The newest piece of heavy machinery in Baxter County’s fleet got to work Tuesday, taking limestone rock hauled out of the county’s quarry and crushing it down into gravel.
The 2021 Eagle Crusher Ultra Max 1200-CC, purchased by the county earlier this month for $715,000, replaces a 2004 Cedar Rapids rock crusher previously used by the county.
Quarry foreman Chris Feliccia talks about the new crusher.
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Quarry workers said the new Eagle Crusher was producing about 150 tons of gravel per hour Wednesday afternoon, but can crush up to 300 tons per hour running full bore. By comparison, the aging Cedar Rapids crusher could produce 150 tons per hour running at top speed.
The new crusher is also easier on the ears, operating at about 65 decibels, or slightly louder than a noisy conversation, when someone is standing next to the machine. The old crusher produced about 100 decibels of sound, which is roughly equivalent to a chainsaw.
Feliccia talks about the aging Cedar Rapids crusher becoming prone to breakdowns, and the impact that had on gravel production.
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The county budgets about $600,000 each year for heavy machinery. When purchasing the Eagle Crusher, the county opted to pay about $372,000 from funds it had budgeted for such machinery and took out a 12-month loan from a local bank to cover the remaining $343,000 needed to purchase the machine. By taking out a short-term loan, the county is able to spread the crusher’s expense across two calendar years.
County Judge Mickey Pendergrass talks about using the loan to help purchase the crusher.
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The judge says buying heavy equipment is never cheap.
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Despite its advanced age, the Cedar Rapids crusher is expected to sell for at least $200,000 when the county puts it up for auction. Those money can then be used to pay down the balance of the loan taken out for the Eagle Crusher.
The Baxter County quarry crushed more than 100,000 tons of rock last year to provide gravel for the county’s road projects.
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