Ramirez & Sons increases output and profits with IROCK RDS-15 Crusher.
Sean Donaghy
Wasting time. Wasted energy. Wasteful spending. Regardless of industry, waste is one of the most detrimental and costly factors in a business.
Looking To Grow
Ramirez & Sons is a family-owned company, formed in 1982. The company is built on generations of industry experience dating back to the 1920s. Now led by fourth-generation professional contractor, Alonzo Ramirez Jr., Ramirez & Sons is the second largest paving and aggregate provider in southeastern New Mexico, and employs more than 65 professionals at its corporate office in Hobbs, NM.
Ramirez & Sons began as a general earthwork and construction company, serving a client base of both municipal and private contractors in Hobbs, Lovington and surrounding areas. Today, the company offers general excavation, site prep, highway paving, and both water and sewer utility work. In 2010, the company enhanced its capabilities even further with the addition of its first hot-mix asphalt plant. In addition to contracting services, Ramirez & Sons also sells material for use in hot-mix asphalt, building pads and as base layers for road building. This side of the business is led by Ken Smith, plant manager and crushing/hot mix superintendent. 鈥淗istorically, the company has been primarily involved in asphalt recycling,鈥� he says.
According to Smith, Ramirez & Sons had previously produced four different size materials: 3/4-inch, 3/8-inch, fines and base coarse. The company both sold the material and used it in its hot-mix plant for its own paving work. While asphalt recycling has certainly brought value to the company, Smith felt there was more material he could be offering, and that substantial money was being left on the table. He says, 鈥淲e were wasting a lot of material.鈥�
Because the company was only recycling asphalt, it was missing out on other saleable materials, particularly concrete. Recycled concrete and other aggregates can be used in many applications, and being able to provide high-quality material would potentially bring new customers to Ramirez & Sons. Not only that, he figured the company would be able to use the material in its own operation, cutting time and costs associated with outside material purchasing.
While the benefits were clear, Ramirez & Sons simply wasn鈥檛 in a position to make a move; the company鈥檚 crusher wasn鈥檛 able to process concrete and other aggregates. Without the right crusher, the company lacked the versatility needed to enter into concrete and aggregate processing services.
Hand in hand with that, Smith also noted that production rates weren鈥檛 as high as he felt they could be, coming in at a daily rate of roughly 120 TPH. The equipment should have been producing more, but there were a lot of issues with breakdowns and excessive downtime. Again, it wasn鈥檛 as simple as sheer output volume. End-product quality wasn鈥檛 up to par either, and a lot of potentially usable material was being left as waste. That all changed when Smith met with Ramirez & Sons鈥� longtime equipment dealer, Warren CAT, to explore new machines that could amp up production and allow the company to offer larger amounts of more saleable material.
A Solution That Rocked
Warren CAT is one of the largest and fastest-growing Caterpillar dealerships in North America. The company operates more than 16 locations in Oklahoma and west Texas, offering new, used and rental equipment. Throughout his years in the industry, Smith always worked with Warren CAT for equipment needs, as well as parts and service. Warren CAT was already Ramirez & Sons鈥� exclusive dealer, so there was no question of who Smith would call when he set out to find a new machine.
Brian Hutchinson, Ramirez & Sons鈥� contact at Warren CAT, spoke with Smith to find out exactly what he was looking for in a new crusher. First, Hutchinson gained insight into Smith鈥檚 pain points with his existing crusher鈥攑rimarily, lagging production and excessive downtime. Next, the two discussed Smith鈥檚 goals and expectations of the new machine鈥攇reater output, more processing capabilities and high uptime. After learning both, Hutchinson felt he had the solution鈥攁n IROCK crusher. He knew of one that was available at one of Warren鈥檚 sister locations in Odessa, TX. The particular unit, IROCK鈥檚 RDS-15, was a four bar impactor, three-stage mobile crusher that could process a variety of materials, including concrete and other aggregates, at impressive tonnage rates that could double Smith鈥檚 hourly output. It sounded like a great fit for Ramirez & Sons, so Hutchinson put Smith in touch with Bill Reiner at Warren CAT鈥檚 Odessa location. Smith made the trip south to take a look at the machine. About 175 miles and a few days later, Smith says, 鈥淚t was sitting in our yard.鈥�
Though Smith was confident the RDS-15 was the solution to the company鈥檚 low production rates, Ramirez & Sons decided first to lease the machine and see how it would stand up to the company鈥檚 high standards and demanding production schedule. In just two months the company purchased the machine, cementing its place as the primary crusher in the company鈥檚 fleet.
With the RDS-15 Smith has seen production rates soar from about 120 TPH to approximately 300 TPH. While that鈥檚 more than double, and an impressive stat alone, the impact really adds up when looking at the bigger picture. Based on a typical 12-hour day and an average six-day week, tonnage output has gone from 8,640 tons per week to 21,600. The impact continues to grow with each week, month and year. In addition to sheer output quantity, the company also has been able to diversify its sales offerings from four products to nearly 15, including various sizes of recycled concrete, aggregates and asphalt.
鈥淭he machine has its own double-deck screen,鈥� Smith explains. 鈥淚’m able to easily change out the bottom screen, which allows us to produce different sizes we hadn鈥檛 been able to with other machines.鈥� Additionally, the configuration options enable Ramirez & Sons to produce three different materials at once, and the impact aprons are easy to adjust for precise sizing. This offers Smith the versatility and efficiency of producing multiple products at once, while ensuring they鈥檙e accurately sized for best sale potential.
As Smith expected, Ramirez & Sons鈥� newfound diversity has opened up the company to a new customer base and more opportunity. Most notable is the oil boom happening in Hobbs and nearby cities. Several oil companies use Ramirez & Sons鈥� 3/4-inch minus material, primarily for parking lots and temporary roads. 鈥淭hat has been one of the biggest areas of growth for us,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淭he oil boom here is incredible.鈥� While increased production rates and profits are both key, Smith says the primary benefit is zero. As in, zero waste. 鈥淚 can honestly say we鈥檙e no longer wasting any material. It鈥檚 remarkable.鈥�
Ramirez & Sons now offers a variety of material sizes, from 3/8-inch minus to 5/8-inch minus to 1-inch minus. The products are used in a variety of applications, including hot-mix, road base, subbase and building pads. The company also produces specialty size material for specific applications. For example, a septic system鈥檚 base lines require a larger rock, from 1 to 3 inches in size. Smith says with just a simple adjustment his RDS-15 can produce it quickly and precisely.
Often overshadowed by the high production rates and lack of material waste is the simple reliability of the crusher. It鈥檚 not that Smith has ignored the high uptime; he certainly recognizes it. Rather, he hasn鈥檛 really had to pay attention. 鈥淚t seems like you can always remember the times your equipment has failed on you,鈥� he said. 鈥淥n the flip side, when a machine runs smoothly and doesn鈥檛 require attention, it鈥檚 easy for it to go unnoticed. Ironically, it鈥檚 the machines that do their job and run like they鈥檙e supposed to that almost seem like they鈥檙e forgotten. But that鈥檚 really when you should be taking notice, and I credit the RDS-15 for its reliability.鈥� Smith鈥檚 philosophy is, as long as it鈥檚 running, he鈥檚 happy. And that鈥檚 important to a company that operates up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.
In addition to worry-free operation, the machine doesn鈥檛 require much attention and care from the crew. Maintenance requirements have been minimal and mostly routine items like keeping the machine lubricated, refuels and changing the oil. One unique feature that contributes to this is IROCK鈥檚 innovative ROCK BOX, an alternative to discharge chutes found on similar units. The ROCK BOX uses a shelf system with abrasion resistant wear bars that allow crushed material to build up and act as a wear liner, cutting down on costly wear liner replacement.
Smith also points out the minimal wear he has seen on the machine. Compared to crushers he has used in the past, IROCK鈥檚 machine has impressed him in terms of longevity of wear parts. He cites the blow bars as a prime example. Compared with other crushers he has had to change out the bars within four weeks. In more than 1,400 hours of operation with the RDS-15, he鈥檚 only had to rotate the bars once, and expects to get at least 700 or more hours out of them.
After first working with the RDS-15, Smith said he couldn鈥檛 accurately quantify the exact maintenance and downtime savings, but he saw both maintenance and downtime decrease sharply while production more than doubled.
Keeping It All In The Family
Most successful company owners will tell you, if you find a great employee, don鈥檛 let him or her go. Furthermore, try to bring in more of that same type of person. The same can be said about equipment. Ramirez & Sons is holding onto the top performer in its equipment fleet and planning to add more from the same family of machines. So today, and looking at the road ahead, it鈥檚 all about family鈥攊n people and machines鈥攆or Ramirez & Sons.
Sean Donaghy is the National Sales Manager at IROCK. He has more than 20 years of crushing and screening experience and has been with IROCK for seven years. IROCK Crushers is a leading manufacturer of portable crushing plants, screening equipment and other related products. The company, which formed in 1992, is committed to bringing the most productive, quality equipment and solutions to customers through innovation, expertise, and outstanding service and support. For more information, visit .听
听
听听
听