Key West, Florida, is long on sunshine but short on gravel pits and stone yards. Even so, that scarcity of material puts the general contracting company of Mike Anson, owner of Grader Mike’s, at the forefront of what could be a big opportunity for operations around the country facing similar conditions.
In a word, it’s recycling.
Says Mike, “All this infrastructure we’ve got is aging and needs to be replaced. That’s not just here in Key West, but all over the country, even in the big cities like Chicago and New York.” In Mike’s case, that’s a good thing as demolition work provides the material he needs for new construction projects Demo material is loaded via an excavator into his crusher. Steel, metals and wire are separated out and the rest is fed into Mike’s 10-months EZ-Screen 1200XL portable screening plant – pretty much a perpetual motion machine as it runs non-stop. The crusher salesman tried to get Mike to purchase a much larger — and considerably more expensive — screening plant to work with the crusher. But according to Mike, “I thought the EZ-Screen unit could handle the job – and for a lot less money.”
Not just at the initial purchase, but also in lowering year-round production costs per yard of material. Mike bought his EZ-1200XL, at around $39,500, from Argus Industrial Co, along with the $9,500 Optional Middle Product Conveyor. That put his out-of-pocket outlay at more than half what the larger screener would have cost. Mike had good reason to order his EZ-Screen 1200XL with the Optional Middle Product Conveyor. “With it I can produce three different products in one operation.” Currently, Mike is producing 2” rock, 3/4” stone, and sand.
Productivity is the key word for this balanced Key West operation. The excavator keeps the crusher going full tilt, the crusher keeps the EZ-1200XL running all out, and the three screened products are moved by front end loader to where Mike needs the material. Says Mike, “The 1200XL is my bread-and-butter machine when it comes to producing finished product. And after 10 months of continual operation, I haven’t had one single problem.”
Flexibility is another important area where the EZ-Screen 1200XL excels. Feed height is eight feet, and the double-deck screens, measuring six by five feet, match up with loading buckets from 1/2 yard to 1 3/4 yards. “Whether topsoil, gravel, demo debris, mulch, rock or combinations of all sorts of materials – the EZ-1200XL performs,” says Mike. There’s also the flexibility that comes from the EZ-1200XL’s portability. EZ-Screen Machines may be painted orange, however the way they operate is pure green. That’s because of their exclusive, patented EZ-Kinetic Green Drive System – a system simply so efficient and dependable that it can do a whole lot more with less horsepower. Just ask Mike how important that is as energy costs keep going up.
The EZ-Screen 1200XL is powered by a Kohler 25-HP air-cooled diesel, and a triple-stage air filter system is standard. Also standard is the Exide “Spiral Wound” sealed battery for a long life filled with countless vibrations. Plus a whole list of other EZ-1200XL options and features Says Mike, “I made the right choice when I decided to go with the EZ-Screen 1200XL. And I made my choice even better with the Middle Product Conveyor Option”
For more information: Contact Al Skoropa of Argus Industrial Co., manufacturer of the EZScreen line-up of portable screening plants, at (248) 745-5828, or sales@ez-screen.com.
Leave a Reply