Hermans Receives First NSI Quarrier Award

OBERLIN, Ohio – Frank Hermans is the inaugural recipient of the Thor Lundh Quarrier Award.

Hermans, the Milbank #3 supervisor for Coldspring, received the award during the Tucker Design Awards ceremony at the Natural Stone Institute (NSI) Study Tour banquet in Salt Lake City in late August.

During his more than 54 years in the industry, Hermans \displayed exemplary leadership, an extraordinary work ethic and an unrelenting commitment to the betterment of his community. He has mentored new quarriers to ensure their safety and efficiency, supplied material on short notice and in difficult conditions, and leads by example.

“Your legacy of teaching and leading people will never be matched,” Coldspring CEO Pat Alexander told Hermans,

The Thor Lundh Quarrier Award recognizes an NSI member who’s made an extraordinary contribution to quarrying natural stone. The ideal candidate demonstrates successful and notable achievements through a professional career in quarrying natural stone, while furthering the careers of other professionals in the quarrying field.

The award is named for Thor Lundh, founder of Lundhs AS, the largest natural stone producer in Northern Europe and a man instrumental in transitioning quarry operations from manual to industrial production.

Current Lundhs’ CEO Thor-Anders Lundh-Hakestad says the company is honored to be able to present the award in cooperation with the Natural Stone Institute, recognizing the ways stone extraction has changed.

“With this award we are looking forward to supporting great achievements within the quarrying industry,” Lundh-Hakestad says.

Nominations for the 2025 Thor Lundh Quarrier Award will open early in 2025.