Thomas Crushing: Dominating the Scene with Unstoppable Force and Power
Thomas Crushing is a family-owned business that’s making giant leaps in the crushing industry. Kevin Thomas, owner of Thomas Crushing, started the business with his wife, Michelle, in 2009. Fifteen years later, their boys, Tyler and Andy, are running their home base of the Missouri division while Kevin leads the newly adventured Arkansas division. “It’s interesting to see the changes in the industry as a whole, but to say you’re still viable, after this many years, as a family-business, that means a lot to me.” Thomas Crushing currently uses Eagle Crusher equipment at 3 sites, including an Eagle 1400-45OC, 1200-25CV and a 6’ x 20’ Eagle Horizontal Screen Plant with Blending Gates. An Eagle 1400-45OC and another 6’ x 20’ Eagle Screen Plant lead the charge at Love Hollow Quarry and their first E-Plant is kicking off new operations in Melbourne, AR.
Kevin Thomas with his Eagle Crusher Triple Deck E-Plant
Crushing Their Goals
Thomas Crushing in Melbourne is currently feeding 12-inch minus rock through their Eagle Crusher E-Plant, creating some of the cleanest #57 concrete rock Kevin has ever made. While the Eagle Crusher 1400 at their Love Hollow, Arkansas location is producing a kiln product at two and a half by three/eighths. Meanwhile back at the Kansas City, MO home base, Andy and Tyler are heading up the production of Type 5 base and 1” clean rock for Martin Marietta with an Eagle 1400-45OC, 1200-25CV leading the charge in that operation.
Choosing the Right Plant
While Thomas Crushing typically worked with used Eagle Crusher 1400 and 1200 series plants for their concrete and aggregate crushing needs, they recently purchased an E-Plant. “It was [a choice] made for the footprint and what we’re getting out of it. We’re basically making three products right now.” Previously running the 1200 series with two decks, Kevin noted that the E-Plant’s true third deck gives the operator the ability to put more rocks across the screen. “Any time that you can make over 100 tons an hour [of] concrete rock off a single pass, you’re doing something really well and the E-Plant is performing really well.” The choice to buy new, rather than their usual approach of buying used or low hour rental plants, was due to the portable needs of the new site and unwanted longer startup time that comes with buying used plants.
Choosing Eagle Crusher Equipment
When asked why Thomas Crushing has trusted Eagle Crusher plants, Kevin said “We chose Eagle [because] they’re easy to work on. They’re easy to fix. You don’t need a high-dollar technician to tell you what is wrong with them and the parts are always readily available.” Being a small, family-owned business, it’s important to be a well-known and productive contractor in your area. Kevin noted Eagle Crusher as being part of his success in the industry: “We can move in with an Eagle plant and catch these big productions up. To be a small business and viable in the industry? I love it.”
Not only has Eagle Crusher’s plants been a factor in Thomas Crushing’s success, but Kevin has praised Eagle Crusher’s network of team members for their ability and eagerness to help. Along with Kevin’s praise for Eagle Crusher, he also relies on his local dealer, Horton Supply Company. Jerry Freitag keeps Thomas Crushing up to date on all the new Eagle Crusher innovations as well as providing insights on what he has seen work and not work on the plants. Horton’s team for equipment support from the inside staff and outside field service round out a great working partnership with Thomas Crushing. “I’ve very open about ‘hey, that won’t work’ so I appreciate the fact that we laugh together and hopefully they take it back to the engineers and they keep getting better and better and making changes. That’s nice to be able to say that we have input on what’s going on in the industry. Because we love our industry.”
Crushing the Path for the Future
When asked if there was anything else Kevin wanted to mention about Thomas Crushing, the industry, or Eagle Crusher, he said there was one thing he needed to put on record. “I am not where I am today because of Kevin Thomas. It’s taken my wife, Michelle Thomas, who’s been there supporting me hand over fist. The wheels turn at Thomas Crushing because she’s steering them. I’m just giving them the horsepower to run.”