When there’s no space for a full-size crusher, a Hartl HBC 950 Crusher Bucket is just the job for JPE Aggregates.

JPE is one of the Midlands leading suppliers of aggregates, sand and soils to the construction industry. The business operates a number of strategically located sites from which it provides virgin, washed and unwashed recycled aggregates together with inert waste disposal, exempt from Landfill Tax. The business has been in existence for over 20 years, developing a reputation for providing the highest levels of service and a commitment to supporting sustainability in the construction industry.

The company has been involved in many of the leading projects in the Midlands area, including the Black Country Route, Trent Valley Four Tracking Project (TV4), the M6 Toll Road and the M6 hard shoulder strengthening.

The main objective of JPE’s Seisden Quarry in Wolverhampton is the production of sand. The material is taken from the quarry and directly loaded in to a wash plant, which both separates and washes the material in to saleable products, including a much sort after 0-2mm building sand and 0-4mm sharp sand, as well as three sizes of aggregate. Extracted from the plant, however, is the +60mm oversized which is both hard rock and sandstone. The overburden has been building up for a number of years with it not being a saleable product. JPE’s Managing Director Steve Birch explains “The oversized was being stockpiled at the site and the challenge was how to turn that into a saleable product. Of course, we could use a crusher, but we tend to do that on a campaign basis, meaning we had to wait until we had 10,000 tonnes. We simply don’t have the room to stock 10,000 tonnes on this site.”

The bucket was brought in to enable the business to crush the currently unsaleable oversized from the wash plant. Once the material is crushed, it is returned to the wash plant, creating both aggregates and the much sort-after sand. The bucket is enabling the business to crush daily rather than on a campaign basis, meaning stockpiles are kept to a minimum in key areas of the quarry. Furthermore, the process is being undertaken by a single man and a single machine, as opposed to a crusher which requires more capital equipment and human resources.

Customer Comments:

“The bucket is doing an excellent job creating saleable product from the overburden which had been building up within the quarry. The throughput is very impressive, and due to the ‘figure of 8’ motion of the jaws, the bucket stays clean even under damp conditions.” Steve Birch, JPE Managing Director.
“We feel the bucket is doing at least as good a job as any mobile crusher. It’s also an adaptable bit of kit, having crushed concrete and tarmac to plainings since we’ve had it.” Ben Dixon, JPE Assistant Quarry Manager