Connecticut contractor H.I. Stone & Son is known for its construction of athletic fields. But that’s not the only thing the company does. The family owned business also is involved in all types of excavation and site development and has been crushing for three years at its site in Waterbury, Conn.
The Waterbury location, which will ultimately be sold and developed for commercial real estate, is a 23-acre-site from which fine sandy aggregates and rip rap and every size aggregate in between is being produced. Aggregate production is expected to continue for another three years.
Thus far 2 million tons of stone has been crushed in Waterbury. The site involves a 130 ft. cut of solid stone, all of which is being blasted by Blastech Blasting out of Southington, Conn. Much of the stone is being used by H.I. Stone & Son for its own construction projects, with a significant portion of the stone also being retailed to local concrete companies, local contractors and municipalities, including the state of Connecticut.
A Learning Experience
As is often the case in most of New England, the rock on this site is very hard and contains a lot of stone.
“This was a first time venture for H.I. Stone & Son. We were virgins at crushing,” said Rand Wheeler, quarry superintendent.
“Shortly after we got the spread set up a representative from EESSCO stopped by to offer their services. At the time we initially did not see the need however, that opinion changed significantly. We did not have a complete understanding of the number of wear items that are crucial to aggregate production that we would need, and need in a hurry, when the time came. Items such as bearings, conveyor belts, and idlers can shut our crush spread down immediately; and we learned in a hurry that EESSCO is a company that keeps all of these items in inventory and is very familiar with their installation. This is an area that all of the employees of EESSCO are focused on. They specialize in understanding our needs and understand the urgency of quick turn around.
“We had a control panel on our crush spread fail. Through our own efforts we were looking at over a week down time to get it replaced. EESSCO came through for us and were able to have us up and running at less cost almost immediately. In another instance, through our own neglect, we had damaged the main structure of our cone. We were looking at $23,000 to replace it. EESSCO was able to get the cone refurbished at only $8,000 and had it back to us in only three days. For $15,000 less money they had us back up and running faster than we would have been if we had replaced the entire cone.”
H.I. Stone & Son’s EESSCO representative is Brian Buscetto.
“When he first started working with us we gave him a list of items that we were looking to purchase. Almost immediately he got back to us with pricing, and as a result, just about everything on the list turned into an order. Brian like clockwork stops in once a month to find out what needs we may be anticipating. But even better than that, in a bind, he has gotten parts delivered to us personally on Saturdays and Sundays, and when necessary, he has helped with the installation,” Wheeler said.
“Tapping into the experience of the people at EESSCO is important to us. Brian introduced us to Douglas conveyor components. The end result was a roller that EESSCO always had in inventory; that lasted longer than the rollers that we were originally using; and cost us less money. EESSCO has repeatedly analyzed our crushing operation and has made suggestions that have resulted in increasing our production levels while decreasing our production costs.”
About EESSCO
Formed in 2001 by experts in the aggregate industry, EESSCO provides New England producers with equipment, parts and consulting. EESSCO represents major manufacturers of aggregate equipment and stocks more than $1 million worth of parts in its 30,000-sq.-ft. facility in Hanson, Mass.
For more information, call 781/963-9900 or visit www.EESSCO.com.
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