obispo to supply local construction businesses. Construction was booming throughout California, and Graniterock Company was expanding with the state's growing needs. In 1916, a railroad was built to Southern California’s Doheny oil fields, and Graniterock sent men and machinery as far south as Santa Maria to do the work. In 1918, Graniterock built the highway connecting Castroville with Moss Landing. Among the builders was author John Steinbeck
.
At the Aromas quarry, expansion was taking place as well. In 1909, a Marion steam shovel was purchased to further mechanize operations, and in 1911, a Porter steam locomotive replaced horse-drawn carts to haul broken rock from the quarry face to the steam crusher. At San Francisco's Panama Pacific Exhibition in 1915, Graniterock won the Gold Ribbon for excellence in crushed rock.
Just before the stock market crash of 1929, A.R. Wilson suffered a heart attack and died while at work. His wife Anna assumed presidency of the company and his son Jeff took over as general manager.
The Great Depression took a heavy toll on American business, and Graniterock was no exception. Work was so scarce at the quarry that a whistle was blown to call men in when as little as one car of rock was ordered. The Board of Directors had to ask permission from the Federal Reserve Bank in order to give Christmas bonuses. Unable to offer regular employment, the company made interest free loans to employees to cover medical bills. Struggling to keep its three companies afloat, the Wilson family sold its interest in Granite Construction Company to Walter Wilkinson and Bert Scott in 1936. South San Francisco, San Jose and San Luis Obispo branches of Central Supply Company were also sold.
World War II brought new activity at Graniterock. Materials were needed to build Fort Ord, Camp McQuaide and the Navy airstrip in Watsonville. Many men were away serving in the armed forces and working in war plants, so women and workers from Jamaica took over operations. A new plant was built at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, and excavation of the mining face at the Aromas quarry brought it down 100 feet, now level with the train tracks. A new primary crushing plant was built at the lower level and opened in 1946.
By the early 1950s, Jeff Wilson had left Graniterock and Anna Wilson had retired. Her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Wilson Woolpert, took over as president. Again, it was a time for growth. Wet processing and loading plants were built at Aromas, and new plants were acquired at Salinas, Felton, Santa Cruz and Los Gatos. Central Supply purchased its first fleet of transit mixer trucks from Ford Motor Company in Salinas. With two young children at home, Betsy Woolpert turned the company presidency over to her husband, Bruce G. Woolpert.
In the 1980s, aware that operations at the Aromas quarry were becoming outdated, the company undertook a major investment in beginning a complete quarry modernization. First, a giant mobile primary crusher was designed and built—the world's largest of its kind. Conveyors were installed to carry rock from the primary crusher to a new wash plant and secondary crushers. A state-of-the-art, computer-controlled automated truck and rail car loading system was unveiled. All were designed to move the newly named A.R. Wilson Quarry into the 21st century.
The 1990s brought new innovations. The Pavex Construction Division, now providing high quality road and highway construction, had become one of California's premier heavy engineering contractors. A new road materials plant in South San Francisco, concrete operations in Redwood City, Southside Sand and Gravel in Hollister, two new sand plants in Santa Cruz County and recycling centers in San Jose and Redwood City were added to the Graniterock family. “Quality by Design” became the byline, and in 1992, Graniterock won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
, the Nation's highest honor for business. The company was named one of the country’s 100 Best Places to Work by Fortune Magazine.
On February 14, 2000, A.R. Wilson’s grandson, Bruce Wilson Woolpert, welcomed 1,650 Graniterock people, customers and friends to San Francisco’s Moscone Center
for a gala celebration of 100 years of commitment to the values of quality, innovation and respect for people which were first established by the company’s founder. After a keynote address by President George H.W. Bush, more than 30 educational seminars were presented. Now, still family owned and operated, Graniterock Company employs over 650 people in 18 locations stretching from South San Francisco to Monterey.
Graniteseal is Graniterock's own sealcoat
system based on the Carbonyte Process, which modifies molecular bonds to convert asphalt into a superior-performing thermoplastic.
Graniterock also offers a number of green, sustainable, recycled and environmentally acceptable products to its customers. Its green products include Pervious Concrete, Perco-Crete, High-Fly Ash Content Concrete, Interlocking Pavers, Recycled Baserock, Aggregates such as Sand, Rock and Gravel, Concrete and Asphalt Products, Parking Bumpers, Turfstone, ECO-Block, and Erosion Control. Some of these products qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) credits.
Manufacturing Business of the Year — San Benito County Chamber of Commerce
Best Places to Work: #19 — National Society of Human Resources Management
Quality In Construction Award — National Asphalt Pavement Association
Excellence in Leadership 2002–2003 Campaign — United Way of Santa Cruz County
Outstanding Corporate Campaign Gold Level 2002–2003 — United Way of Santa Cruz County
First Ever ‘New Millennium Award’ 2001–2002 — United Way of Santa Cruz County
Outstanding Corporate Campaign Gold Level 2001–2002 — United Way of Santa Cruz County
100 Best Companies To Work For: #17 — Fortune Magazine
Business Excellence Award: Manufacturing/Distribution — Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
2000 Diamond Achievement Commendation for Excellence in Hot Mix Asphalt Plant/Site Operations — National Asphalt Pavement Association
100 Best Companies To Work For: #19 — Fortune Magazine
Producer of the Year — 2000 Pit & Quarry Magazine
Watsonville, California
Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 51,199 according to the 2010 census.Located on the central coast of California, the economy centers predominantly around the farming industry. It is known for growing strawberries, apples, lettuce and a host...
. It operates in the construction industry providing crushed gravel, sand, concrete and asphalt. The company won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by...
in 1992 and has been named one of Fortune Magazine's Best 100 Companies to Work For.
Beginnings
Graniterock was founded by Arthur R. (A.R.) Wilson and Warren Porter on February 14, 1900, who saw a good business opportunity in buying and operating the granite quarry in Aromas. For the first few years, quarry operations were tough; fifteen men used sledgehammers, picks, shovels and wheelbarrows to break and load broken rock onto horse-drawn wagons for the trip to the railroad line. Relief came in 1903 when the quarry was automated with a steam powered No.3 McCully crusher. It produced 20 tons of 2½ inch rock per hour. By 1904, rock was transported from the quarry face to the crushing plant in horse-drawn, side-dump rail cars, which were still loaded by hand. There were about 24 men working at the quarry.The 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
flattened the new steam crushing plant and temporarily halted operations. Train rails were twisted, rail cars overturned, and the quarry operation generally devastated. Fortunately, the earthquake's devastation created a new demand for construction: In the years that followed, Graniterock Company supplied materials for a number of important buildings in San Francisco and around the Monterey Bay area. Among those still standing are the old Gilroy City Hall and the old San Francisco Wells Fargo Building.
As automobiles began to replace the horse and buggy, street paving became a necessity. Graniterock Company received its first contract for placement of water-bond macadam
Macadam
Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820. The method simplified what had been considered state-of-the-art at that point...
on Lake Avenue in Watsonville, from Walker Street to the northeast city limits. The total contract, including grading and gutters, amounted to $18,000. In 1915, the California State Legislature passed the "Get Out of the Mud Act", a bill encouraging the modernization of streets. Over the next few years, the streets of Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
and Salinas
Salinas, California
Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...
were paved with Graniterock concrete.
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
caused freight costs to skyrocket, and as a result, local plants were developed so that rock could be sold in small truck lots. Graniterock Company built bunkers along the railroad from South San Francisco to San Luis Obispo to supply local construction businesses. Construction was booming throughout California, and Graniterock Company was expanding with the state's growing needs. In 1916, a railroad was built to Southern California’s Doheny oil fields, and Graniterock sent men and machinery as far south as Santa Maria to do the work. In 1918, Graniterock built the highway connecting Castroville with Moss Landing. Among the builders was author John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
.
At the Aromas quarry, expansion was taking place as well. In 1909, a Marion steam shovel was purchased to further mechanize operations, and in 1911, a Porter steam locomotive replaced horse-drawn carts to haul broken rock from the quarry face to the steam crusher. At San Francisco's Panama Pacific Exhibition in 1915, Graniterock won the Gold Ribbon for excellence in crushed rock.
Changes
In 1922, the first of a number of important business changes took place at Graniterock. Warren Porter had suffered financial losses in a speculative venture with the Java Coconut Oil Company, which took over his interest in the company. A.R. Wilson later purchased this stock, and became majority shareholder and president. Also that year, Wilson started Granite Construction Company as a separate entity and became its first president. In 1924, Wilson started Central Supply Company, which distributed materials. Graniterock Company remained the producer of rock and sand products for construction projects and materials sales.Just before the stock market crash of 1929, A.R. Wilson suffered a heart attack and died while at work. His wife Anna assumed presidency of the company and his son Jeff took over as general manager.
The Great Depression took a heavy toll on American business, and Graniterock was no exception. Work was so scarce at the quarry that a whistle was blown to call men in when as little as one car of rock was ordered. The Board of Directors had to ask permission from the Federal Reserve Bank in order to give Christmas bonuses. Unable to offer regular employment, the company made interest free loans to employees to cover medical bills. Struggling to keep its three companies afloat, the Wilson family sold its interest in Granite Construction Company to Walter Wilkinson and Bert Scott in 1936. South San Francisco, San Jose and San Luis Obispo branches of Central Supply Company were also sold.
Progress
In the 1930s, Central Supply opened California’s first asphaltic concrete plant in Aromas and began California’s first delivery of pre-mixed concrete in tiny dump trucks. This concrete was used in such projects as the WPA's construction of the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.World War II brought new activity at Graniterock. Materials were needed to build Fort Ord, Camp McQuaide and the Navy airstrip in Watsonville. Many men were away serving in the armed forces and working in war plants, so women and workers from Jamaica took over operations. A new plant was built at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, and excavation of the mining face at the Aromas quarry brought it down 100 feet, now level with the train tracks. A new primary crushing plant was built at the lower level and opened in 1946.
By the early 1950s, Jeff Wilson had left Graniterock and Anna Wilson had retired. Her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Wilson Woolpert, took over as president. Again, it was a time for growth. Wet processing and loading plants were built at Aromas, and new plants were acquired at Salinas, Felton, Santa Cruz and Los Gatos. Central Supply purchased its first fleet of transit mixer trucks from Ford Motor Company in Salinas. With two young children at home, Betsy Woolpert turned the company presidency over to her husband, Bruce G. Woolpert.
Modernization
During the 1960s and 1970s, Graniterock grew with the tremendous development of the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas. Central Supply and Graniterock merged to form one company for construction materials production and sales, and expansion took place in sand, concrete, asphaltic concrete and building materials operations. Graniterock opened new plants in San Jose, Redwood City, Santa Cruz, Gilroy, Hollister, Salinas and Seaside. In step with the times, Graniterock installed its first computer—an IBM System 3.In the 1980s, aware that operations at the Aromas quarry were becoming outdated, the company undertook a major investment in beginning a complete quarry modernization. First, a giant mobile primary crusher was designed and built—the world's largest of its kind. Conveyors were installed to carry rock from the primary crusher to a new wash plant and secondary crushers. A state-of-the-art, computer-controlled automated truck and rail car loading system was unveiled. All were designed to move the newly named A.R. Wilson Quarry into the 21st century.
The 1990s brought new innovations. The Pavex Construction Division, now providing high quality road and highway construction, had become one of California's premier heavy engineering contractors. A new road materials plant in South San Francisco, concrete operations in Redwood City, Southside Sand and Gravel in Hollister, two new sand plants in Santa Cruz County and recycling centers in San Jose and Redwood City were added to the Graniterock family. “Quality by Design” became the byline, and in 1992, Graniterock won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by...
, the Nation's highest honor for business. The company was named one of the country’s 100 Best Places to Work by Fortune Magazine.
Community Outreach
Commitment to community service, always a company priority, has been expressed in many new ways. Annual 4th of July “Pops and Rocks” concerts to benefit the United Way began at the A.R. Wilson Quarry. Graniterock people began an effort to share quality practices with the public schools of Santa Cruz County, and their annual United Way contributions became a major source of funds for charitable organizations.On February 14, 2000, A.R. Wilson’s grandson, Bruce Wilson Woolpert, welcomed 1,650 Graniterock people, customers and friends to San Francisco’s Moscone Center
Moscone Center
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street...
for a gala celebration of 100 years of commitment to the values of quality, innovation and respect for people which were first established by the company’s founder. After a keynote address by President George H.W. Bush, more than 30 educational seminars were presented. Now, still family owned and operated, Graniterock Company employs over 650 people in 18 locations stretching from South San Francisco to Monterey.
Products
Graniterock provides a wide range of construction aggregates, sand, decorative rock, concrete and building materials. It manufactures its own river rock and has a line of Wilson aggregates and sands.Graniteseal is Graniterock's own sealcoat
Sealcoat
Sealcoat is a liquid that is applied to asphalt to protect it from oxidation and the damage caused by winter cracking, as well as the UV Rays and traffic. In areas of the world that experience freezing and thawing, the reapplication timeline will likely be sped up.-Benefits:Sealcoating is not...
system based on the Carbonyte Process, which modifies molecular bonds to convert asphalt into a superior-performing thermoplastic.
Graniterock also offers a number of green, sustainable, recycled and environmentally acceptable products to its customers. Its green products include Pervious Concrete, Perco-Crete, High-Fly Ash Content Concrete, Interlocking Pavers, Recycled Baserock, Aggregates such as Sand, Rock and Gravel, Concrete and Asphalt Products, Parking Bumpers, Turfstone, ECO-Block, and Erosion Control. Some of these products qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
(LEED) credits.
2006
Clean Ocean Award — City of Santa CruzSanta Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
Manufacturing Business of the Year — San Benito County Chamber of Commerce
2005
Clean Ocean Award — City of Santa CruzSanta Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
Best Places to Work: #19 — National Society of Human Resources Management
2004
America’s Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America Great Places to Work Institute, Inc. — National Society of Human Resources ManagementQuality In Construction Award — National Asphalt Pavement Association
2003
Web Site Award Winner — Pit & Quarry MagazineExcellence in Leadership 2002–2003 Campaign — United Way of Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
Outstanding Corporate Campaign Gold Level 2002–2003 — United Way of Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
2002
Web Site Award Winner: Honorable Mention — Pit & Quarry MagazineFirst Ever ‘New Millennium Award’ 2001–2002 — United Way of Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
Outstanding Corporate Campaign Gold Level 2001–2002 — United Way of Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
2001
“Rocky” Safety Award: A.R. Wilson Quarry — National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association100 Best Companies To Work For: #17 — Fortune Magazine
Business Excellence Award: Manufacturing/Distribution — Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
2000
Business of the Millennium — San Benito County Chamber of Commerce2000 Diamond Achievement Commendation for Excellence in Hot Mix Asphalt Plant/Site Operations — National Asphalt Pavement Association
100 Best Companies To Work For: #19 — Fortune Magazine
Producer of the Year — 2000 Pit & Quarry Magazine