£8.5 million investment safeguards future for family quarry business

Local businesses combine to deliver new crushing & screening plant

Glendinning, the region's largest family owned quarrying, concrete products and road contracting business, has commissioned its new crushing and screening house and bin storage system at its Linhay Hill Quarry at Ashburton to handle around 500 tonnes limestone per hour direct from the quarry face.

The £8.5 million facility, which includes a £3.5 million asphalt plant completed in 2010, replaces the existing plant more than doubling the capacity of stone throughput and opening up valuable limestone reserves located under the 30 year-old redundant structure thus securing the long term future for the 53 year-old business.

The new plant takes Glendinning's total investment to £13.5 million since 2009 when the company started constructing the asphalt plant at Pigden Quarry near Bude.

Glendinning managing director, Barry Wilson, said: "This is a very significant moment in the history of this business. We are able to increase productivity by through putting a maximum of 600 tonnes of stone per hour (TPH) from the previous 250 TPH going through the old installation. We are also able to combine crushing, screening and storage for different grades of materials in one facility which has a bespoke design interlinking all conveyors, walkways and lorry loading.

"The successful delivery of this complex project is entirely down to the input of local businesses whose commitment, trust and teamwork ensured that we remained on course throughout and that problem-solving and unexpected challenges were dealt with quickly and efficiently.

"The bespoke new plant design has incorporated state-of-the-art control technology including dust encapsulation, sophisticated health, safety and environmental systems and lower energy consumption per tonne produced."

Newton Abbot materials handling equipment manufacturers Centristic Limited provided the bespoke design after consultation with Glendinning's staff. Director Roddy Grant said: "This really was a bespoke project as no models for this type of installation exist. However, we have worked with Glendinning for a long time and knew that the business has strong values so we were prepared to go the extra mile and commit totally to the project.

"The working relationship was superb. The contract enabled Centristic to invest in new IT and computer generated modelling systems while ensuring that Glendinning finished with a facility that would be industry leading."

The new plant required over 1,000 tons of locally fabricated and galvanised steel with live stone storage capacity of 750 tons. There are 18 conveyors and over 1.2 kilometres of walkways providing access for maintenance. The project also involved constructing new access roads using Glendinning's in-house Contracting Division.

Other local companies involved in the work included South West Galvanising (Crediton), steel suppliers ASD Metal Services (Exeter) and Vulcanising South West who supplied and fitted belting and scrapers (Saltash). Paul Finch of Specialist Plant Services (SW) Limited acted as project manager for Glendinning.

Barry Wilson concluded: "The new plant secures our future but has also had a wide range of collateral benefits including the development of new technology, industry leading design, employment security and a commitment to training and best practice from all involved.

"We are very proud of the local teamwork that has delivered this project and that it enhances Glendenning's ability to service infrastructure projects throughout the South West for years to come."