Northern Ireland-headquartered Rapid International was the number one choice to supply a new batching plant for Lincolnshire-based start-up business Geo Concrete Products, a subsidiary of Geo Quarries Ltd, which operates a quarry at Little Ponton north of Colsterworth near Grantham.
The concrete block manufacturing business began operating in September last year after taking delivery of a Rapidbatch 120 mobile batching plant from Rapid International, which since 1969 has pioneered a game-changing mixing technology and today is recognised as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment for the concrete, construction and environmental industries.
Rapid International prides itself on the reliability of its products – it only uses components of the highest quality, all of which are sourced from internationally recognised brands – and with a presence in more than twenty countries worldwide via an ever-expanding international dealer network, it has become a trusted partner to a wide variety of customers ranging from multinational construction groups to small concrete producers.
“With any start-up business, you want to do things right from the word go, so we spent a lot of time considering what plant was available in the market,” says Geo Concrete Products general manager Adrian Wright. “In the end, we opted for the Rapidbatch 120 as it was far superior to anything else we had come across; it was a decision we haven’t regretted.”
Wright adds: “The build quality of the batching plant cannot be faulted. The basic steelwork on it is that much thicker than any of its competitors, and that was a prime reason for opting for the Rapidbatch. We are in this new business for the long term, and we need our plant to be robust, reliable and capable of offering us longevity. The Rapidbatch ticks all of those boxes, plus it is very easy to use, very easy to clean, with all its parts readily accessible, so yes, it is very user friendly.”
The high-capacity mobile batching plant, which offers outputs of up to 120m3/hr, is fully galvanised and features an auto-greasing system and hard-wearing liners on weight belt conveyors and bin outlets. Its four bins offer a total capacity of 84m3, while the bin unit features enlarged outlets for quick charging. It also features an integral heavy-duty Rapid twin shaft mixer offering short mixing times and high outputs, with an onboard control system with storage of up to 100 recipes. Its flexible modular design offers both in-line and 90-degree configuration options.
As Geo Concrete Products discovered when initially taking delivery of the plant, there was no need for foundations, and set-up was fast via plug-and-play electrics, with its installation requiring just a single crane lift. Positioning space at the site was not an issue, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered because of Rapidbatch’s compact footprint.
Another thing that has impressed the team at Geo Concrete Products is the level of support and service provided by the manufacturer’s team of highly qualified technical operatives and service engineers.” Their aftersales service is fantastic and spare parts are always available. If ever we have any problems, we can fully depend on the team at Rapid to sort it without delay,” says Wright.
And comments Geo Concrete Products’ commercial manager Robert Godfrey: “The batching plant operates on a continuous basis five days a week, turning out between 300 and 500 tonnes a day, but if a fault is showing up, we only need to lift the phone to find out where the error is and quickly rectify the issue, which means any potential for downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.”
Establishing the new concrete block production facility was a natural progression for Geo Quarries Ltd, which continues to invest heavily in plant and machinery, processing around 15,000 tonnes a week, producing a range of innovative and much sought-after construction materials, including aggregates, gabion stone, decorative aggregates, and geopave self-binding gravel. Geo Concrete Products, whose Rapid batching plant is located within the Geo Quarries Little Ponton site, began delivering its product range in October past; it includes 100mm solid standard and paint grade, 140mm solid standard and paint grade, foundation blocks and coursing bricks which can be collected on-site or delivered to customers on request. The new business is going from strength to strength with an ever-growing customer base.
