Ready-Mix Case Study - Kemco Systems

Customer Overview

When a ready-mix concrete facility located in Pennsylvania needed a hot water solution that allowed them to produce concrete even during the winter season, they turned to Kemco Systems to provide a 3 MM BTU direct contact water heater. This ready-mix facility specializes in structural or decorative ready-mix concrete including integral color mixes and surface hardening colors. The service area for this customer is in a region where winter temperatures can reach a daily average of as low as 28 degrees during the winter months.

Weather conditions can have a significant impact on ready-mix concrete delivery and its overall quality. Extreme temperatures, whether cold or hot, can cause rapid setting, freezing or even failure to achieve the desired strength.

This ready-mix facility needed hot water on-demand and Kemco provided a system that provided instant hot water within 15 minutes of turning the system on. Competitors’ systems require 8-12 hours of prep time between being turned on and providing on-demand hot water. Kemco’s system allowed the client to eliminate the necessity of planning production around hot water. The Kemco system was ready for them when they needed it, as they needed it.

Kemco System Overview

Kemco provided both the direct contact water heater and holding tank for the customer. The parts and system footprint were designed for compactness, allowing the system to fit into a shipping container. The shipping container provides shelter for the system to be an outside plug-and-play system with ease of mobility if needed. The system consistently has an efficiency rate of 99.7% as compared to competitors’ 50-80%.

Kemco Systems has been developing innovation for the concrete industry since 1986, starting with the introduction of the direct contact water heater. The direct contact water heater technology has proven to be a more energy-efficient alternative to traditional boilers to aid in heating concrete. Our goal is to ensure optimal heating temperatures, regardless of site conditions, helping our clients consistently produce strong, reliable concrete and concrete products.

High ROI Solution

At Kemco, we recognize that on-time delivery of ready-mix concrete is only part of the equation. On-site delays, such as unprepared construction crews, equipment malfunctions or scheduling conflicts, can cause the mix to remain in the truck for too long, leading to a loss of workability and diminished performance.

By installing the Kemco 3 MM BTU direct contact water heater and a holding tank, Kemco allowed this client to increase the price of their product and reduce labor costs. Since other ready-mix suppliers in the area didn’t have the same hot water affordances, they could not produce at the same rate. The Kemco system enabled the facility to increase its price per yard of concrete produced. Furthermore, no certification is required to operate the system. Also eliminated was the need for an employee to come into a facility 8-12 hours before production to power the system on. With the Kemco solution, instead of reporting a loss for winter downtime, this customer reported an increase in revenue during the winter months.

Contact our Concrete Sales Manager, Mark Kayne, today to learn how Kemco can design a heating solution for your ready-mix production needs.

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Customer Overview

Kemco System Overview

High ROI Solution

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