Portable crushing plant makes U.S. debut with Pro Lawn

By |  January 24, 2023
Pro Lawn put Powerscreen’s Trakpactor 480 mobile impact crushing plant to the test last year in an Ohio quarry. Photo: P&Q Staff

Pro Lawn put Powerscreen’s Trakpactor 480 mobile impact crushing plant to the test last year in an Ohio quarry. Photo: P&Q Staff

Pro Lawn’s Darian Houssain is always on the lookout for the latest and greatest in crushing equipment.

Thanks to a longstanding partnership with Powerscreen Crushing & Screening, a Kentucky-based equipment dealer, Houssain is now the exclusive owner and operator in North America of Powerscreen’s latest mobile crushing plant: the Trakpactor 480.

Since Pro Lawn got the plant last spring, it’s consistently produced nearly 500 tph. The 480 is larger than Powerscreen’s Trakpactor 320, yet smaller than the Trakpactor 550.

“It’s right under the 550 performance-wise,” says Houssain, president of Pro Lawn, when visited on a southwest Ohio jobsite. “It will take the big rocks, but we don’t like putting the big rocks in it. The 550 will take a 3-ft. stone all day long. [With the 480], you really don’t get too crazy with it. It’s yours. You don’t want to tear it up.”

Previously, Powerscreen tested the 480 in Ireland and England, but it also wanted to test it in the U.S. With that goal, Powerscreen Crushing & Screening knew just who to call.

“We told [Powerscreen] we have a customer that would be willing to try it,” says Alan Coalter, president of Powerscreen Crushing & Screening. “Darian owned 550s, so he wanted to put it up against the 550 to see how it compared. He liked it enough to purchase it.”

According to Coalter, the U.S. market is exhibiting plenty of interest in the 480. The model is expected to be available for purchase this summer.

Houssain

Houssain

About the plant

The 480 features a 50-in. x 40-in. impact chamber, which is smaller than the 550 yet larger than the 320. The plant is lighter weight and easier to transport than the 550, as well. It runs on a DC13 500-hp engine – the same as the 550.

That larger engine in the smaller plant, combined with the plant’s production capability, earned the 480 a nickname: The Mule.

“This machine is impressive,” Houssain says. “It flat [out] puts it down.”

The plant also changed the flow of material, expedited the production process and minimized prep time for Pro Lawn.

“We’re getting away from the jaw [crushers] and small impact [crushers],” Houssain says. “We were [feeding a Powerscreen] 400X (tracked jaw crusher) to a 320 plant. So now, [with the 480], we can take the jaw out of the picture and just go straight into the impactor. You take a lot of the prep out and we’re running [at] almost 500 tph right now.”

Pro Lawn’s setup in southwest Ohio had the 480 feeding a Powerscreen Chieftain 2200 inclined screen, with oversize going to a Powerscreen 1000SR cone crusher.

Utilizing the 480 in place of the 400X and 320 also led to fuel cost savings for Pro Lawn. According to Coalter, the 480 burns about 12 gallons of fuel an hour. Previously, Pro Lawn burned about 20 gallons of fuel per hour between the 400X and the 320.

“We’re feeding one fewer plant fuel,” Houssain says. “It’s one fewer plant to maintain. It does a lot better than the 320s because you’re not running a 320 at 90 percent engine load all day.”

Pro Lawn’s fleet of Powerscreen equipment continues to expand. Photo: P&Q Staff

Pro Lawn’s fleet of Powerscreen equipment continues to expand. Photo: P&Q Staff

Path forward

With a name like Pro Lawn, it’s no surprise to learn Houssain did not get his start in contract crushing.

Instead, his career began in landscaping after he took over a business from his father. Houssain won a bid for a sidewalk rehabilitation project, and he quickly recognized the business opportunity in front of him. So he dove in headfirst.

“We started out cutting grass,” he says. “Then, I wanted to do commercial landscaping, and then we started doing infrastructure work like sidewalks. I started gathering all of this [construction material] up and I thought: ‘They have to be able to do something with this stuff.’ They just dump it in a hole. I ended up crushing it into a 2-in. product. From there, it just snowballed.”

Now, Pro Lawn has a sizable fleet comprised of 20 pieces of equipment.

“We have two [550s], and we bought three screen plants last fall (2021),” Houssain says. “[In 2021], we had 12 [pieces of equipment]. Now we’re up to 20. We could probably go bigger if we wanted to.”

Undoubtedly, Pro Lawn’s growth is happening with Powerscreen Crushing & Screening at its side.

“Darian’s loyalty is hard to buy,” Coalter says. “He’s been a very loyal Powerscreen customer. We need to reward him by offering the best service and parts that we can for him. Loyalty is rare these days with a lot of customers.”

Loyalty goes both ways, though. Powerscreen Crushing & Screening’s support of Pro Lawn makes Houssain’s job easier.

“It’s been a good relationship,” Houssain says. “If I need something, they’ll get it for me. [Coalter] makes it happen. The service is unmatched. If we need something or need help with something, we can pretty much consider it done.”

Jack Kopanski

About the Author:

Jack Kopanski is the Managing Editor of Pit & Quarry and Editor-in-Chief of Portable Plants. Kopanski can be reached at 216-706-3756 or jkopanski@northcoastmedia.net.

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