For more than ninety years, Maryland Lava Co., Inc. has been a leading manufacturer of quality ceramic products used in a wide array of industries. The picture above is of Maryland Lava Co., Inc. from the 1930’s.
Maryland Lava Co., Inc. is located near a Susquehannock Indian Tribe’s work site where they made their cooking utensils. The story is, once a year, the Susquehannock Indians would come and make their wares. They would then return to the Susquehanna River and trade their wares up and down the east coast. Grade “M” lava is also called Soapstone. Soapstone is very easy to form and once it is fired becomes hard and durable.
Maryland Lava Co., Inc.’s supply of Grade “A” lava, sometimes referred to as Wonderstone, has a story too. The “A” (African) stone/ Pyrophyllite goes back thousands of years. The name Pyrophyllite is derived from the Greek word for ‘fire’ and ‘leaves’, as the rock exfoliates readily when exposed to flames. The slate-like rock has a slightly slippery feel, and is, basically, aluminum silicate in the form of a metamorphosed clay, originally derived from volcanic ash. The ash was laid down in layers which led to its earliest use as tombstones. Due to the stone being soft, it made it easy to carve the deceased names in the material. Interestingly, even though the stone was soft, it did not weather easily. Wonderstone, like our Soapstone, is easy to form and when fired becomes hard and durable.
Maryland Lava Co., Inc. specializes in Grade “A” lava, Hydrous Aluminum Silicate/Pyrophyllite material and Grade “M” lava that is machined and fired to customer specifications. We also supply unfired rods, bars, blocks and sheets for customers to machine. Machining and firing data sheets are available within this website. Some products currently manufactured include: welding cups, nozzles, burner tips, bushings, spacers, insulators, seals for cartridge heaters and specialty items.
Maryland Lava Co., Inc. can assist with the design stage to ensure that you take full advantage of the materials characteristics where shape and feature arrangement can affect the end products performance. Maryland Lava Co., Inc. can provide cost effective solutions so that you can produce higher quality products. As a customer, you can be assured that your concepts, drawings and processes are kept in strict confidence and strict control at all times.
We would be happy to quote you on what is necessary to design/ redesign and supply you with the ceramic products you need. We go all out to deliver fast, quality, customized products. This allows for reduced down time and assures that your production schedule will be met. Our customers are our number one priority.
