Author
Equipment upgrade improves safety, product quality
Oklahoma’s oldest and largest crushed stone producer, Dolese Bros. Co., recently completed a $14 million upgrade of its limestone quarry in Hartshorne that included construction of a new, completely automated crushing plant and the upgrade and replacement of most of the quarry’s trucks, crushers and screens. Typically, the Hartshorne quarry produces about 1 million tons of product per year. With the quarry upgrade, production per hour has doubled while operation costs have been significantly reduced. Dolese has seven additional quarries, four additional sand-and-gravel locations in Oklahoma, and one sand-and-gravel facility in Baton Rouge, La. The company also operates about 50 ready-mix concrete plants. Mark Helm, Dolese president and COO, says improved efficiency and increased production resulting from the upgrade made the investment worthwhile. “Our company has owned the Hartshorne operation since the early 1960s,” Helm says. “Our market for that quarry is fairly rural and covers a large area partially impacted by the growth of the domestic oil and gas industry. The plant was remodeled and added to numerous times… Keep Reading
People. Planet. Prosperity.
The success of Fairmount Santrol can be attributed in large part to its treatment of employees, neighbors and the environment. Fairmount Santrol, one of the nation’s longest continuously operating mining organizations, is a leading provider of high-performance sand and sand-based products used by oil and gas exploration and production companies to enhance the productivity of their wells. The company also provides high-quality products, strong technical leadership and applications knowledge to end users in the foundry, building products, water filtration, glass, and sports and recreation markets. Throughout its nearly 40-year history, Fairmount Santrol has developed a strong commitment to all three pillars of sustainable development – People, Planet and Prosperity. Correspondingly, the company’s motto and action orientation is: “Do Good. Do Well.” Fairmount Santrol is headquartered in Chesterland, Ohio, with facilities located across the United States, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Denmark and China. In October 2014, Fairmount Santrol completed an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange and began trading under the ticker symbol FMSA. “During 2014,… Keep Reading
Out of this world
Ground rover prototypes are being tested at a Massachusetts sand-and-gravel operation to see if they’re ready to help explore other planets. Do sand-and-gravel pits really resemble the surface of planets like Mars? Velin Dimitrov, Ph.D. candidate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass., believes they do. That’s what prompted him to contact Karen Hubacz-Kiley, COO at Bond Construction Corp. in spring 2014 and inquire about using the site to test ground rover prototypes. “Velin expects that the prototypes he and his colleagues are working on could some day go to Mars or another planet in the solar system,” Hubacz-Kiley says. “As they develop equipment design, they need a place with landscape similar to Mars where they can test the equipment’s effectiveness. At one point, Velin and his team took the rovers to Arizona, but that’s quite a trek from Massachusetts.” Dimitrov’s ground rover prototypes are comparable in size to a riding lawn mower. But, instead of a seat and all the traditional mower parts, the rovers carry ground-penetrating-radar (GPR)… Keep Reading
Kids rock: Quarry education
Dolese mines goodwill across Oklahoma by helping students make the connection between quarries and earth science. Kids and rocks are a great combination. Dolese, an Oklahoma aggregate producer, is doing its part to bring the two together. Across Oklahoma, Dolese operates eight quarries, six sand-and-gravel operations, more than 50 ready-mix plants, a block plant and a masonry supply warehouse. A company outreach program, the Dolese Kids Rock Tour, gives kids throughout the state the opportunity to visit some of these sites and learn more about Dolese products and operations. “We started the program with an invitation to one school, then kicked the program off in a big way in 2014 by reaching out to smaller communities in which we operate,” says Mark Helm, Dolese president. “Through this program, we want to give youth a better idea of the products that come out of our rock quarries, how aggregates are mined, how those products are used and how it relates to earth science. To achieve this, Dolese partners with school administrators… Keep Reading
Rock replay: Processing C&D materials
An Ontario company realizes important environmental goals, customer satisfaction and higher profits by processing C&D materials. Extending the life of its limestone quarry, engaging in environmental sustainability and providing a cost-effective aggregate product to customers are among the benefits Ontario’s Nelson Aggregate Co. sees in recycling asphalt and concrete materials. An aggregate mining and construction materials supply company, Nelson Aggregate has been in partnership with Lafarge Canada Inc. and Steed and Evans Holdings Inc. since 1983. The company is engaged in extraction, processing and distribution of crushed limestone, sand and gravel, and asphalt products, and the company’s locations include operations in central and southern Ontario, as well as the Niagara region. Reclaiming product “We’re a mid-size aggregate producer that provides plus or minus 3 million tons of aggregate each year,” says Steve Drew, quarry manager. “We began recycling concrete and asphalt and blending them with our limestone products in the late 1980s. We started with a hollow core, pre-stressed concrete product that was leftover finished product from a customer we… Keep Reading
Playing it safe: Maintaining low injury rates
A company-wide safety mindset keeps Staker Parson employees healthy and productive. Employee engagement has become the backbone of a highly successful safety program at Staker Parson Cos. For more than 60 years, Staker Parson has produced stone, sand and gravel, landscape products, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt, as well as paving and construction services for a variety of contractors, businesses, government agencies, municipalities and homeowners. With 50 locations and more than 2,000 employees in the western United States, the company has achieved and maintained one of the lowest recordable injury rates in the aggregate mining industry – 1.08 percent in 2014 – beginning with a commitment to safe materials production. “Our philosophy is that production and safety are integrated,” says Jory Argyle, Staker Parson safety director. “If we have safe production, we’re able to produce quality materials for customers.” To accomplish its safety goals on a daily basis, Staker Parson places emphasis on involving front-line employees in safety program development and implementation. Through programs such as the company’s Residual Risk Reduction… Keep Reading
The big picture: Efficiency maintains family business
A family-owned Wyoming business considers all aspects of its operation to maintain profitability and longevity. Third-generation Mullinax Inc. CEO Nathan Mullinax knows quality products and reliable service have been hallmarks of his family’s business since it was established in 1952. Over the years, high efficiency has also become a primary element of his family’s successful business. In operating his mobile crushing service, Mullinax puts efficient communication, equipment and work methods at the top of his priorities. “We recently shrunk our truck fleet from 12 end dumps with pups to seven larger-capacity four-axle side dumps that move about 40 percent more material with the same amount of labor,” says Mullinax, whose company is based in Sheridan, Wyo. “Some costing data revealed that we can do 40 percent more work with the larger trucks, reducing fuel, repair and maintenance costs.” Five of Mullinax’s seven trucks are Peterbilt 379s, Peterbilt’s flagship truck from 1987 until the 2007 model year. The other two are Kenworth T-800s. In combination with the high-capacity trucks, Mullinax relies… Keep Reading
New life
A giant excavator at a Vulcan Materials operation gets a new engine with a little help from a California agency. The 13-year-old diesel hydraulic Hitachi EX2500-1 excavator working at Vulcan Materials’ Reliance sand-and-gravel pit in Irwindale, Calif., easily met air-quality standards. However, when plant managers there learned of California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) offer to fund retrofitting of machines such as theirs to a level exceeding required standards, they decided to organize the excavator’s upgrade. SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernadino counties, documented as one of the smoggiest regions of the United States. The agency provides funding incentives and other opportunities to assist businesses – especially those willing to go above and beyond required regulations – in repowering or replacing older, high-polluting, off-road diesel vehicles with new, cleaner engines and equipment. Hitachi’s EX2500-1 was first introduced to North America in 1996 when the first of the newly designed Japanese manufactured excavators… Keep Reading
Here comes the sun
Solar power is the primary energy source fora California quarry caught between a rock and a hard place over changing electric rates. When increased electric rates tripled overnight in 2011, Mark Soiland, Stony Point Rock Quarry president and second-generation owner, knew his family’s California-based company had to find an alternative energy source. The rate change was due to Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) move to generate additional revenue. The California Public Utilities Commission eliminated an average rate limiter, which helped business owners keep energy costs at a manageable level. One impact of that change was removal of the cap on kilowatt-hour rates, which had governed power costs for businesses like Stony Point Rock Quarry. Their monthly electric bill went from an average of $8,500 to as high as $33,000. “The state of California hadn’t warned us about this change so we were shocked when we saw our monthly bill and realized the impact this would have on our budget,” Soiland says. “Because we were already using a small solar system… Keep Reading
