Case Study: Berks Products

The Company:
Berks Products, Reading, Pa.

The Challenge:
• Increase production by a factor of two
• Reduce transit mixer wear
• Provide better product consistency

The Solution:
• CON-E-CO SLP-CM
• CON-E-CO tilt mixer
• Two 36 in. conveyors feeding 2 turnheads
• 475 tons agg storage in 6 compartments
• 752 tons cement storage in four silos
• Two material handling systems
• Eight in-ground hoppers @ 125 tons ea.
• One 25,000-gallon Infern-O-Therm tank
• Single Infern-O-Therm oil burner
• Dual-compressor Carrier chiller unit

Berks Products needed to produce more concrete to feed its products plants and a growing ready-mix business. The family-owned company with 325 employees serves Berks, Lehigh and Montgomery counties, with a fleet of over 300 vehicles that includes includes 82 ready-mix trucks and four cement tankers.

A flagship plant was needed to boost production, improve consistency, and lower fleet maintenance costs. After shopping around, Berks executives decided to acquire their new SLP-CM CON-E-CO plant from Jay Robinson, president of CON-E-CO dealer Mid Atlantic Concrete Equipment, Inc.

With the launch of the Ontelaunee plant, Berks Products stepped up its game. According to Bill Seiders, vice president of ready mix, quarry and fleet operations, the benefits of central mix have been shown to outweigh the higher initial cost in terms of better productivity and less wear and tear on the mixers. "We found all of those things to be true...also customers like the consistency," says Seiders.

Berks Products Project Photos