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3M Co.'s Wausau quarry in Wisconsin provides the Midwest with materials for colored roofing granules. While some things haven't changed much at the quarry over the years, one thing that has changed is the advanced capabilities at the quarry to manufacture the materials quickly and efficiently, This is done by using reliable equipment in every step of the manufacturing process.

With a large area of useable rock to blast, excavate, load, haul, crush and color, employees and equipment are under the usual pressures of company expectations, customer demands and the requirement to produce product in a safe, productive and cost effective manner, while meeting the customer's expectations of both service and quality.

The process of getting rock from the quarry face processed into a crushed, granular material is fairly simple, although it requires the right equipment to do it effectively.

After the rock is blasted, it is loaded and hauled to an on-site crushing plant. Once the rock has entered the crushers, it goes through a series of phases to crush and dry the materials. When this is complete, the granular material is trucked to the 3M coloring plant (also located in Wausau, Wis.) where it enters its final stages of crushing and coloring.

First time buyer, seller

3M depends on its fleet of wheel loaders and haul trucks to move thousands of tons of rock from deep in the quarry to the crushing plant every day. Since the loaders and trucks are the real workhorses of 3M's operation, this requires that the company employ only productive, reliable equipment.

When the company found it was in need of a new haul truck, it followed suit in 3M tradition and tried something it hadn't before. In June 2003, 3M purchased a new Komatsu HD465-7 truck, making it the first piece of Komatsu equipment ever used at the 3M Wausau quarry.

The decision to buy a Komatsu machine, rather than another model, was the result of the HD465-7's features, competitive pricing and a sturdy relationship with distributor Roland Machinery and Roland representative Tim Sharkey.

It was the first machine ever sold by the Schofield, Wis., equipment distributor under the flag of Roland Machinery. The distributorship was previously operated under the name Bark River.

# posted by Medical Information : 4:36 AM