John Rodell
John RodellIsrael news photo: courtesy WIDC

The Land of Milk and Honey is exporting its equally famous Ramon-Grey Gold stone for a new building at the University of Wisconsin. Quarra Stone executive vice president John Rodell, who was in Israel as part of a special delegation of government and business leaders from Wisconsin, signed the agreement to purchase 12 containers of the stone.

The delegation was led by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle. who signed a bilateral agreement with Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to collaborate on research and development projects.

The stone, to be acquired through Petrucci Ltd., is to be one of nine different dimensional types Quarra is using in special architectural features throughout the $200 million project, a facility for the Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery on the UW-Madison campus.

According to a statement on the company's website, “The Israeli stone was especially selected by Quarra in partnership with the WID design team for its warmth, texture and coloration to help create an inviting ambience for the building's signature lobby.”

Quarra, based in Madison, fabricates and supplies architectural and interior stone for building projects throughout the U.S. Among its projects are the newly-opened Capitol Visitors' Center in Washington D.C., Yale University's Bass Library and Harkness Tower, the U.S. Supreme Court and the restoration of the Kansas State Capitol.