New Cemex sand and gravel plant ready for operation

25 August, 2023

Cemex Pyford Brook Quarry

QMS finalize bespoke sand and gravel plant at Pyford Brook Quarry

Located in the heart of England, Quarry Manufacturing and Supplies Ltd. (QMS) has since its formation in the 1980s grown to be one of the UKs leading suppliers of crushing, screening and stockpiling equipment. In addition to providing the hardware that makes the mineral processing industry tick, QMS has also supported aggregate and mining operations worldwide with the company’s extensive range of aftermarket crusher wear and spare parts.

QMS operates out of its purpose built facility (and two other sites) located in Leicestershire, England, and has established a robust and efficient network for supporting customers across the globe. Company service engineers have provided repair and maintenance to customers, which range from small quarries and recycling plants in the UK, to the largest quarrying and mining operations globally.

QMS has continually invested in new technologies, processes and supplier partnerships, consistently raising the bar, delivering high levels of customer service, product quality and value. In fact, QMS is now recognised as one of Europe’s premier manufacturers of bespoke aggregate plants, aftermarket crusher spares, wear parts and bespoke processing equipment. These have been designed to meet the requirements of customers, with QMS always striving to exceed them.

Cemex Pyford Brook Quarry

With a hard won reputation for providing the equipment, parts and services the industry needs, QMS has recently finalised a bespoke sand and gravel plant for industry behemoth Cemex. Working in collaboration with main contractor MEP (Mineral Engineering Processes), which supplied the specialist deligniting equipment for both the sand and gravel products including, dewatering and associated equipment. QMS was tasked with designing, manufacturing and installing the screening and crushing plant which is located near Burton upon Trent at Pyford Brook Quarry.

“We were initially contacted by MEP with regards to collaborating with them regarding the new Cemex Pyford Brook sand and gravel quarry. MEP has a leading niche product range which has been designed to enhance sand and gravel production but required a partner to supply and install the screening and crushing equipment. As the quarry needed a bespoke cost effective solution with proven process equipment that had to be built and be made operational to a demanding time frame, and based on our longstanding relationship, MEP and Cemex viewed QMS as the ideal partner,” explains company managing director Jonathan Beck.

Productive and accurate

“The Pyford Brook plant has been built to produce sand and gravel at a relatively high production rate of 250 t/h. As the quarry is brand new, and six months ago physically did not even exist, this meant that we had limited time to get the plant design right from the off, incorporating not only our equipment, but also the specialist MEP Hydrolig process. Our processing equipment had to not only be able to meet Cemex’s production targets, but also consistently produce the sizes required to make the quarry a profitable ongoing concern,” adds Jonathan.

The QMS plant at Pyford Brook has been designed with Cemex’s targets at its heart but has also been designed to take account of logistical and environmental concerns. Given the rural location of the quarry, and it being a new operation, these were important factors that had to be accommodated. In effect, the quarry (and its material processing equipment) had to be able to produce the products required with minimal disturbance to local inhabitants and the environment.

The design of the plant sees the initial feed material consisting of 150mm+ sand and gravel being loaded into a belt feeder through a hydraulic remote controlled tipping grid; this is then conveyed to a double deck polyurethane primary screen, with oversize material being returned to the QMS cone crusher. A double deck washing screen then further processes the material to produce a -20mm product. The end-product is then refined to be used in the manufacture of Ready-Mixed Concrete for use in key national infrastructure projects. QMS also supplied the crushing and screening structures, conveying and stockpiling equipment which are fully galvanised and were designed and manufactured in house to EN1090.

Just the beginning

With Cemex’s Pyford Brook quarry now approaching full operational efficiency, and nationwide requirements for Ready Mixed Concrete that the QMS equipment will help produce, the sand and gravel plant installation is only the beginning of the relationship. “Quarry Manufacturing and Supplies Ltd. has a reputation for equipment and plant design excellence. Our crushers, screens, feeders, support structures, conveyors and other associated equipment are now used throughout the world in some of the most demanding of applications,” explains Jonathan Beck.

“However, we don’t just make and install the equipment; we also support and upgrade all our plants, as well as providing aftermarket care on equipment made by other manufacturers. It is our belief that when a QMS plant becomes operational that’s only the start of the story. We provide the expertise, know-how and drive to keep customers’ operations working at full efficiency as well as carrying a full parts inventory for maximised uptime.

“All at QMS take pride in making sure that our customers are able to be as efficient and productive as possible. We will continue to work with Cemex and MEP to ensure that the Pyford Brook Quarry provides the material for Cemex as long as there is a requirement to do so,” concludes QMS managing director Jonathan Beck.