Ian Skinner has celebrated working in the Cornish granite quarry industry for 25 years.

He began his career working with his father, Bernard Skinner, at Hantergantick Quarry, which neighbours the DeLank quarry of which he is now the Quarry Manager.

Ian followed his father, who completed 50 years in the stone industry, into the business. And stone was already in his blood because his maternal Grandfather and Great Grandfather were also Stonemasons.

Ian began work at Hantergantick as a Draughtsman and gained relevant qualifications and a degree. He then became Production Manager of three quarries – Hantergantick, DeLank and Merrivale – overseeing the Quarrymen, Masons and Sawyers.

He was soon promoted and in January 1998 became responsible for the whole operation, becoming the youngest Quarry Manager for the Ennstone group, which then owned the quarries, after only 11 years in the industry.

He remembers his first job when he started. It was 3,000m² of wall cladding for the Norweb Head Quarters in Manchester. Ian also worked on the refurbishment on Salford Quays, Manchester, drawing and getting to production the dockside copings.

In 2004 Ian met with her Majesty The Queen at the opening of the DeLank granite Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fountain. The Queen asked him if they had any stone left in the quarry after they had taken so much out for the fountain. Ian replied: “Plenty, so if you would like anymore projects in granite we can still supply!”

The quarry is currently owned by Adrian and Carina Phillips, who bought it a year ago.

Adrian has worked closely with Ian during the year and they have delivered many a good contract – such as the paving in St Austell town centre and the Ronald Reagan memorial in London. They are currently working on the cornice and coping stones for the Rochester Bridge in Kent, which needs to be in place for the Olympic Torch Relay any day now.

Adrian and Carina also own Black Mountain Quarries in Herefordshire. By expanding the work of DeLank they have brought a successful year to De Lank, growing the business and taking on two more staff, with advertisements currently running for two more, one mason and one sawyer. This will hopefully be the start of a steady programme of apprenticeships to carry on the trade of working with Cornwall's notoriously hard granite.

These young people will be recruited as soon as possible to find their feet within the company before starting college in September.

The Quarry was opened about 250 years ago and has delivered granite to many a prestigious building around the country, attracting the country’s architects for centuries. It has been used for historical landmarks such as the Eddystone and Bishop’s Rock lighthouses, Tower Bridge and the Royal Opera House, and for modern classics such as the Millennium Eye, the Eden Project and Trafalgar Square.

It has been used as kerbing, paving, cladding and masonry throughout London and has recently been specified on the new American Embassy. DeLank also caters cater for the builder and can supply walling, cladding, ornamental pieces and boulders.