Cambria (keɪm-bri-ə) is a producer of
engineered quartz surfaces in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is located in
Le Sueur, Minnesota, with additional facilities throughout the United States, and in
Ontario, Canada
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. Cambria is privately held and owned by the Davis family.
Kitchen countertops
Cambria produces quartz surfaces, primarily for use as kitchen countertops. It is used in a similar manner as
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
, except that it is not
porous
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...
, and thus requires no periodic sealing. The look of any quartz countertop compares to granite in that the colors are deep and consistent.
The process of creating the countertops is different than granite, in that it is an
engineered product, consisting of a minimum of 93% quartz and 7%
epoxy
Epoxy is the family of basic components or Curing (chemistry), cured end products of epoxy Resin, resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide fun ...
binder and dyes. An engineered product that requires no sealer has the advantage in that it requires no harsh chemicals to seal, nor does it emit harmful chemicals into the air, making it potentially more
environmentally friendly
Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...
. Engineered quartz however may be damaged by heat unlike granite.
Sun Country Airlines
In July 2011, Cambria purchased
Sun Country Airlines
Sun Country Airlines is an ultra-low cost airline in the United States. Based at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport with headquarters on airport property, Sun Country operates to about 140 destinations in the United States, Canad ...
out of bankruptcy for $34 million after the collapse of the
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...
of
Tom Petters and
Petters Group Worldwide, the former owner of the airline.
Cambria sold Sun Country in 2018.
Cambria Silo
A
silo
A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials.
Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...
, located on
US 169 between
St. Peter and
Le Sueur, is rented by Cambria to store quartz granules and slabs.
The silo was repainted with the Cambria logo. Cambria was ordered to remove the sign by
MnDOT
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the stat ...
because it violated state law against advertisements along public highway corridors and county ordinance in historic preservation districts.
Cambria was allowed to keep the silo repainted because it claimed to use the silo as a site to sell its products thereby bypassing the law through a rational nexus exemption.
Prior to the Cambria logo, the silo was painted to appear like a can of 7 UP and later as an advertisement for
7 Up
7 Up (stylized as 7UP worldwide) or Seven Up is an American brand of Lemon-lime drink, lemon-lime–flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, although the beverage is internationally distributed ...
.
''Legend of Cambria'' movie
In 2018, Cambria released the movie ''Legend of Cambria''. Narrated by
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...
and directed by Alexei Tylevich. The film depicts the fantastical origin story of the Cambria brand, pulling heavily from Celtic mythology. The short film was 40 minutes long.
[Legend of Cambria - The Film]
References
External links
* {{Official, cambriausa.com
Companies based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota