A contractor upgrading a Whiting, Ind., petroleum refinery recently tapped a distant precast producer for a mostly rectangular vault , one side with a slight, coffin-like angle to accommodate site infrastructure. While customized recast concrete might economically “travel” farther than a standard product, it takes unusual circumstances to justify
shipping a mundane, 75-ton under ground structure from near the Gulf of Mexico to the southern tip of Lake Michigan.
Houston-based Locke Solutions recognized site, labor and safety circumstances surrounding the refinery structure, and delivered a precast solution for a customer mindful of cast-in-place methods’ quality control and schedule variables. The upstart producer thrives on oddball requirements and one-of-a-kind jobsite conditions calling for product fabricated beyond ASTM or related parameters.
Locke Solutions capped its second year in production with a batch plant installation. Mixer Systems furnished a 1.5-yd. planetary mixer, whose twin discharge doors feed buckets transferred by tandem overhead cranes. The batch plant has a 2- to 2.5-minute cycle time, depending on mix design, and affords plant crews the option of
a single 1.5-yd. load or a double batch in a 3-yd. bucket. Mixer Systems also equipped the operation with two 30-ton sand & gravel bins, plus 350-bbl cement silo. The plant runs on E-150 touch screen controls, for which up to 50 mix designs can be programmed.