It's In the Mix
In addition to outright grinding, Waltrip's Williamsburg operation
features a secondary operation for screening and creating additional
materials. Also a diamond Z product, a Model 8300 trommel screen is
used to separate out barks and topsoils as well as to screen material
for use as the playground material.
"We use Volvo loaders with standard buckets in our operation," says
Waltrip. "So we needed a low-profile machine to allow the feeder
hopper to be loaded with our loaders. Doing so improves both the
versatility and efficiency of our yard."
Efficiency is key in almost every aspect of Waltrip's operation. In
fact, he makes no bones about the fact that every piece of his
equipment is designed to be operated by one person.
"I built this company on a basic premise that every facet of this
site should be a one-man operation. As a result, most every piece of
equipment we own features remote operational capabilities-allowing
access to the tub, the stacking conveyors, the unit's RPMs, the water
that is injected into the dust suppression system, and so on. If a
piece of equipment can't be run by one person, we simply don't need
it in this operation." In addition to the trommel, Waltrip says they also can make easy
changes to the screens on the tub grinder, thereby allowing them to
create other saleable products.
"We generally use two different size screens: a primary screen to
generate materials in the 4" minus range which is used for burner
fuel, and a screen to take it down to a 2-1/2" minus size for other
uses. However, in most cases, simply sending the material through the
unit a second time will create a similarly reduced product,
eliminating the need to change screens at all."
The Ice Storm Cometh
In addition to day-to-day operations, the role of any successful
grinding contractor includes being available to respond to emergency
cleanup situations such as those caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, or,
as was the case with Waltrip Recycling, an ice storm.
"We had an ice storm in James City County in 1998 that just paralyzed
the area," says Waltrip. "We were called in to do work for the
county, processing material that residents had placed at the
curbside. Because the county had contracted to bring in special
boom-equipped 30-yard trucks which were only available on weekends,
we had to work around their schedule and availability. That compacted
schedule meant we really had to make the best use of our time. As a
result, we were bringing in 250-300 truckloads a day to the main site
as well as to two temporary sites we had set up. After processing we
were sending off about twenty-five 100-yard tractor trailer loads of
finished product per day-material that was eventually used for burner
fuel. It was hectic but we got it done."
Waltrip adds that the weekend county work was done in addition to the
cleanup work they were doing for VDOT and private area contractors
during the week.
"There was a two-month span where we worked seven days a week," he
says. "Our people did an incredible job and worked the overtime even
though it was not mandatory for them to do so. Ensuring that trucks
were where they were supposed to be-when they were supposed to be
there-was a critical facet of the undertaking and Ed Swedenborg, who
heads up our trucking division made it all happen seamlessly. Not to
be overlooked, however, was the fact that we had no downtime for
maintenance problems during the entire period. For the most part we
were grinding right into the trailers and never stopped the grinders
at all-not for lunch, not to switch trailers, never. That's asking a
lot of a piece of equipment, and the Diamond Zs really rose to the
challenge.
On Being Prepared
Waltrip's successful response to the ice storm cleanup can obviously
be attributed to both the equipment performance and the commitment of
his personnel to getting the job done. However, he adds,there is
another factor that, left unattended, could make both those points
moot.
"No matter how you cut it, maintenance is the real key to any
company's success. My son, Lawrence Waltrip, who oversees maintenance
for the company, understands that even well-engineered pieces of
equipment like the Diamond Z tub grinders, left poorly maintained,
can break down, adversely affecting our operation. His insistence
upon a strict regimen of PMs is largely the reason we have had
virtually no downtime.
"We never know when we will be called on for an emergency project.
But we do know that when the call comes, we can just pick up and go,
confident in knowing our equipment is ready to meet whatever is out
there. A lot of grinding contractors will work their units all summer
long and wait for winter to service them. Then, if an unforeseen
problem like a storm arises, they are in a world of hurt-and they've
missed the boat. Never has the the saying 'You snooze, you lose,'
been truer. We're ready for almost anything and have proven time and
again that we have the equipment to handle almost anything."
"There was a two-month span where we worked seven days a week," he
says. "Our people did an incredible job and worked the overtime even
though it was not mandatory for them to do so. Ensuring that trucks
were where they were supposed to be-when they were supposed to be
there-was a critical facet of the undertaking and Ed Swedenborg, who
heads up our trucking division made it all happen seamlessly. Not to
be overlooked, however, was the fact that we had no downtime for
maintenance problems during the entire period. For the most part we
were grinding right into the trailers and never stopped the grinders
at all-not for lunch, not to switch trailers, never. That's asking a
lot of a piece of equipment, and the Diamond Zs really rose to the
challenge. |
