Georgia Stone Products no stranger to turnkey builds
Georgia Stone Products’ Jefferson Quarry plant in Jefferson, Georgia, was constructed as part of a two-phase project that wrapped last year. Photo: Superior Industries
Georgia Stone Products leaders put their trust in recent years in a turnkey approach to new plant construction – one that ensures plant optimization, from the plot design to the final product output.
Today, Georgia Stone relishes the high-capacity results of four turnkey plant projects it undertook over the last six years.
Considering the challenges involved in major expansion or greenfield projects, Georgia Stone readily supports turnkey plant solutions that are anchored by a one-stop-shop provider overseeing every aspect of the project – from site prep to the stockpiling of spec products.
For each of its projects, Georgia Stone partnered with Superior Industries, an equipment manufacturer whose construction management division drives the creation of new processing plants – from design to start-up.
“With each project, the Superior team continues to exceed our expectations,” says Bart Boyd, president of Georgia Stone. “With each project, we learn, we grow and we build better and more versatile plants.”
One of Georgia Stone’s newest plants – the Jefferson Quarry – sits on 700 acres in Jackson County near Jefferson, Georgia. Boyd says the Jefferson Quarry plant was a two-phase project that was completed in 2022.
“The finished plant exceeded our engineer’s estimates of capacity by more than 100 tph,” Boyd says. “This site serves our market with more than 1 million tons annually, and it’s designed to handle surges of up to 2.5 million tpy. We are positioned for growth.”
Plant optimization
According to Boyd, the Jefferson Quarry project represents next-level plant optimization.
“From a basic standpoint, we took the excellent concept behind one of our previous plant projects (the Broad River Quarry near Athens, Georgia) and scaled it up to meet the demands of a much larger market,” he says. “With Superior’s expertise, we were able to engineer additional product versatility solutions into the new facility, allowing us to perfectly balance our inventory.
“Importantly, we can easily change material flow to maximize the critical product specifications our customers require throughout each season,” Boyd adds.
Georgia Stone Products’ Bart Boyd says the design of the Jefferson Quarry plant affords unique ways to reintroduce fines to base product and established a more balanced inventory. Photo: Superior Industries
Regarding specific product versatility solutions, Boyd highlights several standouts. First, he points to a beefed-up riprap production circuit that includes a larger bunker to accommodate product as it comes off the plant. An intricate product flow design also affords more ways to reintroduce fines to the base product for a more balanced inventory.
Next, Superior provided additional chute work to better define gradations within the wash plant. Within the initial plant design, Boyd says Superior always maintains a keen focus on water flow parameters. Whether pipes for wash water or dust suppression, he stresses Superior creates ways to properly drain pipes in all critical areas.
“Throughout each of our projects, Superior is proactive in identifying typical wear points early in the game,” Boyd says. “To minimize maintenance costs, they pay close attention to issues such as proper liner specification and the use of the optimum liner materials. Each circuit is designed for easy access and maintenance team safety.”
As for crushing circuits, Boyd says Superior built a custom cone crusher tower and a custom primary jaw station – one for 1,000-tph production capacity – that is designed for greater visibility and ease when accessing hydraulic hammering.
Georgia Stone says each circuit is engineered for operator safety, plus minimal noise and vibration.
“A single operator in the primary tower can run the entire plant as a result of the high-tech automation that is installed,” Boyd says, adding that the plant features mini cameras in all critical areas and well-placed motor control centers for flexible operation between the main plant and the finish plant.
To optimize material flow and stockpiling efficiency, Georgia Stone incorporated 33 customized conveyors; three Superior 30-in. x 100-ft. power radial stackers; and two Superior 36-in. x 150-ft. TeleStacker conveyors.
Boyd says his team really appreciates the telescoping radial stacking conveyors.
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