American Artstone Company (Artstone), a cast stone and architectural precast manufacturer, with headquarters in New Ulm, Minnesota announced receipt of three national awards by the Cast Stone Institute at the 2009 Annual Convention in Savannah, Georgia on October 2, 2009. The Cast Stone Institute presents two national Manufacturing Excellence Awards annually. During the 2009 awards ceromony, Artstone was the recipient of both awards. The honor was given to Artstone for their work on the TCF Bank Stadium at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN and on St. Anthony Regional Hospital, Carroll, Iowa. Artstone also received a Design Excellence award from the Cast Stone Institute for their work on the TCF Bank Stadium project.
The work on TCF Bank Stadium was completed under the direction of the Architectural firm, Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) Sports, Inc. of Kansas City, MO and General Contractor, Mortenson Construction of Golden Valley, MN. Artstone’s scope of work for the football stadium included designing, producing, and shipping 39 “small”-18 foot tall arches, 3 “medium” - 40 foot tall arches and 2 “ large” - 50 foot tall arches. The company also provided; 87 cast stone signs, each weighing 6,500 pounds, with radius to fit the “horse shoe” building profile and each identifying a different Minnesota county and 119 base veneer panels for the new football stadium. Many of these components included lettering cast into the stones.
Work on the St. Anthony Regional Hospital was completed under direction of the Architectural firm, Horty Elving & Associates, Inc. of Minneapolis, MN and General Contractor, Graham Construction of Des Moines, IA. Artstone’s scope of work for the hospital included designing, producing, and shipping architectural cast stone products for the parking structure which required modular and panelized exterior veneer products as well as relief sculpture of St. Anthony measuring 31-feet-10-inches tall and 10-feet-6-inches wide. Due its enormous size, the 46,000 pound statue was produced and delivered in four sections.
The Cast Stone Institute defines cast stone as “a highly refined masonry product that provides ornamental or functional features to buildings and other structures.” Ingredients in cast stone include; “fine and coarse aggregates, Portland cement, mineral oxide color pigments, chemical admixtures and water," according to the association.
Artstone was founded in 1914 in a Fairfax, MN and continues operations today in a state of the art facility located in New Ulm, MN. The company's staff includes third-generation artisans and true German craftsmen. Artstone management is proud of their craftsmen who continue to produce the highest quality, custom cast stone products available. These artisans are the reason Artstone has been “Setting The Standard Since 1914”.