Collier Materials, headquartered in Marble Falls, Texas, expanded its sand and aggregate business in the region following a major investment in advanced washing technology from CDE.
The company commissioned a 300-tph wash plant to facilitate the production of six washed aggregate products following an expansion at its Marble Falls pit. Operating out of the pit for nearly five decades under the direction of the Collier family, Collier Materials supplies decomposed granite products to the construction and landscaping industries in Texas.
Established in 1973, the locally-owned business focused on the dry screening of decomposed granite deposit and built a solid reputation for producing high-quality landscaping and construction products. Washing these aggregates bolsters the company’s quality reputation and product offerings.
Continuing partnership
The new project in Marble Falls is the latest in a partnership with CDE.
In 2019, CDE sand-washing technology enabled Collier Materials to increase the production of concrete sand by 50 percent at its site in Georgetown, Texas, improving product quality and reducing plant footprint in the process.
Collier Materials had invested in another cyclone-based wet processing system to process a heavy clay-bound, limestone-based raw feed at its site in Georgetown. With a challenging feed material to process, the company quickly identified inefficiencies in the process and inconsistencies in the grading of the final products that failed to meet concrete sand specification.
Kevin Collier, co-owner of Collier Materials, says CDE wet processing technology transformed the company’s Georgetown operation.
“We invested in the CDE technology, and we haven’t looked back,” he says. “Our original sand plant at Georgetown and that which CDE engineered were similar in their purpose and function, but the CDE solution worked in terms of the process, its efficiency and quality of the final product.”
Collier identified CDE as the right choice for the Marble Falls operation, and he’s looking forward to the expansion.
“We knew CDE was the right choice to help us make the project a success,” Collier says. “Its team understands our business and what we want to achieve with our plants. They work with us collaboratively to create a solution that ensures we are running at maximum productivity and producing top-quality products. We’ve come to really value that process.”
One plant, six products
Following tests on the raw feed material, a site assessment and detailed consultation with Collier Materials, CDE’s design and engineering teams developed an engineered-to-order solution to produce six aggregate products at Marble Falls – including one sand – with the modular M4500 washing plant comprised of the triple-deck infinity P3-108 screen, the EvoWash, Infinity H2-60 screen and a network of transfer conveyors.
At the front end of the process, the Infinity P3-108 screen rinses incoming feed material, classifying it into three washed aggregate fractions to provide a consistent feed to the processing plant and optimize throughput.
Washed 1/2-in.-plus material comes off the top deck and is transferred to the H2-60. One-quarter inch to 1/2-in. material from the middle deck is washed and stockpiled, #14 to 1/4-in. material from the bottom deck is washed and stockpiled, and minus-#14 material is transferred to the sand plant.
The material transferred to the H2-60 screen washes and classifies three aggregate materials, including plus-2 in., 1 to 2 in., and #4 to 1 in.
Material transferred to the sand plant is washed and classified with a compact, modular sand washing system. The EvoWash sand plant integrates a high-frequency dewatering screen, sump and hydrocyclones to provide control of silt cut points and to eliminate the loss of fines with commercial value. Incorporating the Infinity D1-64 screen, it offers dewatering results that enable Collier Materials to produce a minus-#14 sand that’s market ready straight from the belt.
