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

The year was 1996. Berks Products needed to switch from dry batch to central mix, and they needed serious volume to feed both their growing ready-mix business and their products plants.

After shopping around, Berks executives decided to purchase their new CON-E-CO plant through Jay Robinson, president of Mid Atlantic Concrete Equipment.

With the launch of the Ontelaunee plant, Berks Products stepped up its game. The family-owned business is a 325-employee organization that 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 quality, and lower fleet maintenance costs.

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 and maintenance "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.”

Berks Products Project Photos