Published in ASPHALT CONTRACTOR MAGAZINE, September 1997 This is Cliff in Red Square, Moscow Russia Through my business, I was fortunate enough to find myself in Russia this last summer, and I’d like to share some of my experiences and, perhaps, dispel some myths about the Russian people and their

So, after years of buying hot mix from the local supplier you’ve decided to purchase an asphalt plant and start producing it for yourself, and perhaps sell it commercially. Congratulations, you’ve made an important decision, one that, with planning and a modicum of luck, should make you money over the

I’m often asked what the future holds in the way of asphalt plant design. Orson Wells’ vision of the future holds the view that cars will travel through the air. We all hope that’s a few decades off because it doesn’t bode well for our industry: I don’t see a

Asphalt plants can be very dangerous places. Accidents, sometimes fatal, happen far too often. Most can be traced to the same root cause: the need for production superseding common sense and normal safety practices. The incidents that follow occurred in the western U.S. in a five year period. Sadly, they

In PART 1 we discussed lockout-tag out accidents, burner safety issues and the dangers of poor maintenance practices. In PART 2 we will address some of the other areas of potential hazards and the consequences of taking them lightly. Numerous other dangers lurk around a plant, awaiting the unwary. Electrical

Take a 5’ drum plant and put it into operation at 6500 feet elevation, feed it aggregate with 6% moisture and you will soon discover that your production rate is down around 40 tph. Add a couple of decades of wear and tear and the production rate can get as

Many asphalt plants suffer from trunnion and tire problems relating to misalignment and poor adjustment procedures. In past articles I have talked about various methods of repairs such as trunnion/tire grinding. When a plant is operated continually with its trunnions poorly adjusted the results can be devastating, requiring major repairs.

In an earlier article I talked about drier/mixer trunnion adjustment procedures. If followed, these procedures can go a long way toward restoring the functionality of your drier/mixer, hereafter referred to as the drum. There are instances, however, in which no amount of adjusting will correct the problems exhibited by a

Another winter is nearly here. With the paving season drawing to a close many companies’ thoughts are turning toward a winter repair regimen for their asphalt plants. It’s no secret in our industry that what you do to your plant in the off-season bears heavily on your success during the

Winter’s coming. And with it comes time to perform needed maintenance chores at the asphalt plant. When setting up a plan of attack some people find it helpful to use a checklist to determine which items need special attention and which ones need only regular servicing. What follows is the

Mashing big rocks into little rocks. Crushers do this job well, if maintained and operated correctly. The products they give us are well suited to the task of building roads and satisfying the bureaucrats with their specifications. Drum mix AC plants use the stuff ‘as-is’ and don’t seem to suffer

It’s Sunday afternoon. The wife and kids flutter about the house, happy to have you home for a day after the grind you’ve endured– they’ve endured. For the first time in several months you can lay back and relax. Monday morning that new paving contract you’ve worked so hard to

Thinking back on my travels around our great country working on various asphalt plants this last summer one recurrent theme stands out in my mind. Inconsistent sample results relating to material passing the 80 through 200 screens. I’ve encountered this at more than a few facilities in the North, the

Record keeping. We all hate the task but it’s important in a well run business. Without it we wouldn’t be able to track expenses, or payroll, or our most important asset: profits. While most of us tend to think of offices when we think of record keeping, there’s another place

THE ACCIDENT It had been a long day, in a month of long days. The Astec portable drum mix plant had produced nearly 5,000 tons of asphalt since daylight. The operator had shut the plant down and loaded out what he hoped was the last truck of the day ten

While this article is directed toward Boeing drum plants, these basic steps work on ALL parallel flow drum mix plants. Drum mix AC plants were first introduced in the early seventies. At the time, the new technology revolutionized our industry. Plants became highly portable and substantially more cost effective to

Beautiful Scenery Dominates Kwajalein Atoll In the wake of the September, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington air travel in America and beyond changed forever. For me, this point was driven home in mid November. Mike Shurtz, owner of ALmix in Fort Wayne Indiana, called to ask me