Posted on July 8, 2021
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – It has been a year since Mother Earth Materials invested in an IMS Model 7012 HP Versi-Dredge for mining sand at their Corpus Christi, Texas plant. Mother Earth Materials is a high-volume sand, fill, and soil supplier to builders, government, and industry in South Texas.
Mother Earth Materials is using their 7012 HP Versi-Dredge to pump medium grain sand, with an average diameter of 0.3mm, 600+ ft. with a 50 ft. terminal elevation.
“In early 2020 we purchased an IMS Model 7012 HP Versi-Dredge for our sand mining operation in Corpus Christi, Texas. Prior to purchasing a hydraulic pipeline dredge, we were mining sand using several excavators and re-handling the material many times before it got to our sand stockpiling area. The patented Starwheel Drive® self-propulsion system on the Model 7012 HP Versi-Dredge allows us to dredge anywhere in our sand mine without the use of work boats, underwater anchors, and travel cables. It is truly an efficient and productive process that has saved us time and money and increased our profitability on each cubic yard removed,” said Carter Hogan, Mother Earth Materials.
The one truck transportable IMS 7012 HP Versi-Dredge excavates material to a maximum depth of 30 ft. (9.1m) and is equipped with an 11.25 ft. (3.42m) wide cutterhead designed for maximum solids intake by conveying a higher percent solids concentration to the pump vortex than conventional cutterhead dredges. The 10 in. x12 in. (254mm x 305mm) GIW hi-chrome sand pump is ladder mounted directly behind the cutterhead eliminating the net positive suction head required (NPSHr) and vacuum concerns resulting in a more efficient and productive operation when compared to a conventional cutterhead dredge in the same size range.
The patented Starwheel Drive self-propulsion system helped ease the transition from mechanical to hydraulic dredging by eliminating the need for a dredge tender boat, anchor cables, anchors, and additional labor.
The patented Starwheel Drive self-propulsion system with Traction Master® allows the operator to drop the Starwheel cleated drive system to the maximum cutting depth and move the dredge forward with positive traction drive resulting in higher solids. The result is a more efficient dredging operation as the sand producer has eliminated the dredge tender boat for re-positioning underwater anchors, eliminated unnecessary labor for handling the anchors, and increased operator efficiency by consolidating several levers and buttons into two joysticks with reduced actions required to achieve the same net result.
“It is great to help a company like Mother Earth Materials improve their operational efficiency. The true test is how the supplier reacts if there is an equipment breakdown. This happened a few weeks ago and minimizing downtime was everyone’s priority. Rob Carufel, Senior Field Service Technician, drove parts from the dredge factory in New Richmond, WI to Corpus Christi, TX as the logistics company’s delivery time was a week. Rob had the 7012 HP back up and running 48 hrs. later and the parts, labor, and travel costs was covered under warranty by EDT showing that we truly back up our product like we say we will during the sales process,” said Ryan Horton, Vice President, Ellicott Dredge Technologies, LLC.
For more information on IMS Versi-Dredges and booster stations for sand mining please contact Ryan Horton at rhorton@imsdredge.com or 913-642-5100. Visit IMS on the web at www.imsdredge.com .
