Single supplier streamlines pour process at Weston 4
ROTHSCHILD, Wis. (April 4, 2005) - To get a birds-eye view of the work site, you'll first walk through a multi-level maze of steel catwalks that looks like a set from a Bruce Willis movie. Then you'll emerge onto the rooftop of the Weston 3 plant from where, through a blustery spring wind, you'll see the bustling florescent vests of workers tending to the constant pours of ready-mix that will comprise the base of the Weston 4 power plant under construction on the south side of Wausau.
The project officially broke ground Nov. 8 and is on pace to begin operations in June 2008. There are five other generating plants on the 365-acre site - three base-load plants that use coal and two peaking units that use natural gas and oil. They combine to produce 583 megawatts, enough to power about 200,000 average Wisconsin homes. The Weston 4 plant being erected will use clean-coal technology to churn out 500 megawatts.
"You use less coal to produce the same megawatts," Roger Zimmermann, Weston plant manager, said of the clean-coal technology that vaporizes water at a blistering 1,100 degrees, more than five times the temperature that boils water on a stove. "You get 10 (percent) of the pollutants that you'd get otherwise. Our goal is to make this the cleanest coal plant in the U.S."
The time between groundbreaking and powering up will involve a whole lot of pouring; nearly 75,000 cubic yards of ready-mix concrete. The floor slab supporting the turbine will be more than 7 feet thick in order to dampen any vibration that might occur within the turbine, which adheres to tight tolerances as its relatively fragile blades spin during the power-generation process.
But the fact that every ounce of ready-mix will come from nearby County Materials should keep things moving smoothly, according to those overseeing the project. "The idea of all the concrete coming from one supplier is very appealing," said Bill Scarlata, civil construction engineer. "All the things that are done from a quality standpoint. When there's one mix design involved, it makes it a lot easier for the design engineers."
County Materials has been supplying more than 1,000 cubic yards of concrete a day for pours that have been as big as 2,000 cubic yards one day and 1,000 on two other occasions. To meet the high demand of the initial phase of the project, the company has been supplying, from two plants, up to 250 cubic yards per hour. And having it all come from a single supplier has made the process as seamless as possible, according to the project manager. "It's gone very well," said Guy Kaiser of Miron Construction. "You have one person and one set of mixes. You develop a familiarity with the people, and you can be comfortable always going back to the same person."
Kaiser also cited the benefit of County Materials' ready-mix exceeding the standards laid out for the project.
"They've had a person out on site every day (testing)," he said. "I know we're getting a product that goes beyond the specified designed break strength. That way any wrinkles you do have, it helps wash it away."
County Materials, founded in 1946, operates 29 locations serving Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. The family-owned, American-based company is an industry leader in the manufacture and distribution of concrete block, brick, ready-mix, hollowcore, pipe, pavers, retaining walls and aggregate-finish products for residential, commercial and municipal construction and landscaping.