O’Brien Aggregates invest in a Terex Finlay 694+

April 22, 2020

Located near Whitburn, South Tyneside, Marsden Quarry has been at the centre of the local working community in Sunderland for over 150 years supplying aggregates and materials for all manner of local building projects.

The quarry provides a range of primary and recycled construction aggregates that supply markets throughout the North East of England including Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Co Durham.

O’Brien Aggregate Marsden customers include local authorities, civil engineering and construction industry as well as demolition contractors.

A new acquisition:
Having suffered with under investment in recent years Marsden Quarry was acquired by O’Brien Aggregates in 2018. Since then with a whole new management team and an IT infrastructure with an integrated customer portal in place alongside investment in new processing equipment the business has grown from strength to strength.

Currently the quarry has ongoing landfill operations alongside the main task of processing the reserves of limestone in the quarry. To process the limestone the company have spent considerable time in sourcing the most efficient and reliable processing equipment that is available on the market.

Their current equipment portfolio includes a number of Terex mobile crushing and screening machines including two Terex Finlay 683 Inclined Screens, a Terex Finlay 883+Spalek Screen and a Terex Finlay J-1170 Jaw Crusher.

Recent investment:
Having great confidence in the Terex Finlay brand further investment has recently been made in a new Terex Finlay 694+ Mobile Inclined Screener which has been supplied by Molson Equipment through their subsidiary Finlay Scotland Ltd from their depot at Glasgow.

Prior to this order a used 694+ was duly delivered to the quarry and put through its paces.

Euan Fairweather – Sales Manager for Finlay Scotland, commented, “At the time the only machine I could get for a demonstration was a five-year old model. However, the performance of this machine illustrated the fact that its ‘best in class’ is well proven.

Wayne Brennan – QM, commented, “Following a demonstration of an older 694 we found that the performance was so impressive, and the product was so much cleaner it wasn’t a difficult decision to make. It provides a totally consistent better quality of material and it has proved to be ‘miles better’ than anything we have experienced before!

Processing duties:
Material is extracted from the face by a Hitachi 470 fitted with a breaker as no blasting is allowed due to the proximity of an adjacent highway. Working in area A, material is then fed by loading shovel into an impactor and crushed and then fed onto a Terex Finlay 683, which scalps off the oversize. Working in tandem the 683 feeds the new Terex Finlay triple-deck 694+, stockpiling 50/20 and 10mm aggregates plus a lime.

Speedy and efficient servicing:
All the Terex Finlay equipment is comprehensively covered by an extensive fleet of modern, fully equipped Molson service vans and a team of highly experienced engineers who are well positioned to resolve any equipment problems with speed and efficiency.

Terex Finlay 694+
Part of the 6 Series range of Finlay tracked inclined screens the 694+ is a versatile, high capacity, robust and durable machine that can be operated in a wide range of primary and secondary screening applications and is suitable for processing and sizing aggregates, minerals and recycling applications.

With ‘best in class’ production levels, set up time and ease of operation, the Terex® Finlay 694+ is undoubtably the industry’s leading tracked mobile inclined screen. With a triple deck 20’ x 5’ (6.1m x 1.525m) screen box with full catwalk access it is the largest and most accessible in its class.

A high capacity belt feed hopper is available with remote tipping grid or double deck vibrating grid. The triple deck screen configuration provides three full sized 20’ x 5’ (6.1m x 1.525m) screens which provide ultra-efficient screening capacities even at small aggregate sizes.

A combination of quick wedge tensioning, convenient access holes, and hydraulic tensioning on the bottom deck ensure mesh set up and change out times are kept to an absolute minimum.

Featuring four stockpilers, an innovative hydraulically folded fourth conveyor allows simple adjustment with variable tilt and slew discharge for re-circulation or stockpiling of finished material. Washing equipment can also be fitted to the screen-box if required between 18 degree and 30 degree.

Written by John Edwards for Hub-4 magazine.