Ray Brown began his career in quarrying in the 1970s, and with that level of experience, he knows his way around plant equipment better than most.

Brown is the company principal at Coastal Concrete & Quarry, which he established in 1972. While some managers like to remain behind a desk, Brown takes a hands-on approach to keep his finger on the pulse of the operations at the company’s ready-mixed concrete plant at Mogo and a sand quarry at Broulee in the Eurobodalla Shire on the south coast of NSW.

It is his way of ensuring his small team provides its customers with the best concrete and sand at the best price and service. At the heart of it all is the Terex Washing Systems  sand-washing plant, which powers the company’s production levels.

Two years ago, Coastal Concrete & Quarry wanted to upgrade its old-style plant to deliver consistent production and quality. When it comes to sand, Coastal specialises in manufacturing coarse sand and dredging fine sand, which supplies several concrete plants and Boral’s required sand for the Snowy Hydro 2.0 Project.

This new sand-washing plant would be critical to the business's ability to provide customers with the quality they had come to expect from Coastal Concrete & Quarry.

“We had a look at many plants. Terex Washing Systems plant seemed to be the most honest. It was one which we could understand how it worked … [and] they were better per dollar for what we got,” Brown said.

“When we priced these sand plants, Terex Washing Systems was in the middle but it was good value for your dollar.

“We’ve been very happy with the plant. The performance and the back-up from Terex Jaques has been second-to-none,  – can we remove this line.

Since its establishment, the company has supplied concrete and other construction materials from footpaths to major construction projects.

There is a saying sometimes heard in the industry that the first piece of equipment sells itself. The equipment sold afterwards relies on good customer service and firm performance.

During his time in the industry, Brown has seen how slow turnarounds for parts have impacted production. As a smaller operation, the company can ill-afford extended periods of downtime.

Brown told Quarry that Terex Jaques & Terex Washing Systems had stood out with its approach to customer service for his business.

The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) maintains parts in Sydney, which is beneficial for Brown’s NSW-based business. The OEM also has a team of specialists to help fix any issues. Mat Joy, the parts manager for Terex Jaques  NSW branch, and Stephen McKee, a product support engineer for Terex Washing Systems, have been integral to supporting Coastal Quarry & Concrete.

“Since getting it, I’ve been very happy with the back-up support; they’re very good at that. You can ring Terex Jaques, and they’ve got people on hand [to help you],” Brown said.

“Reliability and availability are very important in our business. It doesn’t matter what you buy; you’ll have breakdowns or errors, and that’s one of the things I find Terex Jaques is very good at fixing; they solve things quickly, and they have the parts if you require them.”

Since it has been operational, Brown estimates that the Terex Washing Systems  wash plant has consistently delivered 154tph daily. Given that the company has significant clients, including Boral, five private operations, and around 14 concrete plants, relying on its materials for projects, that level of reliability is critical.

“This plant will produce that amount hour after hour,” Brown said.

“Those guys just want the material; they don’t really care how they get it or what hoops you have to jump through to get it; they just need it [for their projects]. In that way, the Terex Washing Systems plant has been really good.”

Terex Washing Systems  & Terex Jaques helped set up the plant for Coastal Quarry & Concrete when they purchased it in 2022 and has provided consistent support to maintain it in the intervening years.

While Coastal’s previous plant was purchased in 2008, the upgrade to the modern Terex Washing Systems  plants, with all their innovations, has proven worthwhile.

All quarry material will be hard on plant equipment in some way; it just depends on the application and usage rates. That is why companies often need to spend time on preventative maintenance to reduce the likelihood of an unexpected shutdown.

Coastal Quarry & Concrete runs the plant with three operators as well as a large dredge set-up and, according to Brown, it is easy to handle.

More importantly, it has been easy for Brown and his team to keep the Terex Washing Systems plant running.

“They did a very good job at [setting it up]; it has been extremely good to maintain; the maintenance is easy,” Brown said.

“It is the sort of plant that you can see and work on; you don’t have to be a university graduate just to read about it; it has been really good. 

“They’re pretty easy plants to look at and understand and do maintenance and repairs on.”

“All in all, we’re very happy with it; it performs really well.”

More than two years after their encounter with Terex Jaques & Terex Washing Systems team, Brown and the Coastal Quarry & Concrete team are emphatic about their experience with them.

“I’d recommend them to anybody, to use the Australian term, they’re fair dinkum,” Brown said.

“They’re on the ground in Australia, and Terex Washing Systems offer solutions to fit all operations from ‘Full Feeder to Filterpress’ solutions and single wash plants, we will tailor our solutions to the customer’s bespoke needs.