“Our road base business had declined until early 2010, but demand has steadily increased over the last six months,” Lacey says. “As the sale of key products slumped during the economic downturn, the plant had more time to improve our road base process. We had some surplus equipment available to dedicate to this line of business, so we modified it and installed an additional stacker to create the automated base plant. Now we have the capacity to meet our business demand. We were less committed from a system standpoint before, and these changes have allowed us to better compete in an important market.”

Finished product is transported by both truck and rail. “Probably 25 percent of what we ship goes out by rail,” Allen says. “We have initiated a program to operate the train locomotives ourselves at the plant site, which has significantly — and safely — improved loadout efficiency. The railroad personnel pull the train in and get off, while we take control of the locomotive and load the train. After loading is complete, we contact them and tell them to come get it. We train our people — all personnel who operate the rail equipment complete a certification program to be qualified to operate the locomotives.” Once the trains are loaded and ready to go, they wait for what is known as the “rock window,” which opens after the Dallas/Fort Worth-area commuter traffic completes operations for the day.

Highway trucks handle all the local shipments. Loading takes place from 4:30 a.m. to midnight, but some trucks arrive at the plant as early as 2 a.m. to be the first in line. “We load trucks 5½ days a week, 20 hours a day,” Lacey says.

When it began operation in the “1950’s,” Bridgeport Stone was capable of producing approximately 300,000 tons per year. Currently, with the automation and other upgrades that TXI has made to optimize the process, the plant can now produce in excess of 8 million tons per year. Not bad for a 50-plus-year-old plant.

Future plans

Bridgeport Stone currently runs two shifts with a third shift reserved for maintenance.

“With the downturn in the economy, employees are currently working 40 hours a week,” Lacey says. “That’s down significantly from what they used to work. You really need four shifts to go 24/7/365. Before, we were doing it with two shifts, which, in retrospect, was not the optimum way to staff this plant. One thing our automation projects have allowed us to do during this downturn is to re-evaluate our staffing, improve our quality, and better plan for the time when higher levels of demand return to this marketplace.”

When business does pick up, as it surely will, Lacey plans to hire more employees as needed, but he has also challenged everyone currently on staff to maximize productivity.

“We currently have reserves capable of supporting this operation for many decades,” Lacey adds. “With these reserves and the level of technology in place today, we can continue to operate this plant for many years to come. But as newer technologies become available and continual optimization of the plant is required, it will likely bring more upgrades to Bridgeport Stone in the near future.” AM

Equipment Line Up

Mobile Equipment

Caterpillar 160M grader

Caterpillar 777F haul trucks (6)

Caterpillar 992G wheel loaders (3)

Caterpillar 988G wheel loader

Caterpillar 988H wheel loader

Caterpillar 980H wheel loaders (5)

Caterpillar 216B skid steers (3)

Caterpillar 914G clean-up loader

Caterpillar 773B 50-ton haul truck

Caterpillar 773B water truck

Caterpillar 320B track hoe

Caterpillar D-9N dozer

Caterpillar 834B rail car mover

Loadout Plant

Conveyors (4)

Loadout bins (3)

Tecweigh vibratory feeders with

Model 20 controls (5)

Tecweigh belt scale

Metso sizing/shaker screen

Asphalt Plant

Conveyors (14)

Fixed stackers (5)

Cemco Model 175 VSI crusher

Cemco Model 96 VSI crusher

Eagle Iron Works log washers (2)

Noble dual-flow vibratory feeders (2)

Tecweigh belt scales (7)

Metso sizing/shaker screens (5)

Concrete Plant

Conveyors (10)

Kohlman telescoping radial stacker

24-inch fixed stacker

Cemco Model 175 VSI crusher

Eagle Iron Works log washers (4)

Noble dual-flow vibratory feeders (2)

Tecweigh belt scales (4)

Metso sizing/shaker screens (4)

Sand Plant

Conveyors (3)

Radial stackers (2)

Eagle Iron Works classifiers (2)

Eagle Iron Works sand screws (2)

Tecweigh belt scales (2)

Metso sizing/shaker screens (2)