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High demand: Pairing growth with deliverability
A Texas producer’s rapid growth puts a dealer’s serviceability to the test. The dirt in southwest Texas is as soft as baby powder, so a plant operator is bound to get an ear full of dirt when 40-mph winds come sweeping down the plain. The region’s conditions, which can reach 100 degrees in the summer, take a toll on heavy machinery, as well. Jeremy House, president of Crockett County Mining, knows these conditions well. House’s company has undergone a remarkable change over the last few years, transforming from a company that was once solely a sand-and-gravel producer to one that’s now heavily into construction materials production. Crockett County Mining, which now produces and sells about 4.5 million tons of aggregates into the construction market each year, made a few acquisitions in 2009 and entered the limestone construction materials business that year. Last year, the company added two sand-and-gravel facilities and three limestone quarries. Crockett County Mining also now has a portable division that does heavy highway and renewable work across… Keep Reading
Spill no more
Limestone producer reduces costs, improves safety with innovative belt cleaner design. A Midwestern limestone supplier is reducing costs and improving safety by using a series of conveyor belt cleaners to help eliminate carryback and the problems it causes. North American Limestone Corp. (NALC) reports that its cleaners – designed by Martin Engineering specifically for aggregate applications – are effective to the point that the facility no longer has service crews spend up to two hours per day shoveling and washing down accumulation from beneath the conveyors. According to NALC, the cleaners also help diminish any chance of accidents or injury by minimizing the need for staff to work in close proximity to fast-moving belts. Instead, by returning fines to the material flow, the company is able to reduce risk and improve overall process efficiency, saving the operation thousands of dollars in lost material and unproductive maintenance time. Problem solving NALC supplies a range of limestone products from its 243 Complex in Cloverdale, Ind., including fine-grind materials and high-calcium crushed limestone,… Keep Reading
Watch a quarry blast at a small Ohio operation
Keeney Sand & Stone, a small family-owned aggregate producer in Painesville, Ohio, invited Pit & Quarry to its operation to see its last quarry blast of 2014. Hilltop Energy, which is based in Lisbon, Ohio, was contracted to perform the blast. Check it out in the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNF5e2eu4iY According to blaster Steve Homan, this particular blast generated about 16,000 tons of rock that will help to guide Keeney through the end of the year. Twenty-three holes were loaded with 1-lb. boosters, each of which is the equivalent of seven sticks of dynamite, according to Homan. "We don't use the nitroglycerin-based stuff anymore because it's unstable," he says. "We don't have to worry about the [boosters] sweating, deteriorating and breaking down." Holes were drilled previously in a staggered pattern, Homan adds, to provide Keeney with the slab rock it needs for landscape customers. And in this particular instance, Hilltop encountered an unusual amount of water in blastholes that it simply could not pump out. "We maintained an 8-ft. water level… Keep Reading
Four portable plants introduced at KPI-JCI dealer event
KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens hosted 70 dealers at its annual National Dealer Conference in Denver, where the company introduced three portable plants to its Global Track line and a Fast Trax plant (the FT400DF cone crusher). The Global Track plants are the GT440 horizontal shaft impact crusher, the GT200 cone crusher and the GT206 inclined screening plant. The four new portable plants will be available in 2015, the company adds. In addition to introducing the equipment, KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens hosted educational sessions for dealers to learn about the new equipment. A number of dealers were recognized during an awards presentation, too. Also, the company held an equipment expo outside Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos. KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens treated dealers and industry media to tours of Sports Authority Field, as well. Photos: KPI-JCI Keep Reading
OSSGA recognizes reclamation project with its highest honor
The Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (OSSGA) issued its Bronze Plaque to the Wildwood Pit within the Wildwood Conservation Area in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. According to OSSGA, the Bronze Plaque is its highest honor. Only 20 sites in Ontario have earned the award since it was established in 1975. According to a press release, sand and gravel from the Wildwood Pit was used in many local infrastructure projects in the 1960s. Extraction at the site ended before 1971, and rehabilitation of the pit began in 1996. The reclamation of the Wildwood Pit was particularly significant because a rare tallgrass prairie plantation, as well as a thriving fen and pond that support native plant species, amphibians and reptiles, were created. OSSGA says only 1 percent of the original tallgrass ecosystem in North America remains and almost 20 percent of Ontario’s rare plant species occur in these communities. “This represents the best of the best among the thousands of rehabilitated former aggregate extraction sites in the province,” says Ted Wigdor,… Keep Reading
Portable plants help company power through tough times
A Nevada company produces aggregates using a team of portable plants, sometimes working alone, sometimes in tandem. The pile at Q&D Construction’s yard in Sparks, Nev., at one time consisted of more than 100,000 tons of asphalt and concrete. That was the pile at its peak. The pile completely faded away at one point during the height of the Great Recession. But as Q&D COO Lance Semenko says, the great mound of material typically has somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000 tons of material in it these days. The pile hovers in that range because customers and Q&D’s own crews consistently bring asphalt and concrete chunks to the yard. Q&D’s crushing and screening equipment, meanwhile, continuously recycles the material received between April and November each year. “When times were really tough around here, 2009 to 2010, we had nothing in the pile,” Semenko says. “Now, the pile is getting back up there. There are more public works going on, slowly. It’s not where it was, but it’s getting to where we… Keep Reading
Goodfellow Corp. earns top award at dealer conference
KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens recognized 13 North American dealers with awards during its National Dealer Conference in Denver, including Goodfellow Corp. of Boulder City, Nev., which received the company's Top Sales and Marketing Award. According to KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens, this award is not given every year and only given when a dealer demonstrates "extraordinary excellence." Other dealers honored during the awards presentation were Lonetrack Equipment/Chieftain Recycling Equipment of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; General Equipment & Supplies of Fargo, N.D.; and Texas Bearing Co. of Amarillo, Texas. These dealers received Sales Excellence in Material Handling Products Awards. Sales Excellence in Washing & Classifying Products Awards were given to Road Machinery & Supplies of Savage, Minn.; Lonetrack Equipment/Chieftain Recycling Equipment; and Mine Equipment & Design of Cleves, Ohio. Sales Excellence in Crushing and Screening Products Awards were given to Goodfellow Corp.; General Equipment & Supplies; Power Motive Corp. of Denver; and Alta Equipment Co. of New Hudson, Mich. Sales Excellence in Tracks Award were given to Thompsonrolec Enterprises of Lewiston,… Keep Reading
Senator: New highway-funding mechanism to come
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) offered some insight on the future of highway funding at a meeting with the Western Arkansas Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority that also included Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.). “Coming up between now and May, you’ll see a new funding mechanism that is going to change how we are funding our roads and highways,” Inhofe said, according to the Arkansas News. “This is not an announcement on my part, because I still maintain opposition to any new tax increases, however it’s more of a user fee than a tax increase." Boozman added that developing a new revenue stream to support highway transportation projects is a must but that "there'll be a lot of controversy about that." Keep Reading
Dungy to deliver keynote address at Work Truck Show
Former NFL head coach Tony Dungy will serve as the keynote speaker at The Work Truck Show 2015. His motivational address will be part of the President’s Breakfast & NTEA Annual Meeting on March 5. According to a press release, Dungy is known for a leadership style that emphasizes decency and respect. He's written about these values in several books, including “Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life." The 2015 Work Truck Show will be held March 4-6 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, the same city where Dungy compiled an 85-27 record in seven seasons as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Educational programming, including the Green Truck Summit, begins March 3. Keep Reading
