With purchase, Coldspring granite producer adding Marble Falls jobs

DANIEL CLIFTON • EDITOR

MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls area could see 40 more jobs heading its way after Coldspring purchased Coppell-based Stone Panels Inc. in November.

Coldspring, which owns and operates a granite quarry and a production line on the western edge of Marble Falls, finalized the purchase Nov. 4. The company will now become Stone Panels International and move its operations to Marble Falls.

“There are about 100 people who work at the Coppell location, and we have 35 employees who work in production in Marble Falls,” said Jeanne Ver Dugt, Coldspring general manager. Added to those 35 jobs would be 40 new positions.

Ver Dugt said Coldspring will give those in Coppell an option to re-locate to Marble Falls.

“That will happen in the next couple of weeks,” she said.

Coldspring will likely look at hiring from the Marble Falls area to fill any positions not taken by current Coppell employees.

The Coldspring production operation already in Marble Falls will not see a reduction in employees. Greg Flint, Coldspring vice president of operations, explained that those positions will be repurposed to fit in with the needs of Stone Panels International, but those already at the Marble Falls location will be trained to handle new tasks.

“Its sole purpose will become Stone Panels International,” Flint said in reference to the Marble Falls production operation. “Everything that was being done at that location (Coppell) will be done in Marble Falls.”

Coldspring also employs an additional 15 people in the quarry operations in Marble Falls.

The former Stone Panels Inc. manufactured a product called StoneLite panels, which are used for interior and exterior facades or paneling. Coldspring’s purchase of the Coppell-based manufacturer was mainly an economic one.

“They were both a customer and competitor of ours,” Flint said.

Coldspring offers a wide variety of granite products, including memorials, flooring, fountains, exterior cladding, and construction materials.

Flint explained that the granite from the Marble Falls quarry leans toward pinks and reds, which ebbs and flows in demand in the memorial and construction industries. Those are what the Marble Falls production unit has focused on in the past.

The acquisition of Stone Panels International and moving its operations to Marble Falls allows Coldspring to make better use of the local granite and make a product with a stronger market appeal.

The 40 new jobs coming to the Marble Falls location is just a start, Flint said, pointing out that his sales staff expects a high demand for Stone Panels International products.

“The 75 (total positions) is what we have to start with, but it could go up to 100,” Ver Dugt added, meaning that there could be 65 new jobs added to the Marble Falls area.

She said once Coldspring and Stone Panels International know how many spots they need to fill, they’ll begin seeking people through a number of ways, including job fairs.

Coldspring was started in 1898 by Henry Alexander, a Scottish stone cutter who began the company in Rockville, Minnesota. Coldspring, formerly known as Cold Spring Granite, employs about 900 people across the United States and Canada. The company purchased what is locally known as Granite Mountain in the 1950s. Its headquarters is in Cold Spring, Minnesota.

daniel@thepicayune.com