TWS AggreSand plant for the Geddes Group

Scottish aggregates producer installs country’s first AggreSand plant at Struan Quarry

THE Geddes Group are meeting customers’ demands through a much more productive and efficient washing solution provided by Terex Washing Systems (TWS) at their new Struan Quarry site, near Edzell.

With sand and gravel reserves running low at Stannochy Quarry, the family firm needed to identify a new gravel pit site as well as a new wash plant, as their current system was old and becoming inefficient.

The need to produce a premium sand and gravel product to serve their concrete and asphalt business led the Geddes Group to the AggreSand solution from Terex Washing Systems (TWS). This system would not only address their high silt problem, but would also have the ability to produce three aggregates and two sands, to meet the need of their growing customer base.

The Geddes family were the first customers to see the world’s first AggreSand plant in operation, following the official launch event, and then again at the Hillhead show in June last year. They immediately saw the benefits that the AggreSand could offer them in terms of its modularity, small foot print and overall design. In particular, they liked the concept of capturing their entire useable sand product, having previously used a traditional system that was not as efficient.

As a result of these site visits and following several consultations with TWS and their Scottish distributors, Blue Group, Scotland, the decision was made to purchase an AggreSand plant.

Upon viewing the plant for the first time, managing director Frank Geddes, plant director Neill Geddes and director Graham Geddes commented: ‘We immediately saw its benefits and it was evident that it was the solution for Geddes. The access and serviceability features of the machine, along with the roll-out centrifugal pumps and roll-out chute work, were especially valuable features.’

Blue Group, Scotland, and TWS’ applications and engineering teams worked closely with the Geddes Group to identify their specific requirements in terms of desired products and specifications. This involved several sites visits, feed material analysis, plant drawings and design modifications, to suit their specific specifications.

Samples of the feed material were sent for further testing at TWS headquarters in Dungannon. A full civils and plant layout drawing was provided, outlining the water and electrical input/output points. Struan Quarry’s high sand to stone ratio suggested that the high-capacity plant would be the most suitable solution for Geddes specific needs.

The plant was installed and fully commissioned at the site in November 2014, making it the first AggreSand plant in operation in Scotland; a further one has since been installed at a site in Inverness.

Plant director Neill Geddes said: ‘The expertise and support we received from TWS and Blue Group, Scotland, was second to none, making the entire process easy. The plant has been producing effectively since it was installed.’

He continued: ‘The HMI control system was a feature that particularly struck me. The ability and ease of obtaining live data, such as water pressures, flows, cyclone feed pressures, and motor amp readings, was very impressive. Undoubtedly, the AggreSand 165 with its 16ft x 5ft screen and high-capacity 200 tonnes/h sand plant will put Geddes in a strong position to meet current demand and keep up with the company’s ambitious growth plans.’

The plant has been set up to products a concrete sand and a building sand, as well as three clean aggregates (10mm, 20mm and 40mm). When necessary, the AggreSand plant’s cyclone underflow blending system is utilized to transfer a percentage of fines from the building sand to the concrete sand, to ensure the correct specification is maintained.

Quarry foreman Charles Wallace concluded: ‘The AggreSand is a delight to work with; it runs extremely quietly with no spillages, and the belts run very smoothly with none of the roll-back that can be a problem with some plants. I was also very impressed with the extremely fast installation and set up; we were up and running and producing high-quality products in no time at all.’