With strong demand from the surrounding areas for sand and to overcome the shortage of aggregates and sand in their own projects, Sharath Jayram, Managing Director, United Infra Minerals Pvt Ltd., invested in their own crushing and screening plant with equipment from Metso. In addition to this, they decided to hand over the operations and maintenance of the plant to Metso experts due to the benefits of having a life cycle services (LCS) package in place.

A surge in demand
A heavy growth spurt in the region had resulted in a shortage of supply of raw materials, mainly aggregates and manufactured sand, which had to be fulfilled to fuel the region’s growth. Many players in the industry started looking for options from where the shortage could be fulfilled. This resulted in more quarries being allotted to industry players and a sudden rise in crusher plants being set up in the region, as crushed sand was the only feasible option to fulfill the need.

The government’s stand on the extraction of river sand was becoming more stringent due to the depleting resource and a drive to conserve the ecological balance. The government then passed the order and banned the extraction of river sand; the industry had to quickly find alternative solutions that were not only cost-effective, but also a perfect replacement for river sand. This added momentum to the installation of more crushing and screening plants in-and-around the region, and manufactured sand became even more of a local focus.

60,000 tonnes per month with a life cycle services contract
Opting to go with a Metso plant for aggregates and sand production to feed their own contracts, United Infra also did not want to deviate from the core business of construction. Finding the right solution was the key, and as soon as a life cycle services (LCS) package was offered, United Infra immediately opted for both an annual maintenance contract (AMC) and an operations and maintenance contract (OMC) for their first crushing and screening plant. The prices offered by Metso for both AMC and OMC are quite competitive in the market. “I’m sure that if we do it on our own, we may be able to save one or two rupees or we may end up spending more than one or two rupees. By handing over the plant to Metso, we are more relaxed, and we can concentrate more on sales and marketing without worrying about the machinery at all or worrying about the production. We just give them targets and they are able to deliver with sturdy machinery and an expert team on site”, says Sharath Jayram.

Expertise and quality equipment for sustained growth
With the high demand for aggregates and sand, United Infra had started looking for options to set up their own crushing and screening plant that could feed their own requirements and allow them to sell the extra material produced at good margins to other players. After conducting their own research on various alternative suppliers, United Infra opted for Metso’s four-stage crushing and screening plants with a Nordberg C106 jaw crusher, Nordberg GP300 cone crusher, Barmac B7150SE VSI, AC30GI air classifier, and multiple screens to produce aggregates and sand.

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