Limestone Quarry Seeks Shelter for Production

Sitting on top of 75 acres of limestone in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is Lee Crawford Quarry, Inc. The quarry produces approximately 500,000 - 700,000 tonnes of limestone a year for a variety of construction companies. Storage of the limestone is important as it has to be kept in a dry area. When it came to protecting the limestone from the elements, tarps were just not working for Tracy Rudd, superintendent at Crawford Quarry, and his employees. 'We'd try to unfold 100 foot tarps. We'd bring in probably 500-1000 tires to throw on top of the tarps to keep them from blowing away,'' Rudd recalls. ''For three years we battled those tarps. They would rip very easily.'' The quarry put up a building to replace the tarps, but it was not large enough to meet their storage capacity. Luckily,Cover-All was.

'We found out about Cover-All buildings and it met our needs substantially cheaper. We were able to use it on site over the area that we needed to cover.'' Rudd saw productivity levels increase as the Cover-All®'s usability extended into the winter. ''We were able to triple, if not quadruple, our material that we were able to store at any one time, enabling us to better meet our needs in the winter for when we shut down production and do maintenance work. The old storage facility would run empty. Now we don't have to worry about production in the winter time and it's helped us immensely.''

With a clear-span interior and high ceiling, the Cover-All® building provides Crawford Quarry with additional space to store the limestone and move equipment around. Rudd no longer has to deal with the limestone being transferred to the building by one machine and then pushed into the building by another. He explains, 'This building allowed us to build our stockpiles and we can back in and actually come on top of the pile. We can get 3 to 4 times more into the building as to what we were before.''

The strength and durability of the Cover-All® cover has allowed the building to withstand unfavorable weather. 'I'm extremely happy with the way heavy snow doesn't cling to the roof, so you never worry about having to much weight on the roof. A year and a half ago, we had a tornado come through and the winds were over 100 miles per hour and it did absolutely no damage to the building at all. The material takes care of itself. I have yet to find a rip or tear in the seams.''

'With the very low maintenance, easy installation on all accounts, seam construction, and all the natural light, I just don't think there is any negativity to it. I'm very happy with the Cover-All and I would recommend it to anybody,'' says Rudd.