R.W. Sidley has deep roots in the industry.
The company was founded in 1933 by Robert W. Sidley in Painesville, Ohio, and provides construction materials to various markets across the U.S. and Canada.
But while the company, which is in its fourth generation of family employees, looks to soon celebrate 90 years, it has its sights set on the future, how to modernize business and meet exceptionally high demand.
Revamping operations
The company recently modernized its wet-processing site in Thompson, Ohio, by installing a new spread.
For decades, R.W. Sidley utilized a wash plant originally built in the 1940s for its sand-processing needs. After experiencing a notable increase in demand for aggregates, a new wash plant was a much-needed investment for the aggregate producer.
“Our aggregate business has grown significantly,” says Bob Buescher, president and CEO of R.W. Sidley. “When we were at lower volumes, if you broke down, you had the time to fix it and get going. Now when you break down, it’s critical to get running as soon as possible because the demand is really strong. That’s been a big change.”
R.W. Sidley turned to Maverick Environmental Equipment to find the equipment needed to modernize its Thompson-based sand-washing site. With the equipment dealer’s help, the company selected an MWS triple-deck S190 screen that feeds a CSP 120 wash plant.
Once the sand is dumped into the hopper, it’s conveyed up to the screen box and makes three spec products. As the sand falls through the bottom deck, it is gravity-fed to a cyclone and onto a dewatering screen. From there, the finished product travels up the conveyor and discharges onto the stockpile.
Delivering results
The MWS wash plant is now in its second year of operation in Thompson.
When selecting the new plant, Maverick estimated it could produce up to 120 tph. In contrast, the plant’s predecessor produced 80 to 100 tph, according to R.W. Sidley.
In action, though, the plant actually exceeds Maverick’s estimate, producing up to 140 tph, R.W. Sidley team members say.
The new setup is also more compact than its predecessor, featuring a smaller footprint despite producing a higher volume.
“There’s a lot less equipment involved,” says Brad Wienhold, environmental, health and safety manager at R.W. Sidley. “Now, we’re really running with a washing screen, a dewatering screen, a cyclone and a belt. Before, we had classifiers. We had screws. We had screens. It was a much different process than what we’re doing now.”
Additionally, the plant was quick to set up, allowing the company to keep downtime to a minimum, says Brad Buescher, assistant general manager of R.W. Sidley’s A&M division and director of human resources and IT.
“We needed to get it up and running pretty quickly, and that was one of the benefits of going with the equipment that we chose,” he says.
Brad Buescher says he “couldn’t be happier” with the plant’s performance and that the R.W. Sidley team customized its settings to ensure operations run smoothly.
“We’ve been tweaking some of the settings as far as how quickly and how strong the water’s pumping into the plants, different screening sizes, and we’ve really dialed the plant in to get the product that we’re looking for,” he says.
A valuable partnership
R.W. Sidley says its success with the new plant is due in part to its yearslong relationship with Maverick.
About four years ago, the company worked with Maverick to replace several pieces of portable crushing equipment. Through that experience, Maverick – located just down the road from R.W. Sidley – earned the producer’s trust.
“They back up what they say,” Bob Buescher says. “When there are issues, they step in and make it right. We’re happy with the service, and that’s definitely one of the reasons that we went back to them and didn’t shop around to 10 people. We trusted that they would give us the equipment and the services that we needed.”
Wienhold echoes that sentiment, saying he can count on the equipment dealer to help keep operations running and limit downtime.
“The fact that I call them at 7 in the morning and at 9 o’clock, [Maverick’s] pulling in with whatever we need, that makes a big difference,” he says.
Moving into the future
The company’s installation of a brand-new washing spread is just one example of how R.W. Sidley looks to modernize and improve operations.
For example, the company prioritizes preventive maintenance to stay on top of how equipment is performing. Beyond that, the company looks to employ predictive maintenance strategies to gain further insight about when equipment might fail. With demand as high as it is, Bob Buescher says the company is simply too busy for excess downtime.
“We’ve been trying to do things to be more proactive on preventive maintenance, bringing in third parties to assess our equipment and predict when equipment will fail,” he says. “We’re starting to get into predictive maintenance, which is a step beyond preventative maintenance, because we just can’t afford the downtime.”
Additionally, R.W. Sidley utilizes a mobile app to track production statistics.
“We have a digital scale that sends data to the cloud,” Brad Buescher says. “All of us can pull our phones up and see in real time what the plants are doing as far as tons per hour and anything we’d want to know from that stacker at the end. It helps us make fast decisions.”
These digital technologies are only becoming more prevalent, Brad Buescher adds, and he’s enthusiastic about how modernization can affect business at R.W. Sidley in the years to come.
“We think the future of Sidley is one where employees at all levels from their PC or phone can monitor what’s happening at a plant and ultimately be more efficient and effective,” he says. “It’s really fun to be a part of the evolution.”