DE Quarry Solutions

RYAN ELDRIDGE, Projects Engineer of DE Quarry Solutions reports on the sixty four years of history of the business.

LINDSAY Eldridge founder of L.D. Eldridge Cartage Contractor moved from the Colac district to Derrinallum in 1948 and saw the need for road making materials in the area. He had a 6 cubic yard tip truck with cable wind up hoist and started with the delivery of materials to Banongill Station which was then owned by the Fairbairn family. Lindsay started his quarrying livelihood by purchasing 3 acres of Mt Elephant on the fringe of Derrinallum in South West Victoria in 1950. Some years later Lindsay purchased the remainder of Mt Elephant at Auction in 1962.

With the breakup of land in Western Victoria for soldier settlement after the War, suddenly there was increased demand for pavement materials. After loading the tipper by shovel for some years, Lindsay built what was known as a “Chinaman” (a hole in a roof that the truck could back under with earth sides), which was fed with a tommy tumbler on the back of a Cat 2 ton tractor.

Lindsay applied for the finance from the then ES & A, now ANZ Bank, to purchase a Moore front end loader, but was soon knocked back. After seeing how hard Lindsay worked, the local bank manager decided to lend Lindsay the money from his own savings.

Lindsay went on to be a successful road making contractor but always had a passion for beef cattle so over a period of years purchased grazing land around Mt Elephant and cleared bush country for development of agricultural land near Edenhope.

David Eldridge, the only son of Lindsay and Heather Eldridge started with Lindsay in 1972 to assist in the road making business. By the late 70’s the local shires thought they could do things more economically, so began to purchase the equipment once predominantly owned by contractors.

The CRB, now known as Vic Roads, kept spending to a minimum in Western Victoria during this period and road making and construction work dried up. It was then that David noticed the high quality of material left in the pit after the product screening had concluded. David then decided to purchase his first Jaw Crusher to process the oversize which previously went to waste.

In 1979 David purchased his first jaw crusher and had it mobilised on a trailer. Learning a lot from the design of the first trailer mounted primary crusher, David soon realised there was a lot more to crushing rocks than met the eye.

Local Shires now had the road making equipment but saw a need to improve the construction materials extracted from their pits, thus generating demand for the mobile crushing. After the purchase of poorly designed mobile plant, David decided to design and build the plant himself. Originally drawings were marked out on the concrete floor but as time progressed the investment was made to move to the drawing board. To this day all of the design and fabrication for wheeled and fixed plant is done in-house.

Since the construction of David’s mobile jaw crusher in 1985 a number of mobile, static, and trestle mounted plants were built at the modest workshop in Derrinallum.

Now based out of Ballarat in a modern workshop, the level of plant fabrication has risen significantly. The Ballarat workshop provides a clean, spacious and safe work area to properly maintain all of the mobile equipment as well as new plant fabrication.

In 1992 David Eldridge P/L leased an existing scoria quarry East of Skipton to supplement the Mt Elephant quarry which was experiencing falling sales and environmental issues with its inability to successfully rehabilitate the site. The mid 90’s saw the closure and subsequent relinquishing of the licence to extract scoria from Mt Elephant aft er in excess of 50 years by both the Eldridge family and Corangamite Shire.

After the purchase of the Skipton Quarry in 2006, testing revealed a significant basalt flow of typically high and low quality basalt adjacent to the scoria cone. Following the purchase of neighbouring land, and the granting of a new Work Authority, the hard rock quarry had begun.

Flood damaged roads in 2010/11 meant increased sales to local government and Vic Roads from the Skipton Quarry to repair infrastructure that has been neglected for many years. Projects like the Western Hwy duplication has seen increased sales from the quarry while wind farm construction has ensured strong demand for our mobile operations.

Most recently we have finished a contract with Leighton Contractors for the onsite processing of materials at the Macarthur wind farm to be used on site in road and hard stand construction.

After the sudden passing of Lindsay in June 1985, L.D. Eldridge Cartage Contractor changed name to David Eldridge Pty Ltd.

In recent years the name of David Eldridge P/L has been replaced by the trading name DE Quarry Solutions, a more accurate description of the work performed. With our continually growing workforce of 20 employees, the addition of Jonathan Tischler as business manager and Ryan Eldridge as projects engineer has helped the business enormously in taking it to the next level.

Having been involved with the CMPA since inception, they have assisted us in expanding our network giving us greater exposure to the materials processing industry. The CMPA continues to provide us with extensive industry training, documentation and safety policies and practices, keeping us informed of current laws and processes.

David Eldridge remains an active committee member of the CMPA, and thoroughly enjoys giving back to the industry that has given him so much.

Over the past 64 years, DE Quarry Solutions has developed an outstanding reputation, successfully delivering a diverse range of mobile quarrying services to all construction industries across South East Australia.

Combined with the constantly evolving Skipton Quarry, DE Quarry Solutions continue to provide excellence in all aspects of their work. Please visit www.dequarry.com.au for more information on DE Quarry Solutions.

60 SECONDS WITH A VOTING MEMBER…

What is your name?
Brendon Carr

Who do you work for?
DE Quarry Solutions

How many years have you worked for this business?
5.5 years

How many years have you been involved in the Industry?
5.5 years

What is your role at the company?
Plant & Machinery Operator

What does your job involve?
Carry out maintenance on plant and operate machines.

What is the best part of your job?
Coming to work knowing each day is different from the next.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login