The company’s compact excavators installing utility lines at a local job site.
(CEG photo)
L.A. Quarry, located in La Fargeville, N.Y., has been serving the north country of New York State with crushed limestone, sand and topsoil for the past 25 years. The company prides itself on its friendly, fast — sometimes the same-day— service to contractors, municipalities and local homeowners.
A family-owned business, the company has been in the Thompson family for three generations, having originally purchased the property from Lane Construction back in the early '60s.
The family has deep roots to the soil in Jefferson County, not only being in the aggregate business but also having a five-generation history in dairy farming. The last several decades have presented a challenging climate for the family-owned dairy farmer and recently the family decided to divest itself of the cattle.
Unlike the farm, the quarry has experienced a period of strong growth. Some major projects are developing in the area and future growth is expected. L.A. Quarry has always prided itself on running a lean operation and offering competitive prices.
Keeping up with the challenges of a growing quarry means having the right durable earthmoving equipment that's up to the task.
L.A. Quarry and the Thompson family have made a significant investment in a fleet of Volvo equipment that it purchased from Alta Equipment. Its fleet includes a Volvo L220 wheel loader, a Volvo L180 wheel loader, a Volvo EC380 excavator, a Volvo EC250 excavator and a Volvo ECR88 excavator. The Volvo EC380, the largest of the three excavators, is used primarily to feed the crusher. The two other excavators, a model EC250 and a model ECR88, are used primarily for picking smaller rocks around the quarry. L.A. Quarry also recently purchased a used A40 hauler.
Jerry Thompson, one of the principals of L.A. Quarry, speaks fondly of his two Volvo wheel loaders.
"They get very heavy use in our operation. We use them not only to feed the crusher, but also for loading trucks and for stockpiling. The machines have proven to be very reliable for us. Reliability is important, but additionally, they have saved us money with their efficiency. They have a unique bucket design, which actually allows us to have a larger payload, which really pays off when we are stockpiling. Obviously, the fewer trips you make the less fuel you are consuming, and the machines actually operate at a lower RPM, which means lower fuel consumption in general."
The loaders are equipped with Volvo's exclusive "Load Assist," which includes an on-board weighing system. This system lets the user know if they are loading the optimum amount of material; no more relying on intuition. It also offers a tire pressure monitoring system that allows operators to check the condition of tires without leaving the cab.
Another Volvo innovation in the loaders is the Volvo OptiShift, which helps to dramatically reduce fuel consumption and lower environmental impact, while maintaining productivity and at the same time increasing loading cycles and improving hill climbing performance.
"The Volvo loaders are easy to keep up on basic maintenance and I particularly appreciate the automatic greasing system," Thompson said.
L.A. Quarry's employees also have positive reviews of the Volvo excavators.
"Our operators spend a long day in the cabs and the Volvo cab is very comfortable. The hydraulics on the machines are very quick and responsive. These are tough working conditions and the excavators have been very durable," Thompson said.
"We also appreciate that the Volvo machines are a good investment. They tend to hold their resale value, a big deal when its trade-in time. They are fuel efficient, which speaks for itself."
Alta Equipment's John Pluff is L.A. Quarry's sales representative.
"If we need to get in touch with him, he is easy to find or he gets right back to us," Thompson said. "The service side of Alta Equipment has also been great to work with. They keep us up and running. Most of the time they are able to do the service work that we need right on site here at the quarry which saves us a lot in time and transportation costs."
Specific products produced at the quarry include:
- Screened and unscreened topsoil
- 3/4-in. crushed stone
- 1-1/2-in. crushed stone
- 1-in., 2-in., 3-in. and 4-in. clear stone
- 3-in. minus, 4-in. minus and 6-in. minus
- Shot rock
- Clay fill
- Sand
For more information, visit www.altg.com and www.la-quarry.com.
This story also appears on Aggregate Equipment Guide.
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