Tonnage
300tph
Material
Limestone, Sand & Gravel
Output
C33 Coarse Concrete Sand | Fine Sand | Pea Gravel | 1-2" Stone | #57 Stone
The Challenge
CDE plant ushers in new era as multi-generational family business approaches 75 years.
New 300 tons per hour plant commissioned for 4th generation Duff Quarry in Ohio
For almost three quarters of a century the Duff family has produced and supplied crushed limestone, sand, and gravel to all of West-central Ohio.
As the multi-generational family enterprise approaches its landmark 75th year in business a new CDE wash plant, capable of processing up to 300 tons per hour (tph) of sand and aggregate, has been commissioned at the company’s Lewistown Ohio sand and gravel site.
It’s an investment, Ross Duff, president of Duff Sand and Gravel Inc and vice president of Duff Quarry Inc, says, in the future of the business and in the future of the mineral production industry in the state.
“It’s about honouring the history and heritage of our business and continuing that good work, ensuring we’re equipped and resourced to meet future challenges head on, and that we extract and utilize every valuable grain from our deposits. In short, it’s about longevity.”
Ohio on top
In 2023, Ohio was ranked as one of the leading construction sand and gravel producing states, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Of the 920 million tons of sand and gravel produced last year, the top 10 states by production volume accounted for more than 50% of the total combined output .
Similarly, USGS data also shows Ohio as a top producer of crushed stone. Last year, an estimated 1.5 billion tons were produced. The 10 leading states, which included Ohio, accounted for more than half of total output (54%).
Evidently an essential industry to support the continued economic development of the state, the Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Association (OAIMA), where Ross Duff serves as an active board member, estimates raw mineral production in the state to be valued at over $1 billion, employing over 5,000 directly and up to 40,000 indirectly through associated construction activity, transportation, and more.
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024 | January 2024 | U.S. Geological Survey
Preferred Partner
Duff Quarry first discovered CDE at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in 2020 where the washing experts left a lasting impression on the family enterprise.
“We believed technology of this kind was beyond our reach,” Ross said.
“It was everything we needed and more. When we left that show, we left with an impression of CDE and its equipment that would stay with us for the next few years. We knew it would be a major investment – one of the largest in the history of the company – but we knew just how impactful it could be.”
It would be another three years before the two companies would meet again at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in 2023.
“By then, we were ready to move forward with this project and CDE was still the preferred supplier all those years later. That second show just strengthened our resolve to bring this project to life with CDE by our side.”
The CDE Solution
CDE business development manager Ronan Duffy said the solution engineered for Duff Quarry is born from proven solutions and designed specifically for its Lewistown Ohio sand and gravel site.
“Material gradings can vary from one day to the next, so any solution needs to be approached with real understanding of the customer, their needs, and the material to be processed. A full site audit, including material testing in our lab, helped inform and develop the best possible solution for Duff Quarry as they begin washing material for the very first time. Equipment specification, site layout – it’s all considered in order to create an optimized site workflow that can help accelerate return on investment.”
The final solution includes the AggMax™ scrubbing and classification system, which combines pre-screening, washing, scrubbing, lightweight and organics removal, and sizing on a compact chassis to produce a range of washed and graded aggregates ready for market straight from the belt. Alongside this, the M4500™ modular sand washing plant, which integrates feeding, screening, washing, and stockpiling, features customizable cut point control and patented Infinity™ screen technology to deliver consistent in-spec sand products.
“Seeing the first containers arrive on site for the build, that was pretty neat,” Ross commented.
The Results
Processing up to 300tph, the new CDE plant is helping Duff Quarry produce more material per year to better meet the demands of the local construction market through proven design, efficient processing, optimized operations.
A major construction boom is underway in central Ohio where the now $28 billion development of two Intel semiconductor manufacturing plants – the single largest private sector investment in the history of the state – is continuing at pace. A further $90 million has also been committed by the Department of Transportation to improve and enhance infrastructure around the facility.
This is in addition to continued work on the development of a new lithium-ion EV battery plant in Jeffersonville as part of a $3.5 billion joint venture between LG Energy Solutions and Honda.
“Within a matter of hours of booting up the plant, material testing showed concrete sand output to be perfectly in-spec”, CDE’s Ronan Duffy said.
The plant is producing a range of construction materials, including C33 coarse concrete sand, fine sand, and three different aggregate fractions: 1-2”, #57 stone, and pea gravel.
“I was amazed,” Ross remarked. “The result was immediate."
Engineered for Adaptability
Since initial commissioning in June this year (2024), the geology and material quality of the limestone deposit at the company’s operation in Lewistown has changed significantly but Ross says the CDE plant has been able to adjust easily to the new conditions.
“We’ve been extracting here for almost 75 years now. It’s a large deposit about 400 feet deep and it spans an area of approximately 400 acres. Given its size and scale, we know that the make-up of the material is going to vary and down through the years we’ve invested in new equipment and adapted our operation in response to this.”
The deposit continues to evolve even today, Ross said.
“It’s a different deposit now to what it was at the outset of this very partnership – however now we’re equipped with a CDE plant. We’re really impressed by the adaptability of the plant and just how little intervention is needed from our side to make the necessary adjustments in response to variations in the material we’re processing.
“That versatility is keeping us up and running. It’s keeping us competitive and profitable.”
