MOVING ALONG WITH PRECISION

Loadouts are a seamless process at Robertson Crushed Stone. A Volvo 220D, the primary loader, and a Volvo 150C wheel loader work the stockpiles. Charlie intends to replace the 150C with a larger loader as it retires. Each Volvo is equipped with Evergreen bucket scales. They are calibrated and set in accordance to Robertson's Thurman loadout scale.

The 6- x 16-foot triple-deck Seco screen is enclosed for dust control.

Charlie says these scales help load trucks within a couple hundred pounds of the legal limits. The scales are particularly helpful while handling the scrubber stone because size varies from ¾ inch to 0. Volume is not necessarily an indicator of weight, Charlie says. One bucket may be dense with fines, but the next might be loose with coarse material.

The regular drivers carry truck-identification cards with magnetic strips that they present to a JWS automatic card reader while weighing in. The computer records the empty weight and uses that to calculate the weight of the load when the truck is ready to leave. When the calculation is complete, the driver is given the green light to creep forward for his printed ticket. Charlie says there are often 50 trucks lined up in the morning waiting for product, and they are usually gone within an hour.

“The card reader is tremendous,” Charlie says. The drivers do not have to waste time by coming into the office to retrieve tickets.”

A LONG HAUL

Will says that the average haul for a truck is a four- to five-hour round trip. This lengthy voyage can drive up the cost of the end product. Unfortunately there are no alternatives. Will says there are no navigable waters near the power plants to support barge traffic.

JWS automatic card readers help the Robertsons move trucks out quickly

Diesel costs are a primary concern because it is such a great distance to the power plant. With such volatility in the market, Robertson and most other scrubber stone producers now are including fuel formulas into their contract pricing. So if fuel prices go up, the cost per ton follows. “It is past the point where you can look into a crystal ball and say, ‘Here is our price. We are going to be OK,’” Charlie says. And contracts with power plants usually are for multiple years.

Even with a fuel formula as a safeguard, everyone still suffers when the price of fuel skyrockets. This will be a key criterion for the operation to consider when it comes time to upgrade the facilities. Charlie says the company is running some older equipment, and the operation will be tailored for efficiency as it retires.

Robertson Crushed Stone owns 10 trucks and employs eight drivers. And its new International trucks do yield certain savings, Charlie says. They meet higher standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and are built light. For example, newer trucks can haul up to 1½ tons more because they are built lighter. And fewer hauls to power plants equal a lower rate of fuel consumption.