Presenting P&Q’s 2021 Start-Up Guide

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Is your operation in the midst of rebooting after a fall or winter shutdown?

Now is the time of year when aggregate producers – especially those in colder climates – cyclically ramp up efforts to restart operations. In recent years, though, more producers are plowing through a chunk of winter without a significant pause.

While shutdowns certainly remain a thing, they’re being reduced from months to weeks or even just a few days depending on an operation’s location and its goals.

Kimball Equipment president Mark Oviatt has seen this trend develop over time. Oviatt points to supply and demand as the primary driver of shortened shutdowns, but he says other dynamics are also at play.

“A lot of producers can make dry products in the winter without much difficulty,” he says. “Many of our customers will take three or four weeks and do maintenance. But a lot of the time [operations] don’t shut down because they lose the people.”

Potential issues can surface with shutdowns shortening, and that’s partly where Pit & Quarry’s Start-Up Guide comes into play this month. With the production season extended for many, workloads are intensifying and producers may simply walk away from an operation at year’s end without taking the proper steps to condition their plant for spring.

“If it’s put away wet, cold and frozen, you’re going to be looking at a couple of weeks to deal with some of the more significant issues at start-up,” Oviatt says. “It really depends on how well a guy put it to sleep for the winter.”

Inside the Start-Up Guide

Regardless of how an operation winds down a production season, there’s a checklist of items producers should address heading into spring production. Our Start-Up Guide explores a variety of these with special coverage this month.

The Start-Up Guide coverage touches on best approaches to get employees into production mode, areas of the plant that absolutely must be inspected before starting up, and the latest on slowdowns in the supply chain.

In addition, a number of equipment suppliers partnered with Pit & Quarry to bring the Start-Up Guide to life. At pitandquarry.com/startup, these suppliers present their latest equipment and services to enhance your operation. And some share their technical knowledge and experience to ensure your start-up is successful.

Check it all out to pave the way for a safe and profitable production season.

Featured image: daz2d, jangeltun/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images (Start-Up logo); Bet_Noire/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images (gear background)