Inside Covia’s Advanced Innovation Center

With the opening of its new Covia Innovation Center (CIC), Covia is well positioned to meld the quality of its mined raw materials with its ability to leverage technology and its process capabilities. While Covia is an international company headquartered in Independence, the new, state-of-the-art CIC is located in Concord, North Carolina.

“We are not just a raw material supplier — we are a mineral solutions provider,” says Mike Marcely, Covia’s EVP, US/Canada and Business Development. “We grow together with our customers, and we take a customer-centric approach to innovation.”

That approach has long guided Covia’s investments in application labs, pilot facilities and analytical centers — from its Analytical Services Lab in Ottawa, Illinois, to its mineral processing lab in Santa Catarina, Mexico. 

The opening of the CIC represents the next step in expanding those capabilities. Rather than consolidating existing resources, the CIC enhances Covia’s ability to collaborate, test and solve problems alongside customers. It reflects Covia’s company-wide mindset: Innovation isn’t confined to a single site — it’s embedded in everything it does.

The 20,000-square-foot facility includes 13,000 square feet dedicated to product development and 7,000 square feet of office and collaboration space. The center also houses dedicated conference rooms; the Ideate and Innovate rooms; and a multipurpose room called the Inspire room, which will foster opportunities for cross-disciplinary discussion, idea generation and hands-on teamwork.

“We designed it to be a world-class research facility, and it’s put together in a very thoughtful way,” says Steve Schilling, director of technology & application development. “We spent a lot of time making sure we got it right on paper to anticipate future needs.”

“This is a customer hub,” Marcely adds. “It will be a basecamp for collaboration and a place to create value together with our customers.”

For Marcely, the CIC is not just a building — it’s an ecosystem of people, technology and ideas. Building the lab was a collaborative process that created a modular, flexible space where different perspectives can come together to accelerate product development and put people in the greatest position to succeed.

Lauren Helton, director of sales – Coatings, Polymers, Exports, says the new CIC will help translate the company’s innovation into action.

“I love being close to the mining industry, but also getting to see how all the minerals are used in different applications,” Helton says. 

For Helton, sales aren’t about transactions; they are about translation. In an industry where formulations can hinge on a single micron of particle size or a subtle pH shift, Helton’s ability to bridge science and practical application allows her to connect customers’ challenges with innovative solutions. 

Carved in Stone

When Rob Light joined Covia nearly 30 years ago, he couldn’t have imagined how the engineered stone market would transform the look and feel of modern homes. Today, Light is a trusted resource for Covia in the quartz and ceramics space. During his tenure, he has witnessed, and has helped lead, the company’s transformation in engineered stone products.

“We had maybe a small market share back in the ’90s of quartz countertops, and now we’re a much larger player,” Light says.

Like Light, Scott Van Remortel has been with Covia for more than three decades, translating lab results into customer success stories.

“The Covia Innovation Center has the best testing and application lab space of any lab I’ve ever been a part of,” he says. “The team has done an excellent job bringing it to life and putting in equipment. We’re already seeing benefits and providing value to the customers.”

That state-of-the-art environment has already helped Van Remortel and his fellow team members simulate real-world applications for customers.