What happens when you can’t run a big batch — let alone store your sand, gravel, cement and water? You retrofit — and retrofits are our specialty at W.P. Hilts.
Sherman Industries knew they needed to deal with the aggregate bin at their concrete plant in Decatur, Ala. Wear and rust over the years had thinned interior partition walls. Holes were starting to show up in the pitted and dented metal.
Production capacity suffered because the bin’s wall couldn’t handle the tonnage Sherman processed. Storage space was reduced.
What would give the biggest bang for the buck? Rebuild or replace?
We suggested the agg bin (above) be entirely replaced along with the agg weigh hopper. We didn’t think plating over the worn-out spots would be money well spent!
Sherman had repaired the corners of the weigh hopper. Rust and wear did not make for a pretty picture.
So we decided to replace.
One big benefit: downtime would not be as lengthy as relining the bins. A new agg bin, weigh hopper and structure barely cost more than the repairs. Storage space was increased.
All this new heavy metal came with a walkway on all four sides around the weigh hopper. The bin sloping sides were built with AR steel plate and the weigh hopper sloping sides were made out of 3/8″ AR steel.
One way we saved money: We designed the bin, weigh hopper and to fit on the customer’s existing piers, which gave us room to put in a wider bin.
Results and benefits:
- More tonnage for more product in the same space.
- Fitting the agg bin and weigh hopper between the radial stacker conveyor and the agg discharge conveyor feeding the bin created more storage.
- The weigh hopper has about 540 cubic feet of volume. Sherman can now batch out of two of the four compartments.
The Hilts crew — along with several Sherman guys — took out the old equipment in one day. This whole project, including a new solenoid valve bank (right), took four days.
Talk with us. Let us advise you when time comes to upgrade your plant and equipment.
The real benefit to you is that you can concentrate on what you do best, which is developing and running your business.
Leave the details to us. Contact us for more information on retrofits.
