Rock of Ages Corporation

Rock of Ages Corporation is a granite quarrying and finishing company located in Graniteville, Vermont. It was founded in 1885.

Rock of Ages granite quarry, viewed from an observation platform during a factory tour
Rock of Ages granite shed

The company employs around 230 people, and made a profit of around $800,000 in 2009 on revenues of $21.6 million, up from a loss of more than $2 million in 2008.[1]

On 19 October 2010, Swenson Granite, based in Concord, New Hampshire, announced that it and Rock of Ages had agreed to merge.[1] Swenson paid Rock of Ages shareholders a total of $39 million.[1]

On 16 September 2016, Polycor inc., of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada -a natural stone producer, announced the acquisition of Swenson Granite and Rock of Ages Corporation[2][3][4][5] to become the largest producer of marble and granite in North America.[6] This also includes the Canadian division of Rock of Ages Corporation, located in Stanstead, Quebec, along the Vermont and Quebec border.

ROAC maintains the world's largest "deep hole" granite quarry.[7][8][9][10][11] The quarry is called the "E. L. Smith Quarry", and the Devonian Barre Granite is mined there. Granite was originally quarried using primitive techniques in which hand saws and explosive charges were used to blast away the "benches" of the quarry. Modern techniques have evolved to include the use of diamond-tipped wire saws and water jets. Visitors to the Rock of Ages factory and gift shop can also watch quarriers in the quarry cutting the granite away from the quarry wall.[12]

The company was one of the cemetery-related businesses profiled in the 2005 PBS documentary A Cemetery Special.[13]

Notable works
Panorama of Rock of Ages in Barre, Vermont
Rock of Ages panorama

References
  1. "Swenson Granite to buy Rock of Ages in cash deal for $39 million". Vermont Business Magazine. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  2. "Polycor acquires and merges with Swenson Granite and Rock of Ages". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  3. "Rock of Ages company sold". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  4. "Canadian Company buys Vermont-based Rock of Ages, NH-based Swenson". AP News. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  5. Times Argus Online. "Rock of Ages sold to Canadian company". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Times Argus Online. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  6. "Marble and granite producer Polycor in Quebec purchases US rivals". PLANT. 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  7. RoadsideAmerica.com
  8. Central-VT.com
  9. Vermonter.com
  10. LinkVermont.com
  11. VermontGuides.com
  12. Tours and Activities | Rock of Ages Corporation. Rockofages.com. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
  13. PBS.org
  14. "Dedication of the U.S. Korean War Memorial in Busan, South Korea on July 28". Events. American Battle Monuments Commission. 22 July 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. This is the third memorial commemorating the Korean War created by ABMC.
  15. Korean War Monument at Busan Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Delcore, David (September 28, 2013). "Barre granite is new, unique memorial in South Korea". Vermont Today. Rutland Herald. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
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