It was probably no great surprise to Chris Anderson’s family when he chose a career in construction. Construction is in the DNA of his family, which has deep roots in our region. Chris’s Norwegian great grandfather, Olaf Anderson, worked in the construction industry, and after World War II, his grandfather, Carl Ernie Anderson, started Anderson Ready Mix Concrete in Mountain View and in Sunnyvale. In the 1950s, Carl joined two partners to form CAP Concrete, which Graniterock eventually purchased for its current Redwood City concrete operations.
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Although Santa Cruz is famous for its beaches, one of the County’s most important stretches of sand lies inland in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in an area known as the Zayante sandhills. Tucked between the communities of Bonny Doon and Scotts Valley, the sandhills are isolated pockets of ancient sand that support an ecologically distinct assortment of plants and animals. Once covering about 6,365 acres, the sandhills are now restricted to less than 1,500, making it one of the rarest habitats in the state of California.
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More than 25 years ago, former Graniterock CEO Bruce Woolpert introduced the idea of “Recognition Day” to Graniterock People. He brought the core of the idea from his experience as a manager at Hewlett-Packard, where legendary leaders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard visited each HP Division once-a-year for a day-long “Division Review” to evaluate business performance.  Bruce modified the concept at Graniterock, and it became a key part of our Company Culture.
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Doug Sanders literally grew up with Graniterock concrete. His dad Larry, now retired, was a loyal Graniterock customer during his career as one of the largest concrete contractors in Santa Cruz County. Doug learned his trade next to his father, playing in sand piles on construction sites as a youngster. “Dad was always 100% Graniterock, I grew up with Graniterock and I can’t imagine getting my concrete anywhere else,” says Doug. “I’ve known these people all my life and they are like my family.”
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Over the past fifty years, many state and county mining regulations and federal and state environmental laws have been created to protect and conserve local habitat and rare and endangered species.  The California red-legged frog was designated as a threatened species in 1996. Its range is mostly limited to the Central California coast, from Marin County south to Ventura County. Ponds are a part of mining operations, and with the capability to create an ideal pond habitat for the red-legged frog, Graniterock was challenged to find a way to combine responsible mining practices with long-term protection and stewardship of the land.
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Romualdo Pacheco was a colorful and influential Californio, an early Californian of Mexican ancestry, who also happened to be the uncle of Graniterock founder Arthur R. Wilson. He is the only Hispanic to ever serve as governor of California, the first governor who was born in California, and was also an attorney, military officer, diplomat and mining investor. An accomplished sailor and horseman, he is the only California governor ever known to have lassoed a grizzly bear! Graniterock funded the Pacheco Scholarship Award in 1993 in his memory.
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by Amanda Bayhi
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Continuous improvement and respect for people articulate the vision and goals of James Sommerville, Inc. (JSI). JSI performs grading, paving and underground construction projects throughout the Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Southern Santa Clara County areas, with a focus on quality and safety. Company founder Jimmy Sommerville has developed these core values over a lifetime in the construction business.
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The siren warning that a blast was imminent at Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry Tuesday came two minutes before 25,000 pounds of explosive would hammer loose a landslide of rocks and boulders. When the time came, electronic timers ignited 74 explosive charges, sending a massive cloud of stone and dirt into the air. This was followed by the roar and rumble as the rock tumbled into the quarry. 
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Few who know Graniterock’s Dr. Paul Lessard would imagine that he faced learning challenges in childhood. “I had to repeat third grade because I was unable to read,” recalls Paul, and “I never really felt ‘smart’ during grammar or high school.” It wasn’t until after he graduated from Palma High School in Salinas and entered UC Davis that Paul realized, “Getting good grades was mostly a matter of working very hard.” He suddenly found himself getting A’s in all his classes. “I did an internship in physical chemistry and got to play with lasers and a lot of complicated electronics to measure chemical reactions. I was hooked. I graduated with an Environmental Toxicology major, and ended up completing my PhD in Physical Chemistry.”
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