THOMPSON TOWNSHIP -- Raw materials maker R.W. Sidley is sitting on the mother lode of sand desirable in the process of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" for natural gas.
Fracking is a process that extracts oil and natural gas from the shale bed thousands of feet below the surface with chemicals, water, and sand. The industry is often criticized for its impact on the environment.
What makes this sand so great? Its shape and purity. Besides Geauga, this kind of sand can be found in only two other counties in Ohio.
Sidley Inc. stands to double its quartz sand production when it begins manufacturing for the fracking industry next week.
"We're in a very lucky position. The specific amounts are confidential but lets just say reserves are not something we have to worry about," said Sidley CEO Robert Buescher.
The foreseeable demand is just as much a bottomless pit.
In the last two years, Sidley hired 20 people just to transport fracking sand for other companies. Buesher expects to hire 25 more employees to help make it.
For 70 years, this company has supplied construction projects like Progressive Field and Browns Stadium. But the building business dropped 40 to 50 percent in 2006.
If the future is fracking, Sidley could be king of the hill.
Beach sand or sand you might use in a back yard play area costs around six dollars a ton. Depending on demand, this fracking sand could sell for more than ten times that amount.