Daanen & Janssen, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025, is known throughout Wisconsin for its versatile, responsive and reliable contract crushing services.
The company’s success strategy combines a skilled, conscientious workforce with efficient portable plants that process construction materials to precise specifications.
Bill Daanen and Leo Janssen founded the company in 1925 when they formed a partnership to quarry rock for the area’s developing communities. Today, the company is in its third generation of leadership under CEO Scott Janssen. Daanen & Janssen’s annual production now exceeds 1 million tons.
Of course, growth has its challenges – including when production capacity requirements increase while hours in production go down.
“With changing regulations such as noise ordinances, crushing operations are faced with having to do more in less time,” says Roger Rohloff, vice president of production at Daanen & Janssen.
Production up, costs down
According to Rohloff, Daanen & Janssen previously operated an older portable cone/roll crusher plant for 20 hours per day.
The plant contained a smaller, 300-hp cone and dual king roll crushers on two separate chassis. Rohloff says it was a heavy, complicated spread with many moving parts.
Going forward, the company’s goal is to boost its total production output with a more efficient, streamlined plant – and a run time under 14 hours per day.
As the company transitioned, Rohloff stressed that Daanen & Janssen needed a cost-efficient plant that delivered a significant return. He and his team consulted with Superior Industries and Rock Machinery, a Wisconsin-based equipment dealer.
Bryant Fazer, president of Rock Machinery, says Daanen & Janssen needed an affordable solution, but the company also aimed to increase cone and screen sizes yet limit the number of pieces required to move.
Additionally, Daanen & Janssen sought a user-friendly plant that was easy to maintain and operate on a smaller footprint. The company wanted a plant customized to its requirements, as well.
Ultimately, Daanen & Janssen acquired a new Superior portable plant consisting of a tandem 7-ft. x 20-ft. Guardian screen plant; a Patriot P400 cone plant; and two PowerStacker conveyors. Along with a portable chassis for each plant module, all equipment systems and components – including automated controls –are manufactured by Superior.
With the new plant, Rohloff says production is up by an average of 100 tph depending on the material type.
“At the same time, the fuel savings are amazing as we’re crushing at greater capacities with just one cone versus three crushers on the previous spread,” he says.
Super portability
The plant is engineered to make setup and teardown easy.
“It’s just three pieces that go right into place, with the cone plant backing directly up to the side discharge conveyors on the tandem screen plant,” Rohloff says.
The on-plant conveyors fold out from the chassis, eliminating the need to access, transport and set up additional jump or transfer conveyors. Also, the plant is designed for optimum portability with hydraulic run-on legs and heavy-duty hydraulic jack systems.
While conventional systems require continuously leveling and readjusting using pins, Superior portable plants feature “pinless” hydraulic jacks that quickly lift and hold a plant in the desired position. This eliminates the need for cribbing or fitting pins into place while trying to level the plant.
Superior also customized a jumper conveyor from the breaker to the screen for Daanen & Janssen.
“It mounts right to the chassis, which makes setup easier and keeps the footprint smaller,” Rohloff says. “We gave them our exact measurements, and the conveyor fit perfectly – just the way we wanted.”
Daanen & Janssen addressed safety through the plant’s design, as well.
“For greater safety, Superior added a catwalk and a platform for our metal detector,” Rohloff says. “From the catwalk, we can reach anything on the belt without being in harm’s way.”
Information for this article courtesy of Superior Industries.
