Granite Construction history

In 1924, Wilson started Central Supply Company, which distributed building materials.

Lee Purtill had a long career as a manager and superintendent at Logan Quarry, and was hired by Arthur R. Wilson in 1925.

Wilson had purchased Warren Porter’s interest in Granite Rock from Java Coconut Oil in 1928 and was the majority shareholder and president.

Driving to a quarry on an October day in 1929, Wilson was overcome with dizziness and flagged down a passing vehicle to take him home.

In 1930, work began on Hoover Dam, a $48 million project awarded to a consortium of six construction firms, but hard times quickly followed.

Finding it too difficult to keep three businesses operating during this difficult period, the Wilson family decided in 1936 to sell Granite Construction Company to businessmen Walter Wilkinson, Sr., and Bert Scott.

This 44 ½ ton 1907 American Locomotive Company/Schenectady standard gauge 0-4-0 steam locomotive was once American Smelter Securities and Nevada Consolidated Copper engine #335. It was rebuilt for the Amador Central Railroad by A.D. Schader Company, used for the construction of Treasure Island and purchased by Granite Rock Company for use at the quarry in 1939.

It was purchased used from Old Mission Cement Company of San Juan Bautista in 1942.

During World War II, with Bert Scott serving as president, the company did some work for military installations, including Watsonville Naval Air Station. It was also during this period, in 1945, that longtime CEO and Chairman Richard C. Solari began working for the company.

In 1946 it opened branches in Santa Cruz and Monterey.

Tom started with Granite Rock Company in 1947, and delivered concrete from the Salinas Branch for 36 years.

In 1950, Graniterock purchased its first “new” fleet of concrete mixers: eleven Ford F-6 Cab-Over-Engine (COE) trucks equipped with 2-yard Willard mixers from the Ford dealer in Salinas.

The Wet Processing and Loading Plant, which was built in 1954.

The Sanford brothers worked at the quarry until their retirement in 1955.

Corporate Office staff enjoyed a meal served on portable “TV tray” tables, all the rage in 1958.

In 1966, Granite Rock Company concrete was used to form the girders for construction of the new Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system.

Bill Van Sandt and Bruce W. Woolpert in front of a transit mixer displaying the new Graniterock name and logo, created in 1969.

In 1970, 7,500 tons of rock per day could be shipped out from Logan Quarry, and twenty-five new 100-ton hopper cars were purchased to help meet the demand.

At that time Granite Rock Company trucking was discontinued, but was reinstituted in 1971.

Granite constructed the Powell Street station beneath the system’s hub at Market Street, which opened in 1972.

Graniterock people celebrated 75 years of business with dinner and dancing at the Cocoanut Grove Ballroom, located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, on Saturday, February 15, 1975.

A Bakersville branch was established in 1976 through the acquisition of Owl-Folsom.

In addition, Granite opened a branch in Stockton in 1978 when it acquired McGaw Company.

In 1983, Truscott Brine Dam, a $23 million dam-building project in the Texas panhandle, expanded Granite’s reach into the Lone Star State.

In 1985, fifty-one percent of Granite was sold to employees as part of a popular employee stock ownership plan.

In 1986, A.R.’s grandson, Bruce W. Woolpert, joined the Company and ushered in a new approach to Total Quality Management.

Mike and Marie Marheineke congratulate Betsy Woolpert as she celebrates her retirement in December, 1987.

The quarry modernization dedication in memory of A.R. Wilson and the Company’s 90th Birthday were celebrated with a grand Open House event in the 1989.

The decade started with the creation in January 1990 of holding company Granite Construction Inc., which subsequently acquired Granite Construction Company as well as affiliate Wilcott Corporation.

In 1991, the first Pops & Rocks 4th of July Concert was held at the A.R. Wilson Quarry.

George H.W. Bush and Secretary of Commerce Barbara Franklin present the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to Graniterock in December, 1992 during an awards ceremony at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

Dave Franceschi examines the first overburden soil transported by the A.R. Wilson Overburden Conveyor System in September 1995.

In 1996, the $800 million San Joaquin Toll Road project marked Granite’s expertise in design-build projects.

In 1997 the company topped the $1 billion mark in revenues and continued to climb.

In May 1999, after working 54 years at Granite, Richard Solari retired as chairman, assuming the title of chairman emeritus.

On February 14, 2000, A.R. Wilson’s grandson, Bruce Wilson Woolpert, welcomed President George H.W. Bush, Graniterock People, customers and friends to a gala 100th anniversary celebration.

September 11, 2001, began in New York City as a warm, late summer day with a clear blue sky.

The new building is located in Seaside opened on September 21, 2007.

In 2009, Granite began another big project for New York: the Queens Bored Tunnel.

Very few companies have the privilege of celebrating a 90-year anniversary, but in 2012, Granite was one of the fortunate few.

On April 30, 2014, FMG was acquired by Graniterock, a company that was founded more than a century ago.

The year 2018 was highlighted by the acquisitions of Layne Christensen and LiquiForce, both of which advanced Granite’s goal of becoming a full suite provider of construction and rehabilitation services for the water and wastewater markets.