DE Quarry Solutions
DE Quarries digs deep to build rural Victoria
For more than 70 years DE Quarry Solutions has been supporting Western Victoria by supplying a range of processed crushed rock for road and infrastructure projects. Australia’s regional infrastructure requires large scale machinery and specialised plant to deliver quality product at competitive rates.
DE Quarry is a multi-faceted, family-owned operation that began as a road contracting company in the post-WW2 years. David Eldridge, the company’s Managing Director stated that there was great scope for continued growth. “I took over from my father Lindsay in the late 70s,” he said. “After we moved into materials handling, it was natural to expand into quarrying.” DE Quarry started with scoria and limestone extracted for country roads and then moved into harder rock types such as basalt.
Skipton Quarry produces quality materials to meet all VicRoads and site-specific requirements for crushed rock.
Throughout Victoria there are many significant capital works projects underway or being planned. Eldridge stated, “There certainly is a requirement for quality, aggregate road base for country roads which will naturally increase demand for DE Quarry’s services.”
During the course of the company’s 70 year heritage, DE Quarry has taken pride in its ability to collaborate closely with its private and public sector clients to ensure that requirements are clearly
stated and goals achieved.
The company has been involved in a number of projects that have been key to the development of Victoria. These have included the development of the Mount Hotham Airport in 1999 and the rehabilitation of Eildon Dam in 2005 where the company produced the construction materials for the works.
DE Quarry has been involved in a number of projects that have been key to the development of Victoria.
DE Quarry has also been involved in the development of a number of wind farms, beginning with the McArthur project eight years ago and today it is involved in developing the largest windfarm in the Southern Hemisphere at Stockyard Hill.
Concern for the environment has improved the way DE Quarry operates. “Regulations have been enacted which impact how we conduct our projects,” Eldridge stated. “We now plan how we will rehabilitate a site before we get permission to extract materials.” We have enhanced our environmental footprint and are in the process of converting our operations from full coal based energy to solar energy, and with the progress being made with the establishment of wind farms in Victoria, maybe that will be our future direction too.
DE Quarry through mobile crushing projects has produced rail ballast, gabion rock, 2D filter material and a range of road-based products.
In the early years, DE Quarry experienced modest growth but the company has shown a steady upward trend since starting its own quarry and expanding the mobile work for its crews. “We have experienced substantial growth,” Eldridge added, “having our own quarry allows us to fall back on working that when the mobile work is quiet.”
DE Quarry has also welcomed the challenge presented by technology to become innovative and forward thinking. The sophistication of modern day power plants and new machinery including the company’s loaders, dump trucks, excavators and crushers can now be accessed via Cloud-based systems and monitored for performance and maintenance. Much like modern aircraft, companies like Caterpillar, Komatsu and Terex Finlay can continually monitor every facet of the individual machine’s operations and provide data for better decision making. “These days, wheel loaders will tell you quite clearly what materials they are loading and to whom, fuel usage based on what activities they are performing and if the operator has the seat belt on,” said Eldridge.
“The latest models incorporate sophisticated GPS systems that can even control the depth and angle of grade.”
DE Quarry has been supporting Western Victoria by supplying a range of processed crushed rock for road and infrastructure projects for more than 70 years.
Safety for operators and other workers has also greatly improved during the intervening decades, with vehicles going from open cabs to mandatory roll-over protection and sound suppressing
cabins. Blind spot detection technology now included in machines assists the operators to reduce the incidences of collisions and near misses.
DE Quarry was a founding member of the CMPA back in 1999. The CMPA is an important body that has successfully represented to government and industry on a range of issues including rehabilitation, work safety, preferred suppliers and development of an industry reference manual.
The organisation provides a forum for people with similar interests, and back-up and support to members when issues arise.
“The CMPA provides opportunities for quarry people to come together and work through problems, but most importantly it gives us the opportunity to talk to regulators,” Eldridge said.
Finally, the State Government is starting to see that they need to assist applications for new quarries in order to secure the materials resources needed to support all the planned infrastructure works and the CMPA is an important organisation in representing the quarrying industry and lobbying on its behalf.
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