Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/114208
INNOVATIONS REPORT HENSEL READY MIX GROWS THROUGH EMBRACING DISPATCH TECHNOLOGY Headquartered in Kenton, Ohio, Hensel Ready Mix was facing a competitively tough, but growing market in north-central Ohio. With six plants spread across a large area, it was looking for a way to tie everything together. "Most of our plants were ticketing their own trucks and our information was very isolated," says General Manager Ben Hensel. "We deployed a GPS solution figuring it would help operators get visibility of our fleet between the plants, but without a central system tying our customers, sales information and order taking, we were still six plants each working separately." To assist in their efforts, Hensel chose Jonel Engineering's Access Unlimited dispatch and Archer batching systems. "We considered a number of different systems in the market," he notes. "Jonel seemed to have a good balance of simplicity and sophistication for our business. The most important ingredient is they had the personnel with the most knowledge about our operation." Part of that knowledge, he adds, stems from like backgrounds: Hensel and Jonel are both third generation family companies, each starting in 1963. With the installation of Archer, plant batching efficiencies have improved over 20 percent. "Jogging had always been an issue for us," says Rodney Hensel, president. "We were hard pressed to get 140 yards an hour out of our plants. After deploying Archer we are easily getting 180– 200 yards per hour." Remote batching had also been a goal for Hensel Ready Mix. "I talked to other producers and heard of people attempting to remote batch, with varied results," says Ben Hensel. "That was one of the main cri- teria that we were looking for in our batching system." Operators at Kenton headquarters can view batches and assist loading trucks at any of the six locations. "It's important as a manager and owner to have a handle on what's going on in the business, even from 90 miles away. Jonel gives us a platform to manage our business more efficiently now and to grow in the future," Ben Hensel affirms. — Jonel Engineering, 800/432-4567; www.jonel.com The dispatch office at Kenton headquarters enables Hensel Ready Mix to effect best scheduling and delivery practices across six north-central Ohio plants. The concrete business Clarence and Melba Jean Hensel (center) founded in 1963 continues under second and third generation management: President Rodney Hensel (left) and General Manager Ben Hensel. 42 | MARCH 2013 WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM