Hi-Grade Materials is a producer of ready-mix concrete, sand and gravel, with locations across the Southern California region. Hi-Grade Oro Grande primarily processes sand for ready-mix aggregates.
As a division of Robar Enterprises, a construction materials supplier, Hi-Grade Materials provides ready-mix concrete, sand and gravel for both internal and external operations.
At Hi-Grade Materials’ Oro Grande site, material mined from the pit is heavy in clay content. To meet specifications, the aggregate requires thorough processing and washing to remove any unwanted material that could be in final product. Removing deleterious and unwanted material increases product value and quality.
From the pit, material is crushed and screened and sent to wet processing, where Hi-Grade Materials initially used a single 36” blade mill to wash its aggregate products. However, the equipment being used couldn’t meet product specifications efficiently.
Travis Priset, Foreman of the Oro Grande site, explained, “Keeping the rock clean was the main challenge, and then producing enough sand to keep up with our customers.”
Because the pit is high in clay content, it’s important to get the most out of the operation. With the 36” blade mill, the site only processed about 150 to 200 tons per hour.
“The name of this game is to get every bit of reserves we can to keep the company operating here at this property,” said Brian Ouellette, Regional Operations Manager at Hi-Grade Materials.
Ouellette decided to purchase new equipment that could efficiently process all of the material coming from the pit to create a saleable product.
Hi-Grade Materials had been a previous customer of McLanahan’s local dealer Aggregate Crusher Specialists (ACS) and decided to work with them again to create a tailored solution for the site’s production problems.
“The decision was made to bring in some more equipment that can handle more of those fines,” Ouellette said.
McLanahan and ACS worked with Hi-Grade Materials and chose a twin 44” Blade Mill to help process the clay-heavy material being processed.
After crushing and screening, material is conveyed and enters the Blade Mill.
Ouellette explained, “As we feed it with material, it conditions, it breaks down the clay balls. It gives that clay a chance to break up and float out over the weirs.”
Washed material is discharged onto a screw washer. The material is conveyed up the screw washer shaft and empties onto an UltraDRY Dewatering Screen.
The UltraDRY was originally used on Hi-Grade’s old system and saved to continue to use it in combination with the new Blade Mill. After washing and some partial dewatering, the UltraDRY further dewaters the product for faster drying.
“The decision was made – let’s bring in an UltraDRY. Let’s pound out some of the water, so we can get it to ready-mix quicker,” Ouellette explained.
Hi-Grade Materials has found great success with the combination of the Blade Mill and the UltraDRY Dewatering Screen.
“Through the McLanahan Blade Mill, we’re running about 300 tons an hour,” said Priset. “It’s actually helping keep up with the wash content and keep up with our customers.”
An increase in production means Hi-Grade Materials can make more products to sell to customers.
“By adding this twin 44” Blade Mill up here, it has been a complete game changer for us,” said Ouellette. “Our specifications for our Caltrans rock are always in spec. Our sand is in spec. We monitor it daily, and I contribute a lot of that to the condition of the Blade Mill and what it does for us.”
Along with increasing Hi-Grade’s tons per hour, the McLanahan Blade Mill requires minimal maintenance and comes with support from both McLanahan and ACS. This dealer and manufacturer support was a key part of Ouellette’s decision to install the McLanahan equipment.
“For me, again, it goes back to having a partnership with McLanahan and then a local dealer, which we have with ACS, getting the support, getting the resources,” explained Ouellette. “McLanahan equipment is easy to work on. I can call my dealer; I get 100% dealer support. I get support from McLanahan.”
