Increasing Pattison Sand’s Productivity

Pattison Sand is a family owned sand and aggregates company based in Iowa, the United States. Producing a diverse range of products, they service several industries including infrastructure and construction

After successfully using a number of Weir Minerals products at their site, Pattison Sand wanted a custom designed plant capable of producing more than seven materials: concrete stone, road rock and base material, asphalt stone, asphalt chips, railroad ballast and manufactured sand. This was a challenging demand considering most aggregates sites in the region typically focus on producing only a few products.  

“We are very close to Pattison Sand, and spend a lot of time with them on-site brainstorming ideas and working together. When they have a problem we work tirelessly to find a solution that fits their needs and enables them to service their end market efficiently. When Pattison Sand presented the ambitious plan for their sand plant, our integrated solutions team worked with them to make it a reality,” says Eric Jones, Global Service Director of Comminution Aftermarket for Weir Minerals.  

The unique facility, comprising both an underground and surface mine, is located on the Mississippi River. Processing highly abrasive materials combined with the physical diversity of the site presented a number of technical and engineering challenges. With an aggressive timeline of three months to deliver and commission the plant, Weir Minerals’ Integrated Solutions team was determined to meet Pattison Sand’s exacting demands.

“We develop these solutions with Weir Minerals through a lot of trials, successes and failures, and end up getting the results that we need to continue to survive in the marketplace. A lot of the options that other equipment manufacturers supply are standard and by the book. Weir Minerals has the ability to work with us to create solutions for our individual issues,” states Chance Harvey, Director of Engineering at Pattison Sand.  

The site has a unique rail loadout setup where product is dispatched to customers as soon as gradation and quality data is approved. This meant Pattison Sand needed an efficient, dependable plant to meet stringent delivery requirements.

 To make Pattison Sand’s vision a reality, Weir Minerals supplied a number of products to create two primary and secondary crushing stations. These included a Trio® TF5220 vibrating grizzly feeder, two Trio® EF3603 pan feeders and two Trio® TP450 cone crushers. Trio® scalping, incline and wet incline screens and as well as a Trio® TSW4432 fine material washer were also supplied. Full training and support was provided, with Weir Minerals regularly on site to help Pattison Sand optimise their entire process and achieve the desired result.

The flexibility of the custom built plant has allowed Pattison Sand to operate more efficiently, exceed production target and increase their product range. Since commissioning the plant, Pattison Sand has been able to produce 500-800 tonnes of consistently high-quality aggregate material per hour, which equates to around two and a half million raw tonnes annually. Four hoppers provide a loadout rate of 500 tonnes per hour enabling Pattison Sand to produce a diverse range of products and still meet demanding customer delivery schedules.

“When customers purchase Trio® products they are buying years of experience from people within an organisation that is dedicated to the industry and its customers. We constantly strive to be closer to our customers. It’s not always perfect, but we work through projects together and are honest with each other. It’s that transparency and working with customers like Pattison Sand which really drives the end solution,” states Eric Jones.

When asked about his company’s partnership with Weir Minerals, Kyle Pattison, owner of Pattison Sand stated: “Pattison Sand Company and Weir Minerals have a good working relationship because of the successes we've had solving problems and delivering good quality products on time. It’s human nature to interact more with the company that helps solve your problems and provides good value. Those that don’t, you don’t go back and talk to them.”

Demonstrating the dedication and expertise of the Integrated Solutions team, Weir Minerals meets challenges head on to solve customer problems and optimise operations. Visit www.problemsolved.weir to watch a video showcasing this project and how it operates.