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Show Wednesday, April 30, 2008 A3 Concrete sales strong rr w t f if w u. n J" : n Vernal Express by Kevin Ashby Express Publisher It doesn't take long while driving the streets of Vernal before be-fore one passes a concrete truck, with it's rotating drum, heading toward a new construction site. According to Bart Murray, Intermountain Concrete plant manager, it has been a very busy couple of years in trying to keep up with ' he building demand in the Vernal area alone, let alone trying to address other concrete needs throughout the oil field. Because of this their company concentrates on the Vernal area only and is busy with housing and business construction projects. : "It is starting to slow down a little for the housing construction construc-tion in the area as there is a lot of inventory on the market right now," explained Murray. "We are doing a lot of miscellaneous projects but this part of our work is way down compared to last ; year." But, Murray did explain that commercial projects are keeping . them very busy. Intermountain Concrete started business in 1953 and today to-day they have six concrete mixing trucks, four belly dumps and five : end dump trucks that they use to deliver sand and aggregate rock : to the mixing plant in Vernal as well as gravel to contractors in , the Basin. Murray stated that they keep the rock crushing and washing plant in Jensen busy five days a week in trying to keep up with the need for rock and sand needs. Water and concrete powder are the other two items, besides some miscellaneous additives, that are needed to make cement. A concrete powder truck arrives in Vernal almost like clockwork five times a week daring the construction months. This powder is blown into two different silo tanks at the mixing facility. Rock and sand are also stored in other silo tanks to facilitate facili-tate measuring and weighing of the products to ensure a perfect mixture of cement custom made for each order. After a mixing truck is cleaned from the previous load, the driver will park it under the silos and request the needed materials for the next load. Holding bins will collect the rock, powder, water, sand and additives and will be released into the mixing truck in small controlled amounts to ensure cement consistency. Up to nine yards of cement can be loaded into the mixing trucks. Murray explained that they will deliver 100 to 300 yards of concrete a day. Although there have been small increases in concrete prices over the past couple of years based on powder prices, the fuel costs are no w driving up concrete r "7 v '. I . t-" "V, I I : VIA .. , , I r l.5, ; 2 , in Li lsi 1(3 prices. For example in 2006, 6 bag concrete was going for $101.60 a yard. This was increased in March of this year to $103.70 a yard because of cement powder increases. This price will jump to $106.82 soon to accommodate for a needed 3 fuel surcharge. "As an example of our costs rising, last week we had to pay 31.40 fuel charge on product being trucked to us from the Wasatch Front, and somehow these charges need to be passed on to the consumer," explained Murray. Murray did say there were other areas that a concrete company com-pany can help control costs and he has some of the best employees around for keeping their trucks clean from cement buildup on the metal parts of the trucks. "A mixing truck add-on equipment equip-ment rebuild costs anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000 depending depend-ing on how the maintenance was completed on the truck," said Murray. "Arotatingmixingdrum only last about 8 years because of the continual movement of rock wearing down the metal. But we do spend a lot of time cleaning clean-ing and when necessary - sand blasting, to keep the trucks well maintained." Safety is the other area that employees are reminded of on a continual basis. Workers at Intermountain In-termountain Concrete have not had a reportable accident since 1990. They have received several awards from MSHA as the state workman's fund to recognize these efforts. Murray commented that they have been asked to mix some customized concrete for the upper floor of the new hospital wing recently. He stated that these kind of requests keep the job interesting. A special lightweight aggregate ag-gregate was ordered in for this second floor pour. Regular cement ce-ment weights between 142 and 145 pounds per cubic foot. The lightweight design used for the hospital weighed only 1 16 pounds per cubic foot. Crews have also been kept busy delivering up to 80 yards a day, two days a week for the new UBATCUSU building footers that are currently being formed and poured. "To keep up with projects like these, everything has to be in good running condition and well maintained," said Murray. Murray also commented that with good construction times in the Basin, competition also comes in and they have seen an influx of mixer trucks that are used in the oil field, but provide concrete within the Vernal area also. These companies have helped even out the huge demand for concrete in the area. I Lb i W all ' ' i it. I II J "Current buildiing trends are keeping local concrete plants busy. Although home consturction has slowed, commercial constuction is still on the rise in the county. xpress 54 North Vernal Avenue Vernal, Utah -435-789-3511 www.vernal.com Training That Works! ! L. 'III .l-l-l--.p.--" W Jin J I II IM.1I1.IWIIJW.. . ! iffjjj. JH W'-l HI'")- " ' sc Uintah Basin Applied Technology College a UCAT campus - oi I f fs 4 X .... : v It' 17 -L":r-.-7 -Nv- 4.. f A Employees at Intermountain Concrete in Vernal are expected to continual clean and maintain the mixer trucks to add life to an already limited time they can be used before parts wear out from the constant wear of rock against steel. New mixing bins are replaced about every eight years. Your First Stop For Great Gardens! Lots of spring color! Pansies! Vegetable starts and seeds! New shipment of trees and shrubs! Dlit Mountain 10 minutes East of Vernal, Hwy 40 in beautiful downtown Jensen 789-5512 9-6 Monday - Saturday, 11-4 Sunday jjf arden Center! for your community and your family. Kameron Dearing is a defensive end for the Uintah High Football team. During practice in September of 2007 he was doing cross-over exercises when he felt something give in his leg. The next day, before practice, he spoke with the Sports Medicine Team from Ashley Regional Medical Center. They suggested he not practice until he had further medical evaluation; they were concerned that he might have a meniscus tear. An MRI verified a medial meniscus tear and a torn ACL. After his surgery, Kameron came to Ashley Regional Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for treatment of his post-surgical injury. Mark Slaugh, Physical Therapist, worked with Kameron. "We have specific protocols for rehabilitation from each physician we work with. We applied the protocols specified by Kameron's physician, J- J 11 ana ne aia very weu. "I felt very comfortable with Mark," said Kameron. . "He's a good guy." The Sports Medicine Team at Ashley Regional provides support for all the high school sports teams, boys and girls. They tape-up the athletes before events, triage minor injuries and facilitate further treatment when needed. "I felt very comfortable comfort-able with Mark," said Kameron. "He's a good guy." I Ashley Regional MEDICAL CENTER ; ? I'll I'-ll irrl |