Slippery Rock Gazette

Peter J. Marcucci

Photos Courtesy Rockcrete USA

It wasn’t long ago that  a shop looking to increase production or go wet was on its own when it came to increasing their clean water supply, handling the additional wet machine water run-off, and dealing with the residual slurry. Pricey recycling machines were available, but placement and how to get the water to them were the tough questions.

Once these questions were answered, though, it was time to get out the concrete saw and sledge hammer and start cutting your shop floor for trenches. But wait! Did you remember to figure out how wide and deep and how much slope from point A to point B is needed so the slurry makes it to the recycle machine? That’s a big question, and not every shop owner is an engineer. It is these and other factors that additionally need to be addressed prior to cutting up your floor. Trust those who have been through the process; a little forethought in the placement, type, size and elevation of your trenches will pay huge dividends towards a successful, long-term recycling system. 

Rockcrete USA knows exactly what needs to be done to build a water management and trench drain infrastructure for OSHA compliance, and to keep your workforce safe. Above, Right: Rockcrete USA's patented Mega-Max®  trench easily installs to upgrade any fab shop.

If you’re not quite sure how to trench your shop, or mount your new saw or robot, why not put it in the hands of a pro.? The experienced team at Rockcrete USA offers a wide range of turnkey solutions for foundations and floors, supporting walls and bases, and trenches and pits for water collection, explained Operations Manager Hank Liebenberg. 

“We’ve been doing trenches for fabrication shops and quarries for fifteen years. Our products are well thought out, and well designed, and everything we do is backed-up with a 20-year warranty on all structures. As for the client who is sure of what equipment is needed for production, but not sure of trench placement, once they give us a drawing of where their equipment is positioned, we will design various layouts of trenches. Normally, it will be a phase-one, a phase-two or a phase-three depending on what their time frame or budget allows. We also optimize our clients’ trench layouts for future expansions and add-ons. 

“After installing thousands and thousands of feet, I can honestly say that the best system out there is our Mega Max^® Insta-Pour. We have not had any callbacks in fifteen years, and we are very proud of that.”

Mega Max^® Insta-Pour^® is a pre-engineered, cast-in-place concrete forming system for forming surface drainage trenches, catch basins, utility chases and voids in concrete placements. The system includes expanded polystyrene (EPS) form profiles, steel inlay rails, patented no-float legs, grates and grate retainers. Mega Max^® Insta-Pour^® is available in various widths, depths, slopes and trench bottom configurations. Its smooth, radiused bottoms make a tremendous difference when it comes to sediment build-up. It can also be quickly installed, so that there’s a lot less lost shop production time.

Above and Right: In progress and completed trench and pit drain system, ready to bring the complete shop back online.

Above, Left: Mega-Max  trench  and bridge saw walls for a large  stone fab shop. Liebenberg: “When the recession hit us, the idea was to come up with more effective ways to get the same quality, because money wasn’t plentiful in those days. This is when we came up with the Mega Max® Insta-Pour.” this innovation plays a big role in completing installations quickly. Above, Right: Mega-Max trench drain system for a quarry wire block saw makes for a safer sawing operation.

Above: Product page from the Rockcrete USA website displays a wide selection of options, gives customers the option to shop for a system online.

Life in the Trenches

A family-owned company, Rockcrete USA’s radius of service is nationwide as well as extending to Canada. All work is performed using staff employees, not subcontractors, so the client is assured of consistent quality performed in an expeditious manner, said Liebenberg. “We always try to optimize our installation projects by working nights and weekends. Our crews are very experienced with all and any situations during installations. Nobody knows what’s underground, such as bedrock or a high water table and things like that, but we can handle any situation. If there is a problem, we usually know how to fix it. And if this type of problem is addressed in our contract, yes, we may take a day longer to complete, and we are going to take care of it for a specified cost. We’ve dealt with so many shops in so many different locations that problems are expected, and we know exactly how to handle them. 

“Additionally, sometimes clients have last minute changes that can be addressed expeditiously, as well. 

“For example, we had one installation That consisted of 650 feet of finished trenches, and we were in and out in five days with minimal disruptions to the client. Our mantra is, ‘If we pour your trench today, you can use the trenches tomorrow’. The concrete we use allows us to do this.”  

Rockcrete USA’s products and services are a la carte, meaning that you can order the materials and do the labor yourself. However, this may not always be the best choice, said Liebenberg. “I see that a lot of our clients in the stone industry are buying our products from our online store. We do have a wide variety of products available, and we can suggest exactly what to buy, so that clients can simply do an online purchase and install their trenches themselves. Installation is easy if a shop has a person with the correct background and know-how. That is, of course, unless he runs across a problem such as a lot of small rocks, or large stones, or a high water table. Many times people don’t know how to deal with these problems. We have the experience, and in these situations we can fly a guy there, and installation will go so much faster just because there is now an experienced crew leader onsite who has done many installations. Then the client can get it done correctly, and get on with fabrication. 

“If the client does decide that he’d rather have his system installed, we can mobilize quickly. There is no learning curve for us. Once we get to the client’s location, there’s only five things we need to know to get started: what’s the access to the building like, who’s going to lock up the building at the end of the day, where’s the water, where’s the electricity, and where’s the rest
room! After that, we really don’t need to bother anyone except the production manager, and he’s just needed to coordinate where we need to be and at what time, so he doesn’t’ need to shut the entire shop down. We get in, we get it done, and we get out.”

Heavy-duty hot dip galvanized grates are used for pit covers and the Mega-Max trench drain system.

Trust In the Pros

 “Think about it! If someone spends a lot of money on equipment and a shop and all of that, the last thing they want to do is install bad drainage that’s going to need cleaning often, and derail production. Yes, every trench needs cleaning, but if it’s done correctly, your manual cleaning is minimized dramatically. Our products work, and we know how to use them, and when it comes to trenches, this makes a big difference. 

“There is no learning curve for us. We don’t do machine layouts, and our trench layouts are quoted over the phone, so it doesn’t take a lot of time for the client to meet with us to explain a lot of details. 

“We don’t make things more complicated than they really are, and we can get a lot done in a short amount of time and without a lot of disruptions. We are affective, have a lot of experience, and 95 percent of the work we do is for the stone industry.”  

In closing the interview, Liebenberg mentioned there were some new cost and innovative time-saving ideas in the pipeline. He promised to keep the Slippery Rock Gazette and the stone industry informed when Rockcrete USA is ready to reveal their new developments.

For more information about current products, services and a huge number of happy customers, visit www.rockcreteusa.com. You can also call Hank Liebenberg at 877-999-1175, or email him at sales@rockcreteusa.com.