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Editor’s note: “What is it?” is repeated in the Westmoreland Plus edition of the Tribune-Review. If there’s anything you’d like us to look at here, please email gtrcity@tribweb.com.
Some drivers passing by the front door of a Hempfield concrete company may be surprised to see a 10-foot-tall statue.
The steel piece does not represent the company and is not a logo. Stone’s manager, Adam Stone, says it’s a conversation piece.
This statue depicts Optimus Prime, the robot protagonist of the Transformers movie series. He is a character based on a toy that transforms from a truck to a robot, and is the central character of the action movie series released in 2007.
Stone, whose family has owned the company for the past century, said it doesn’t mean anything, but has become a kind of mascot for the 100-year-old company.
“My uncle bought this piece in a Las Vegas art gallery in 2017. It was made in Las Vegas and shipped here. It has no sentimental value, we’re just art fans.” said Stone. “He just walked by and saw it and bought it. There’s no other real reason for it to be here.”
The statue sits on a 4-foot-tall concrete pedestal overlooking Rosietown Road and is one of several displayed near the front entrances of some of Stone & Co.’s 12 stores in the area. It is one of the works of art.
The company’s operations near Morgantown, West Virginia, feature a marble lion, and the company’s lodge in Acme features a replica of a character from the movie “Predator.” The Stone family has a statue of a bull in front of Unity’s house.
“It’s not to be flashy, it’s just to be funny and get people’s attention. We had a lot of cool reactions to it,” Stone said.
Stone and Co. has been in business for over a century. The company started as a lumber and coal dealer and after World War II evolved into a concrete business with its first plant in Connellsville.
The company currently operates 12 permanent and two portable concrete plants, nine retail building supply stores, one block manufacturing facility, and two locations that produce precast concrete for retaining walls. Masu.
The robot, whose eyes glow red at night, has become a symbol of the company’s operations in and around the Greensburg area.
Stone said it’s not uncommon for drivers to stop, take photos and even come inside to ask for more information about the robot.
“There were a lot of questions about why it’s there, but if anyone knows my uncle, I wouldn’t be surprised. He has multiple statues in multiple locations,” Stone said. he said.
“He got it because he liked it. People like to come see it and laugh. There’s no other backstory.”
Rich Cholodowski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Contact Rich via email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or on Twitter. .
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