Pit & Quarry, February 2013

RoundTable ConfeRenCe GARRISON Flat is the new growth Everyone is forecasting flat youre not down so thats a positive thing If you go back to 2008 the growth expectation was a minimum of 10 percent and its just not happening There are still pockets of growth For us our growth has been through new product development expanding distribution and things like that But as far as our organic business here in the states goes its slow and we dont foresee it growing very fast The economy needs to get better for us to get a five year road bill But the only way to get the economy better is to get a five year road bill and get jobs out there at least for our industry So its kind of that chicken and egg thing YANIK How are equipment sales faring and what effect is the economy having on a producers ability to purchase equipment HAWKRIDGE Anything we invest in has to have a significant return for us If were going to spend money were looking at a three to four year payback at the minimum for the project to get funded Some of our spots are relatively small but if we can eliminate a bottleneck on the plant by putting in a new piece and we can save money we PARTIcIPANTS Session Two Dave Ciszczon Polydeck Screen Corp Dennis Coker Natural Resource Partners John Garrison Terex MPS Warren Hawkridge Summit Materials Jeff Heinemann Sandvik Mining Construction Carl Metzgar Pit Quarry Mike Pratt Prairie Materials Karen Thompson W S Tyler Chris Upp Conco Quarries Russell Walton Breaker Technology Inc Steve White Michelin Kevin Yanik Pit Quarry Hawkridge will do that kind of stuff Were not looking for growth in order to invest in the business were looking at the cost avoidance or cost savings to invest in the business UPP One of the things this downturn has forced all producers to do is become more efficient You have to look for those bottleneck areas at least with existing plants And theres so much capacity in the market right now that you just dont hear about too many greenfield sites being developed So when it comes to equipment youre looking at replacing or improving taking out bottlenecks When it comes to mobile equipment I think as an industry were going to get in a bind at some point There wont be enough capacity in the system for new mobile equipment and lead times are going to get stretched out Im not looking forward to that time period because I think there are a lot of producers who are going to be in the same boat of having maintained older equipment for as long as they can THOMPSON As a manufacturer of vibrating screens I have to say we see a very stagnant market in the U S Were growing but its due to South America and Central America for the most part We look forward to Thompson the day when everybody will be wanting to invest in capital equipment but I concur completely We are seeing producers maintaining machines The investment is in the maintenance WHITE I think most companies after the difficult times held back They burned up what tires they had and then a couple of years ago we started to see a big demand again greater than what the economic numbers indicated And I think it was the fact that everyone was doing a maintenance program using what they had All of a sudden there was a demand GARRISON Were seeing the smaller replacements single units no greenfield sites Our suppliers that provide us bearings steel and all the components that we buy in to manufacture our equipment their lead times stretch out because everybody has had to cut back and reduce their workforce and with that lead times stretch out So theres a huge pent up demand We send quotes out every week that are hope anddream quotes for producers who are just trying to get a pass Theyre just trying to get the budget approved to buy this one screen whereas if you go back five years ago it was multi unit orders and big projects Its a completely different environment than it was years ago but theres Garrison going to be a significant pent up demand in the marketplace We all have to plan for that YANIK Because were talking about an increase in maintenance and service how has this change affected the producer relationship with the supplier 38 PIT QUARRY February 2013 www pitandquarry com