A major rail-based distribution network beefs up material handling to meet growing demand.

Conrad Yelvington Distributors, Inc. (CYDI) is the largest rail distributor of aggregates in the southeast, moving more than 10 million tons of materials through a network of 27 rail-served distribution terminals. With an initiative toward greater stockpiling capacity and efficient unloading at lower costs per ton, CYDI recently installed about a dozen automated telescoping radial stacking conveyors and at least five automated truck unloaders, all manufactured by Superior Industries. At certain sites, Superior Industries has also engineered tunnel and overland conveyors to transfer material from rail cars to telescoping stacking conveyors.

When a 100-car train arrives at on of the company’s terminals, the train splits onto five different tracks. A locomotive backs in and hooks onto one of the sections at a time, then pulls each car over the tunnel conveyor where its load is conveyed to the TeleStacker conveyor, which builds up to eight different product stockpiles on the main part of site. Then the telescoping conveyor is remotely adjusted to feed its load onto a 300-foot overland conveyor which transfers material to an additional yard which accommodates another eight high-volume stockpiles. The entire 10,000-ton shipment takes approximately 10 hours to unload and stockpile, all without the use of a loader or truck.

Pump up the volume
With more than 30 years of experience in the aggregate industry, Terry Cummings is operations manager over CYDI Gulf Coast operations. He cites several major reasons for replacing conventional stackers with Superior’s 42” x 170’ TeleStacker conveyors. Top among them is up to 30-percent more stockpile volume on the same limited footprint. “With the stinger conveyor on the TeleStacker unit, you can build a much larger volume pile than what is built by a fixed stacker,” he says, adding that an additional advantage is stockpiling without material loss due to segregation or degradation.

Minimized loader use is equally important. “With fuel, operator labor hours, and the current tire situation – we need to cut our operating costs and these conveyors allow us to do that,” says Cummings.

Then there is the issue of safety and loss prevention. “The safety in being able to adjust the telescoping stacker in bad weather is crucial. Once you retract the stinger conveyor, you bring the unit into a low profile,” he says, explaining that they had lost a couple of conventional gantry-type stackers to high winds during the recent major hurricanes. “We can bring the TeleStacker conveyor in low to the ground and we don’t have all the cables to deal with, which was also a huge maintenance issue as well on the previous conveyors.”

Effective truck unloading
At two of its Alabama sites, coal products are trucked in and unloaded. CYDI uses Superior RazerTail truck unloaders to streamline its operations. The unloading systems can quickly and easily transfer material from belly dump trucks or end dump trucks and onto a conveyor.

“I have installed an infrared eye on the RazerTail truck unloader. When the nose of the truck runs across the grate and dumps into the hopper, it breaks in front of that electronic eye, which automatically kicks the conveyors on,” says Cummings who further explains that the system is equipped with a timer so that the belts will cut off after material transfer is finished. The system does not require a dedicated operator, nor does it require the truck driver to leave his cab to start the process.

Cummings stresses the importance of the RazerTail truck unloader being equipped with its own low-profile ramp. “Any other type of unloader would require us to pour a concrete tunnel and then install a conveyor within it – and that is rather sticky to do. This system has everything you need – and it’s portable – so if you need to, you can move it anytime you wish,” he says, adding that he is currently in the process of combining the RazerTail truck unloader with a 42” X 170” TeleStacker conveyor to gain an even greater payback in product quality control and costs-per-ton savings.