Allis-Chalmers. Hewitt-Robins. Smith Engineering Works. Telsmith. W.S. Tyler.
These were among the most prominent crushing and screening equipment manufacturers of their day. Ron DeDiemar has ties to all of them, navigating a series of stops throughout a long and fruitful industry career.
An engineer by trade, DeDiemar also has a business acumen that isn’t typically found with today’s mechanical minds. Throughout his journey, DeDiemar applied himself in ways that not only led to equipment design improvements, but production gains for aggregate producers.
“My heart was in being a resource,” DeDiemar says. “What that means is I’m the guy [to whom] you can ask any question you want. Talk over your problems, and if I’m lucky enough to get an order I will faithfully deliver whatever it is you want and need.”
Perhaps DeDiemar’s greatest equipment contribution to aggregates is the work he put forth in chamber design.
“I spent a lot of time designing chambers for crushers,” says DeDiemar, who has served on McLanahan Corp.’s board since 2018.
In all, DeDiemar is the holder or coholder of 13 U.S. patents covering unique and novel enhancements to industry products. His patented work spans jaw crushers, cone crushers, gravel scrubbers and apron feeders.
“Ron is just a matter-of-fact engineer who looks at things from a reality perspective,” says George Sidney, who spent 45 years at McLanahan. “He moves forward, and he’s not afraid to share his opinions. He’s not afraid to back it up with calculations. He’s been such a value to the McLanahan Corp. in that regard. He’s just a real deal.”
Fully dedicated
Sidney was regularly astounded by DeDiemar’s knowledge – and not just of chambers, but of processing equipment in general.
As a member of McLanahan’s board, DeDiemar was influential in chamber design for the company’s Freedom jaw crushers.
“We took advantage of that knowledge when we developed the Freedom jaw crusher,” Sidney says. “We made one, and it did exactly what Ron said it would do. It increased efficiency and throughput.”
As Sidney describes, DeDiemar’s pursuit of excellence is rooted in a desire to learn that has yet to wane.
“He’s always a student,” Sidney says. “He’s always wanting to learn. Here he is pushing 90, and he’s still wanting to learn.”
Sidney offers one customer interaction as a case in point for how DeDiemar goes to lengths that others would not.
“A company had a project going in the iron ore fields of Western Australia,” Sidney says. “One of the engineers of the company we were dealing with wanted to know about a desander section on a rotary scrubber. The guys in Australia contacted me and said: ‘I’m asking within McLanahan who knows about these things, and I’m told you’re (Sidney) the last guy who knows them.’
“I explained my thoughts to him on it,” Sidney adds. “But I said: ‘You know, there’s a guy I know (DeDiemar) who has worked with these firsthand in California who may have a perspective.’ Well, Ron wrote him a bloody dissertation on it. He sent photos and drawings. That is Ron right there. He doesn’t do anything ‘half.’ He’s all in.”
Earlier years
DeDiemar’s career in the industry began at Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co., where he gained three years in training and product development positions. His next stop was Smith Engineering Works, where he dedicated more than 18 years.
“I go to work with Telsmith/Smith Engineering Works, and that was a wonderful company,” DeDiemar says. “It was run by the grandson of the founder: Fitzgerald L. Smith. The company was founded by Thomas L. Smith. Gerry was the grandson. He was a forward-looking guy. A tough guy. He believed in honesty, hard work and low pay. But it was a great learning experience for me, and they paid my tuition. I loved it.”
After Gerry Smith sold his business to Barber-Greene Co., DeDiemar ventured away to establish Process Technology Corp. (Protech) with a partner. The company’s first acquisition was Kue-Ken.
“My job was to move to California and put Kue-Ken on the map,” DeDiemar says. “It was a big name in aggregates.”
Protech later acquired Hewitt-Robins.
“Our chairman wrote a letter to Hewitt-Robins and Litton Industries and offered to buy Hewitt-Robins,” DeDiemar says. “They called him, because Litton had decided they would rather be in the defense industry than make crushers and screens, and word got out they wanted to sell Hewitt-Robins. They invited us out, we shook hands and bought Hewitt-Robins. All of a sudden, we doubled in size.
“Then, W.S. Tyler came and bought us,” DeDiemar adds.
With a retired partner around that time, DeDiemar went on to establish Cal-Mar Technology, a consulting company specializing in the enhancement of mineral-processing systems. DeDiemar did that for about three years before joining Telsmith for a year and a half as president.
“I went to work for Telsmith, left Telsmith, came back to California, got into the distribution business and then I was a consultant for five years,” says DeDiemar, referring to his stretch at California Screen & Conveyor. “While I didn’t work for many companies during my career, I was fortunate to work in various advancing roles in these companies. Through the years it’s been an exciting business.””
DeDiemar undoubtedly experienced more facets of the industry than the average person during his career.
“I’m one of the few people who has been in the engineering end of it, the manufacturing, the ownership end of it and the sales end of it,” DeDiemar says. “Then, in my consulting days, I was on a retainer with one of the largest producers in California. So, I have experience on different ends.”
