Rogge Excavating is marking its eighth year as a contract crusher by doubling its production capacity to meet market demand.
Founded 30 years ago and headquartered in Ghent, Minnesota, the company started crushing for itself in 2018. Austin Rogge, plant supervisor at Rogge Excavating, says the company initially rented a crushing plant before purchasing a used one.
When it came time to add a new, larger plant, Rogge says they talked with General Equipment & Supplies (a local Superior Industries dealer), which rented the company its first plant. In June 2024, Rogge Excavating purchased a Superior D350 Dakota closed-circuit cone crushing plant.
Now, after just one year of operating its new plant, the company reports capacities nearing 1 million tons annually. It has also expanded its Midwest market reach, including custom crushing projects for counties, contractors, municipalities and Departments of Transportation (DOTs) throughout Minnesota, South Dakota and, now, North Dakota.
“With our smaller, older plant, we were only doing up to 500,000 tons per year,” Rogge says. “Within the first year of using the new plant, we doubled that. Soon, contractors heard about us and wanted us to do some custom crushing for them. Since then, it’s taken off.”
Region-specific design
One thing that stuck out to Rogge when selecting a new crusher was having a choice between bearing, bushing and spider bushing models. With Superior manufacturing all three models, Rogge ultimately decided on the bearing design on the Dakota cone plant. This option is ideal for handling the tough clay typical to his region.
The company’s previous plant also had a bearing cone.
“We often run into some tough, nasty pits – some with sticky clay and we’ve found that the bearing cone handles it the best,” Rogge says. “We really like the operation and performance of the bearing style, so we want to stick with that.”
Benefits of the Dakota bearing design include more efficient use of horsepower per ton, a more compact lube tank and optimum performance within a low-profile, mobile plant.
“The cone is easy to use and simple to maintain,” Rogge says. “We have the latest version of Superior’s Vantage Automation. My guys like it and there’s minimal training needed. We had it figured out in about 15 minutes. It makes operation safe and alerts us to any issues. We can easily troubleshoot, too.”
Doubling down
Rogge combined his new Dakota cone with a 7-ft. x 20-ft. Superior Guardian screen.
The combination has served Rogge Excavating well, with Rogge reporting that production remains steady around 700 to 800 tph. Depending on the pit, however, he’s seen capacities as high as 1,000 tph.
Rogge says the Guardian three-deck screen provides a notable advantage over its 6-ft. x 16-ft. two-deck screen on his older plant.
“The 7-ft. x 20-ft. horizontal screen is a big, big game changer,” Rogge says. “We have greater flexibility, efficiency and multiple products coming off the decks.”
With greater production capacities, Rogge replaced its older radial stacker with a Superior 36-in. x 150-ft. TeleStacker conveyor, allowing it to build larger volume stockpiles on limited footprints.
Maximizing mobility
Rogge will move its plant up to 10 times per season. For this reason, mobility features were a key consideration when picking its new plant.
“Teardown and setup are very easy on this plant as everything is hydraulic, with run-on jacks and cylinders that move the rear cross-conveyor in and out for transport, along with adjusting the overhead conveyor and the screen,” Rogge says. “We can be ready for transport or production in about 45 minutes. The plant has bigger belts on it too for bigger production. We’re faster than ever in getting in and out of the pit, and on to the next project.”
Teamwork counts
In bringing this new plant online, Rogge is grateful for the help of General Equipment and Superior.
“Every pit is different – and it’s a challenge sometimes, but we get through it,” he says. “They’re all so knowledgeable and they’re always there if we need them for parts or onsite service. It’s very convenient for us, and sometimes we can even get parts on the same day.”
Three decades after Rogge’s father founded the company, and just seven years after it started custom crushing, Rogge is thrilled with the new plant’s performance and is excited for the future.
“We’re a younger crushing crew,” Rogge says. “We really like keeping up with the speed and production of this new plant.”
Carol Wasson is a veteran freelance writer for the aggregates and construction equipment industries.
Related: How automation technology drives crushing efficiency
