Sykes Pumps achieve two-year zero downtime on Tarmac site

GP150 electric pump operates 24h seven days a week at Eaton Quarry without a downtime incident

AN electric pump supplied by Sykes Pumps has reached a two-year milestone of 24h, seven-days-a-week operation on site at Tarmac’s Eaton Quarry, in Cheshire, without a single defect or downtime incident.

Supplied for stockpile dewatering at the silica sand quarry, the GP150 pump removes excess water from dredged sand, before it enters the dryers on site. The pump’s vacuum draws the excess water through an underground pipe network which, in turn, discharges the water into a freshwater pond at a maximum flow rate of 90 litres/sec.

Tarmac already hire pumps from Sykes at a number of their quarries and the company’s monthly servicing visits, covered within the hire fee, and dedicated one-hour response commitment from the pump specialists’ Stoke-on-Trent depot helped secure the Eaton Quarry dewatering contract.

Andy Gibson, Eaton Quarry supervisor, commented: ‘The reliability of the dewatering pump is vital as it is so critical to our operational efficiency and the production of a high-quality product.’

The Tarmac team on site is responsible for daily checks on the pump and can call out the Sykes Pumps team at any time if they have any maintenance concerns. Mr Gibson continued: ‘With Sykes, we were not only confident of a correctly specified and reliable machine from day one, but we also have peace of mind that comes with great service, technical backup and regular maintenance visits.’