PRODUCER PROFILE
GMI Maximizes Trucks, Fuel, Labor GMI Asphalt has invested in a new drag, silo and flop chute from ALmix to improve haul truck cycle times and reduce fuel and labor costs. BY SARAH REDOHL
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very five or so years, GMI Asphalt, Belmont, New Hampshire, has made at least one major investment in the growth of the company. From buying other construction companies and acquiring its quarry and sand pit in Boscawen, to purchasing its 6-ton Barber Greene batch plant in Franklin, the company only seems to know one way to go: forward. “We bought the plant to be more competitive in our market and to take the next step in GMI’s growth,” said Neil Arruda, general manager of GMI Asphalt’s materials division. “With our quarry, sand pit and asphalt plant, we now control the whole process and are able to price ourselves accordingly.” Through each investment, GMI Asphalt has kept the end goal in mind regardless of the challenges they may face—and they have faced their share of challenges. “When GMI bought the plant, it had only made 40,000 tons of mix total,” Arruda said. “I can’t even begin to describe the problems we faced in order to get the plant up to state spec and capable of producing 200,000 tons of consistent mix a year.” For example, GMI invested in a fugitive dust fan to manage high dust content in the mix, as well as a blower and airlock to further control dust content, and a reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) system. “It’s been a continuous process of improvements,” Arruda said. Having its own plant has enabled GMI to compete for state work, which was particularly important during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when the municipal and private work that makes up the majority of GMI’s work was delayed or canceled. Arruda estimated that 15% of GMI’s book of work in 2022 has been for the New Hampshire DOT.
Then, in October 2021, GMI made perhaps the most significant investment in its plant: a 30 | DECEMBER 2022
GMI Asphalt's new drag, silo and flop chute from ALmix enable the company to distribute mix from two points, at the batch plant tower drive-through and the silo. And, for the first time, the plant can store mix as needed.
300-ton silo, 500 TPH drag conveyor and custom flop chute from ALmix, Fort Wayne, Indiana. “We made those investments so we could produce more mix at the plant and also increase our production and trucking efficiencies,” Arruda said.
BIG SILO, BIG BENEFITS
Having the silo allows GMI to distribute mix from two points, at the batch plant tower drive-through and the silo. And, for the first time, the plant can store mix as needed.
“The silo allows the plant to run continuously and enables us to fill the silo in the morning or the night before,” Arruda said. He’s also noticed a number of cost savings related to GMI’s latest investments. First and foremost, in terms of trucking. “We went from an average time for a truck in the yard of 35 minutes to less than 10 minutes,” Arruda said. “Just loading the truck used to take 7 minutes from the batch plant. With the silo, we’re at 1 minute, 5 seconds to fully load a truck. That has been particularly