|
 Finding
a great business partner and the right classifying equipment
puts Kent Sand & Gravel on the road to success
A seam of
sand running across the Delmarva Peninsula from the Atlantic Ocean
to the Chesapeake Bay, plus a fleet of stone-hauling trucks returning
empty to Pennsylvania, were the opportunities that have added
up to success for a new northern Maryland sand and gravel enterprise.
With a strong partnership and the right equipment in place, the
business is increasing production and laying plans for even more
growth in the future.
Kent Sand
& Gravel, near Galena, Md., has been in operation for two years
on former farmland on the coastal flats of the northern Delmarva
Peninsula. Co-owner Miles Bennett explains that the company was
founded to mine a seam of sand and gravel that was a rare find
in the aggregate-poor area. "There is a sand and gravel seam that
runs from Baltimore all the way over to Lewes, Del.," says Bennett.
"It's kind of unusual to the area." Kent Sand & Gravel mines and
sells approximately 500,000 tons of product a year, including
ASTM C33 concrete sand, mason sand, 3/8-inch pea gravel and 3/4-inch
gravel used in ready-mix concrete.
Kent
Sand & Gravel classifies sand with a GreyStone Aggre-Spec™
II system
consisting of an 11-station 12-foot by 48-foot tank, 48-inch twin
screws
and a 44-inch single screw.
Early in
the operation's history, Bennett made a fortuitous connection
with Haines & Kibblehouse, the Skippack, Pa.-based aggregate,
concrete and asphalt conglomerate with numerous quarries. Haines
& Kibblehouse (H&K) was at that time hauling rock to Maryland
and Delaware and returning to Pennsylvania with empty trucks.
By forming a partnership with H&K, Kent Sand & Gravel gained an
experienced partner in the aggregate business and a ready market
for as much spec concrete sand as it can produce.
Silt
Requires Washing
The sand and
gravel seam contains about 15 percent gravel and varying amounts
of silt and clay, according to Bennett. "Passing 200 mesh is approximately
10 percent," says Bennett. "And it's a very silty clay material
that clings, so it has to be washed and separated, and our classifying
tank basically separates the material."
Kent
Sand & Gravel sells its primary product, ASTM C33 concrete sand,
to its co-owner, Haines & Kibblehouse. Concrete sand is washed
and dewatered in the GreyStone twin screw.
All feed
material is first screened through an 8-foot by 20-foot triple-deck
inclined vibrating screen fed by a 36-inch by 165-foot conveyor.
A 24-inch GreyStone log washer cleans clay from the gravel, which
is then sized by a 4-foot by 8-foot inclined vibrating screen
to produce the two product sizes . A 12-foot by 48-foot GreyStone
Aggre-Spec(tm) II classifying system with 11 stations sorts sand
into the two finished products. A GreyStone 48-inch twin screw
washes and dewaters the concrete sand and a GreyStone 44-inch
single screw washes and dewaters the mason sand. Concrete sand
is stockpiled by a 36-inch by 120-foot radial stacker, while the
mason sand exits the screw onto a 30-inch by 60-foot radial stacker.
With varying
layers of clay and silt in the seam, Bennett appreciates the flexibility
of the system to save costly steps when they're not needed. "Sometimes
we're producing a gravel that doesn't need to go through the log
washer. We can take it off, stockpile it and sell it, and then
take the other gravel through the log by itself and stockpile
it. Or we can combine them."
Choosing
The Right Equipment
In spite of
the fact that other classifying system manufacturers were more
established in the area, Bennett relates, Kent Sand & Gravel is
equipped with a complete system manufactured by GreyStone. "Unlike
some of the competitors we looked at, GreyStone uses a lot of
standard items on parts that wear out, like bearings, so you don't
have to buy the parts just from them. That was a big plus," says
Bennett. "We've had a lot of people come look at our plant, and
they like it."
Kent
Sand & Gravel produces 500,000 tons per year of spec sand and
gravel products at its two-year-old quarry near Galena, Md. The
quarry mines a rare seam of sand and gravel extending across the
Delmarva Peninsula.
Timing was
another reason for buying GreyStone washing and classifying equipment.
"GreyStone was able to meet our schedule," says Bennett, "and
we saved a season that we otherwise wouldn't have had." Kent Sand
& Gravel bought its GreyStone equipment from the local dealer,
Kemper Equipment, based in Honey Brook, Pa., and its sales representative,
Greg Donecker.
Dredging
For Higher Production
Kent Sand
& Gravel was originally set up to classify and wash dry material
mined from the surface, Bennett explains. However, the company
is building a new dredge and will start operating it a few hundred
yards from the classifier. "We know that we are ultimately going
to get a more consistent blend by mining the pit vertically,"
says Bennett. "The dredge is going from basically zero down to
70 feet. We have a solid gravel seam and then we have sand and
then a finer sand."
While
switching over to a total dredge operation isn't painless, Kent
Sand & Gravel's automated Aggre-Spec II Control System is making
the process easier by helping to maintain production during the
switch. "In the past, when we were mining just horizontally with
the loaders, it was a little more difficult, but we learned to
make a spec product with it," says Bennett. "So now we're learning
all over again, but we think this is going to be a little bit
easier."
Kent
Sand & Gravel is building a dredge for higher material consistency
and greater production. The increased feed rate will require expanding
the existing operation.
The
GreyStone plant is being switched back and forth between hydraulic
and dry operation until the complete conversion to dredge feed
is finally complete. During dredging operations, 5,000 gallons
per minute of dredge slurry enters the system. An energy-dissipating
pump box slows the feed material and maximizes the amount of retained
product entering the tank for classifying. At this higher feed
rate, Bennett is planning to increase production capacity.
Backed by
the expertise of a classifying and washing equipment manufacturer
capable of supplying equipment ranging from single components
to complete systems, Kent Sand & Gravel is keeping the Haines
& Kibblehouse trucks returning to Pennsylvania filled with high-quality
spec sand. And with a steady customer for its concrete sand, Kent
Sand & Gravel can focus on increasing production and creating
more opportunities for profit and growth.
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