"Good people make the business tick," observed Quie. "We have a great core group at Elk River who really care about the customer. They know about the community in the metro area and understand our customers' expectations. They're committed to making the finest product on the market. That says a lot about the outstanding quality of the people we have working for us."
New plant comes online
Quality assurance also comes from investing in top-of-the-line equipment, according to Quie and Kachinske. In 2004, Aggregate Industries began preparing the site for new plant equipment at the Elk River location. Planning began nearly five years ago, when the company started mining a large area to the west of its original location. As it took material out, Aggregate Industries kept in mind its plan for the site and how to use it to its advantage once the budget was in place for the new plant.
"We mined the area with a general plan of where we would locate the new plant," said Quie. "We began grading in the winter of 2004, building the area up 18 feet from the mine floor to match our end-use plans. We used a large amount of fill sand that we had set aside during our desanding operations. We developed our freshwater and settling ponds during that time as well."
Grading continued through the summer of 2005, setting the company up for installation of new equipment, which began late that year. Once grading was complete, footings for the new plant were poured and electrical conduits installed to provide power. Assembly of the plant began in December 2005.
Aggregate Industries purchased the Kolberg-Pioneer (KPI) equipment that makes up the plant from Road Machinery & Supplies. Company officials worked with RMS Aggregate Sales Specialist Brad Sykora and COO David Johnson to select and spec the plant components. New Kolberg-Pioneer equipment includes an 8-foot by 20-foot, two-deck, dry, vibrating screen; two three-deck, 8-foot by 20-foot, wet, vibrating screens; a 12-foot by 48-foot stationary classifying tank; a Pioneer 2500 vertical-shaft impactor; a 36-inch dewatering sand screw; and several pieces of stacking and conveying equipment.
New Kolberg-Pioneer equipment at Aggregate Industries' 600-acre Elk River Plant includes an 8'x20', two-deck, dry, vibrating screen; two 8'x20', three-deck, wet, vibrating screens; a 12'x48' stationary classifying tank; a Pioneer 2500 vertical-shaft impactor; a 36-inch dewatering sand screw; and several pieces of stacking and conveying equipment.
No. 4 product travels through the primary wash screen. Conveyors move material to the Pioneer 2500 vertical shaft impactor, then to a secondary wash plant.
"Our goal was to have one supplier that could provide all the equipment we needed for the plant, someone who could tie everything together," Quie described. "We found that with Road Machinery. We were looking for a comfort level on the engineering side as well, and that came from working with KPI. We've done projects with KPI before, and Brad Sykora and Dave Johnson at RMS have been very good to work with. They've got credibility and integrity, and they're willing to go the extra mile for us.
"That's what we expect from a dealer," he continued. "We want straight answers and service when we need it, because when we're down,