A Southern company finds steady recycling opportunities for its mobile fleet of crushing and screening equipment.
Conyers Concrete and Asphalt Services Inc. travels across Alabama, Florida and Georgia to do 10,000-ton-and-up concrete- and asphalt-rubble crushing jobs. To do those jobs, the Georgia-based company leans on a fleet of mobile crushers and screening plants.
“We absolutely need crushing and screening equipment that is exceptionally efficient, dependable and mobile,” says Scott Conyers, equipment vice president at Conyers.
Danny and Sue Conyers founded Conyers nearly 40 years ago. Danny serves as president while Sue is owner and office manager. Their two sons, Josh and Scott, run a four-man operation that crushes concrete and asphalt – about 50 percent each. An additional four-man crew crushes asphalt only, mostly in and around Birmingham, Ala.
“We are constantly on the go, with no shutdown time between jobs,” says Josh, operations vice president. “When we finish one job, we pack up and move on to the next one immediately. We simply have to keep moving. It’s pretty grueling – for us and for the equipment.
“We operate from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m., five days a week, 12 months a year,” he continues. “So, in addition to great equipment, we also need crews that know how to operate and maintain the equipment properly. With care and good maintenance, equipment will give many years of dependable service.”
Recycling work
The Conyers company started out doing grading and landscape work. But it quit that business about 11 years ago after finding recycling opportunities.
“We jumped in with both feet,” Danny says. “We figured we work hard, we’re honest, we know how to run a business, and we have a good reputation. So we were confident we could switch to recycling and be successful.
“The problem was,” he adds, “we didn’t know much about crushing and screening equipment, and we didn’t have the expertise our experienced competitors had. But we found both in Powerscreen of Florida and their representative, Ken Furey. We heard good things about them. So we got in touch.”
Furey and others at the dealership gave good advice and direction, Danny says.
“We still count on them for counsel on recycling operations,” he says. “It’s almost like we’re in partnership with them. They take care of us.”
Call in a parts order, for example, by midday, and it will be delivered the next morning. No exceptions. No excuses.
“A number of times, Ken Furey has driven parts to us special delivery in his pickup truck – sometimes after hours or whenever we need it,” Scott says. “And the Powerscreen of Florida service team or field engineers we might need are here on the double, too.”
Portable equipment
The concrete-and-asphalt crushing operation uses a Terex Pegson 4242SR impact crusher (purchased in 2002), a Powerscreen Premiertrak 400 jaw crusher (2008), a Warrior 1800 screening plant (2011) and a radial stacker.
The impactor is used exclusively for asphalt; the jaw is exclusively for concrete. The Warrior screen is used for both.
The asphalt crushing operation uses a Powerscreen Trakpactor 320SR impactor (2013), a Warrior 1800 screen (2011) and two radial stackers.
“We run our equipment hard,” Scott says. “But we take very good care of it. Service on the machines is pretty quick and simple, but you have to be diligent about it – and we are. So when we trade in a machine, Ken Furey is able to give us a great deal on a new machine. And whoever buys it from him gets good value, too.
“We’ve never worn out a Powerscreen machine,” Scott adds. “If we trade it in, it’s because our needs change or the company comes out with a new model that better suits our needs. We traded in a Chieftain 1400 and a Chieftain 2100 [screen] that were in great shape, for example, and somebody got a good used buy on them both.
Adds Josh: “When you’re on the go as much as we are, you need efficient crushers and screens that are highly mobile. Currently we’re at a site where we’re crushing asphalt only – about 20,000 tons total – and that will take two-and-a-half five-day work weeks, including downtime for refueling, checking and cleaning equipment, maintenance of all equipment, lunch breaks, moving equipment on site, and so on. Actual production volume averages 250 to 300 tph for either concrete or asphalt, including material scalped off the top, crushed, stacked and loaded.”
Shutdowns and startups are quick and simple, according to Josh – about four hours or less, plus travel time. Recently Josh and Scott shut down one job at 11 a.m., hosed off the equipment, ran it onto a couple of low-boy trailers, drove a short distance to another site, were running by 3 p.m., and crushed 670 tons before quitting time.
“That’s how efficient we have to be – in production and moving – to be competitive and still make an acceptable profit, especially on smaller jobs,” Scott says. “We’ll go to a site for as few as 10,000 tons of concrete or asphalt. Some jobs involve both materials. An average job is 20,000 to 30,000 tons. Large jobs are 50,000 or more.”
Carl Emigh of CME Creative Services Inc. is a freelance writer and marketing communications specialist serving the aggregates, recycling and construction industries.