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CONCRETE PIPES AND MANHOLESNew dry-cast system at Langley Concrete Group
FEBRUARY
2010 1Concrete Plant Internationalwww.cpi-worldwide.com
SPECIAL PRINTCPI 10/01
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CONCRETE PIPES AND MANHOLES
Bruce Johnson and Stephen Nelson of HawkeyePedershaab
Langley’s owners, the Omelaniec family, hada vision of a company that would not justmeet, but exceed the growing demands forconcrete pipe and products in BritishColumbia, Canada’s most westerly province.This year Langley moved even furtherahead by adding a new dry-cast system toincrease the production efficiency of theirlarge diameter pipes. This system, aHawkeyePedershaab Multicast SC 360,also excels at the production of lined pipewhich Langley predicted would be a neces-sity in their market.Of course, growth and expansion is a reoc-curring part of the history of the LangleyConcrete Group, reaching back to 1945when company founder Jacob Omelaniec(the current owners Grandfather) beganproducing well liners in the city of Alder -grove, BC. The company almost immediatelystarted growing and by 1947 had to ex -pand into a new facility in Langley Prairie.The company continued to develop andexpand over the next 45 years, being runby Jacob’s sons Sam and Mike Omelaniec.From the mid-nineteen eighties to the midnineties, the plant in Langley expanded fourtimes. In 1989 Langley Concrete purchased Pre-Con Products in Abbotsford and LombardPre-Cast on Vancouver Island. In 1992 Mikepurchased Sam’s shares to allow him to re tire. Mike ran the company with his sons andover the next ten years the business grewexponentially, with the Langley locationexpanding four times in ten years. Planswere started in late 1999 to move to a newlocation and to build a plant combiningtheir two older facilities with one that couldsupply the future demand of the BritishColumbian Mainland with a full range ofpre-cast product for underground civil con-struction. In 2003, before the new operation couldbe realized Mike unfortunately passedaway, leaving control of Langley Concreteto his four sons Michael, Mark, Kevin, andJason.
New dry-cast system at Langley Concrete Group HawkeyePedershaab, Mediapolis, Iowa, 52637
When it comes to meeting market needs, the Langley Concrete Group is not a company that waits for the market place to tell them what isneeded; instead they forecast market trends so they are ready when those needs arise. This attitude is evident in Langley’s flagship pro-duction facility in the city of Chilliwack, British Columbia. Because of a strong focus on efficient production, and top product quality, theyhave production methods versatility of all concrete products, The Langley Concrete Group is not only thinking ahead of the curve, but theyare also driving right into the lead of Canadian and North American producers.
The new dry-cast system is a HawkeyePedershaab Multicast SC 360
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CONCRETE PIPES AND MANHOLES
Along with the new system Langley also acquired new forms and appurtenances that werespecifically designed to make the production of lined concrete pipes less time and labor consuming
With Mark taking the role of companyPresident and Kevin Vice President of manu-facturing the family remained dedicated tocontinue on with the planned expansion,finalized the design and the financing tobuild the new plant. The Chilliwack plant is housed in a concretetilt up building that is over 100,000 squarefeet plus an extensive mezzanine area. Theplant is fed with twin two cubic meter con-crete mixers and overhead travelling buckets.The plant is on the banks of British Co lum -bia’s mighty Fraser River. The operation isthe culmination of years of industrious workand effort by three generations of theOmelaniec family. When the Chilliwackplant was being de sig ned and engineered,management and workers teamed togetherto create a plant that would work with boththe short and long term goals and productionneeds of the company. This was accom -pli shed by keeping the plant’s systems andinfrastructure ready for future innovation,expansion and equipment.The addition of the new Hawkeye Peder -shaab Multicast Station allows for a broaderrange of production while enabling greaterlabor efficiency. Combining the MulticastCentral core vibration system with the plant’sexisting Pedershaab 5000 plc controlledfeeder system enhanced production valueswhile saving capital investment. Machineoperators are free to work on pallet andcage preparation and other work as theintegrated system works harmoniouslythrough the filling, compaction, and jointforming processes automatically.The new vibration station has already beenserving an important and unique purposefor Langley in the production of T-lock linedpipe for a large sanitary sewer project.Along with the new system Langley alsoacquired new forms and appurtenancesthat were specifically designed to make theproduction of lined concrete pipes less timeand labor consuming.
The new Multicast vibration station joins thealready large compliment of dry-castmachinery that was installed during thestartup of the Chilliwack plant in 2006.
The impressive equipment line-up is highligh -ted by a Mastermatic RC160 with Full auto-mation which produces concrete pipes from12” – 48”diameter in lengths of up to 2.5m.This system can produce up to three pipesper machine cycle with a combined internaldiameter of 48” or less.
The pipe machine works in synchronicitywith a full product and ring handling systemthat removes the pipe and pallet from theMastermatic and transports the product to
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CONCRETE PIPES AND MANHOLES
a smooth operation, gear driven movingfloor. The moving floor continues into a pre-curing chamber, to a set-ring ring removalstation at which the fiberglass set-rings, whichare placed to ensure the highest quality spi-got, are removed robotically and returnedto the operator’s station via automatedchain belt. From this point the moving floor continuesinto the main curing chamber where theproduct are gradually cured using steam ina controlled environment to accomplish theproducts desired next day strength.Upon exit of the curing chamber the pipe isremoved from the moving floor by a roboticmanipulator, the pallet is robotically re -mov ed and sent to an automated cleaningstation. The pipe is placed on a finishingconveyor where it is tested, inspected, andadditional finishing, such as deburring,automatic spigot measurement and productmarking is performed as the pipe is trans-ported out of the building and to Langley’sstorage area.Other machines in operation at the Chilli -wack plant include a completely rebuilt,PLC controlled Pedershaab MaximaticManhole system with auto-manipulator forremoval of the product from the machine,as well as pallet automation. A System 2500 Special is used for the pro-duction of hog and cattle slats as well asgrade rings, flat tops, panels and other spe-cialty items as required. A PedershaabModule Simplex is in place for additionalpipe production, as well as a PedershaabFleximatic small diameter Pipe Machinethat is capable of making concrete pipefrom 6”-24” up to three per cycle, 4’ tall pipe.
Reinforcement for Langley’s pipe and pre-cast machinery comes from their automatedcage making machinery, which utilizes arear longitudinal feed system, where eachlongitudal is straightened and cut beforethey are manually placed in the machine.As is evident from the previous descriptions,Langley Concrete group is moving forward,creating one of Western Canada’s largestand most automated pipe and precast operations and one of North America’sfinest precast companies.
The road ahead looks promising forLangley Concrete. Next year Vancouverand British Columbia will host the 2010Winter Olympics and in preparation infra-structure spending is strong.
Langley Concrete is also progressing inadditional ways as Mark Omelaniec pre-pares to take on the role of Chairman of theAmerican Concrete Pipe Association in2010. The ACPA is an organization thatworks to insure that concrete pipe is recog-nized for its strengths and merits, providingeducation and engineering help to produc -ers and specifiers alike. Mark is currentlythe Vice Chairman of the Association be -hind current Chairman John Finch of Cemex,and the Canadian Regional representativeon the board.
The future seems bright for Langley Con -crete, but that is surely because they haveworked diligently to create their own futurerather than waiting to see what the futureholds for them.
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Langley Concrete Group7580 Cannor RoadChilliwack, BC, CanadaT 1 800 [email protected]
The Hawkeye Group506 S. Wapello St.Mediapolis, Iowa, 52637United States of AmericaT +1 319 3943197 F +1 319 [email protected]
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