Wreys Bush Concrete near Winton has a new Gough Engineering automated plant with key modules custom designed, manufactured and installed by the experienced team at the Christchurch branch.

The project began in November 2010 with the first load of concrete poured for the foundations of the 5 Bin Automated Plant. Working in conjunction with Wreys Bush Plant Manager, Allan Smithies, Gough Engineering manufactured to specifications 120m3 aggregate storage bins and a 120 tonne cement silo, as well as a cement weigh system, dust extraction system, and boutique weigh hopper.

Allan Smithies says, “ The team at Goughs have been brilliant to work with, with Bill Cannell and Neil Seales leading the plant build and working closely with myself to ensure things all went to plan.”

“Our new plant is capable of producing 80-100m3 of concrete per hour, and we’re very pleased with the end result. It’s a vast improvement on the previous plant and it will serve us well in the future as we continue to supply one of the key ingredients of future growth in Southland.”

Fieldchief Log Forks have a reputation for quality and durability, and another Cat wheel loader sold recently in the central North Island features the rugged product.
Mark Lealand has just added a new Cat 950H wheel loader to his ground based operation in the Kaingaroa Forest. The Fieldchief log forks are custom designed by Gough Engineering and superbly compliment the 950H in its primary duties of loading the off-highway double and (to be confirmed)

 Mark Lealand is particularly impressed with the tight turning circle the Cat 950H can perform, as well as the single joystick controls in the operator station. He is also very pleased with the grab size of the Fieldchief forks.

This will be the first of this model fork to be sold in the Rotorua area, but as it’s based on our 966 design dating back to 1993, it’s a well proven design. This style of 950H Forks was first built in 2003 and includes sales in Australia.  Features include fully enclosed hydraulic rams and hoses, lined bored pivot and ram mounts, main pivot and rod eyes fitted with bearings and a screw headed ram with both ports at the base of the ram.

The tip-to-tip closed area is 1.6 m2  and we have used the 5” x 2.5” rams and pins that we specify on our 966G Forks to help with servicing.

Most cement silos are vertical structures that rely on gravity to discharge - the most common design being a cylindrical upper section with a lower cone. 

These silos are top heavy, requiring substantial support legs and foundations, which generally means that they are considered as permanent installations.

The alternative is the horizontal silo that uses a screw conveyor to discharge. The first horizontal silo built by Gough Engineering was used to provide cement storage for the Otira Viaduct project in 1997.

The potential was recognised and the first 35 tonne Gough Engineering silo was designed and built. The range has now been extended to 40, 55 and 70 tonne capacity. About this time Gough Engineering built its first Zengo batch plant, which being portable, also required a suitable silo to match. The current layout was selected because of its design flexibility.

To empty a horizontal silo a screw conveyor is fitted to the floor of the silo. With the aid of air pads and vibrators the silo can be fully discharged. To ensure safe loading using compressed air, vertical and horizontal silos are fitted with a filter, safety valve and a fill height gauge. Gough Engineering uses a heavy welded construction with an internal frame that limits movement of the structure.

Another consideration was to limit the size of flat vertical surfaces with the upper section being curved and the lower section angled, both reducing the wind load. The low profile of these silos means that they are less likely to result in resource consent issues.

With all these advantages it is not surprising that New Zealand sales for horizontal silos have grown. A recent sale in Australia is expected to be the first of many.

Horizontal silos can be supplied with a variety of discharge screw lengths, 6 metres being the most common. The screws are fitted with swivel joints allowing them to be positioned in a wide range of angles - a bonus when the silo may end up being used on a number of sites or applications. This is particularly important when the silo is required for an existing plant and the position of the silo is limited.

Modern building construction relies on concrete; hence the need to store cement. With the increase in regional projects, concrete batch plant and storage must be mobile. New concrete formulas, often calling for various bulk powder or fines additives, are frequently purchased without consideration of their respective silo storage requirements. A Gough Engineering portable silo can easily solve the storage problem.

Gough Engineering has specialised in concrete batch plants that are easily relocated - and with the plants comes the need for bulk cement storage.