(Above left to right) Neil Kerney, Project Superintendent, John Scheck, Vice-President; Randy Mayes Chief Estimator, Standard Industries.

30-year-old landmark just off the Foothill Freeway (I-210) on the border of Irwindale and Azusa will soon become a part of history as the Reliance rock-crushing plant's 205-foot structure is demolished by crews from Standard Industries. The tower stood for years as a sentinel at the 262-acre quarry and was dubbed "the northern star of the Foothill Freeway."

Under a contract with Vulcan Materials (CalMat Division), owner of the facility, Standard Industries spokesperson Randy Mayes said, "What we have is some serious scrap metal recycling going on." Standard began demolishing the 205-foot, 11-tier rock crusher that was first put into use in the early 1970s on May 19 after a new state-of-the-art complex was operational.

Standard Industries has 120 days to complete the demolition project. "The contract is valued at just under $1 million," Mayes revealed. "We've assigned a crew of about 15 people to bring down the structure and they're working 10-hour shifts, five days a week under the supervision of Neal Kerney. We're using two cranes rented from Maxim Cranes to disassemble the steel superstructure, three John Deere excavators and two LaBounty shears. We're also utilizing various loaders, rippers, and concrete crushers on the job," Mayes said.

(Above left) View of 205' rock crushing plant at Vulcan Materials. (Above right) One of the Maxim Cranes making a pick.

Mayes explained that the steel is being trucked to the Port of Long Beach for recycling export to countries like India and China. "We're working our way down to the concrete portion of the structure which begins at 75 feet above grade and extends to about 10 feet below grade. We'll be excavating that. One unique feature of the job," Mayes continued, "is the possibility that we'll do some blasting on this portion of the structure. It's one of the few places left in California where blasting is allowed and if our calculations prove correct we may do some limited blasting. You just don't see much blasting in California anymore"

Vulcan Manager Richard Robert reports that some of the recycled materials are being utilized in the new 60-foot high replacement plant that is actually 200 feet below street level. Plans call for a portion of the rock quarry to eventually become a shopping complex to increase tax revenue for Irwindale. Currently, Vulcan Materials is the largest sales tax revenue generators for the community.

(Above) View from top of conveyor system before demolition.

"A lot of people used to think the rock plant was an oil refinery because it was such a tall structure," Robert added. "We're able to save a lot of the items from the demolition and are pulling components of the plant that we don't want thrown away or hauled off site. The massive conveyors, for example, are very expensive and still worth a lot. In fact, we're getting ready to put them in a couple of new Vulcan projects and other materials are being recycled as various Vulcan quarries get upgrades."

"Ninety-nine percent of all materials in the structure will be recycled," Mayes explained. "All the steel and concrete will be put back into use one way or another." The Standard Industries and Vulcan spokespersons both estimate that 2,700 tons of steel and 13,000 yards of concrete will be recycled during the demolition process.

(Above) John deere 790 D-LC with grapple moving scrap tin and sheet at the Standard Industries Saticoy, CA Facility.

Vulcan's Robert indicated, "In its era, it was a flagship plant and one of the most modern facilities in the 70s and 80s. But technology has changed and specifications on materials have changed. That meant the process required to make the materials had to change also and the low gravity drop plant made it a lot harder to meet super pave requirements. Plus the processing machinery is a lot better now."

"The facility has employed anywhere from 30 to 50 people a year for the past 30 years," Robert added. "A lot of people made their living and retired from the Reliance plant." He estimated that in its lifetime, the mill probably processed in excess of 75 million tons of material. Some two miles of conveyor belts moved sand and gravel around the complex with as many as 500 trucks a day passing through the facility.

(Above left) Michelle Scheck, President, Standard Industries. (Above right) Martin Berkowitz, safety, Health & Environment Manager, Standard Industries.

John Scheck, owner of Standard Industries, reports his firm was involved in the demolition of the space launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base valued in excess of $700,000. Scheck's crews participated in the demolition of the Atlas V Launch Tower known as Space launch Complex 3 West (SLC-3 West). The Atlas Tower played host to over 80 launches in its 40-year history.

The United States Air Force Space Command's 30th Space Wing currently operates Vandenberg, located outside Lompoc. Vandenberg is the only military base in the United States from which unmanned government and commercial satellites are launched into polar orbit. It is also the only site from which intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM's) are test fired into the Pacific Ocean.

Mayes added, "Just over a year ago, Standard Industries completed an $800,000 demolition project at the abandoned site of Chevron's Rio Bravo facility. We look at our work as sort of deconstruction or construction in reverse. Our experienced operators conduct a systametic dismantling and removal of valuable material from buildings.

(Above left) Joe Scheck, Facility Manager, Standard Industries. (Above right) Excavator loading scrap into high-side end dump at Vulcan Materials in Irwindale, California.

"Standard has been in the scrap metal recycling business for about 30 years and we have about 40 employees," Mayes stated. "We're the largest metal recycler in the tri-county area and we can put value on steel and copper where other demolition firms would have to sell it to us in all likelihood." Mayes, whose background was in the oil industry, joined Standard Industries eight years ago.

Vulcan Materials Company was founded as Birmingham Slag Company in 1909. The Vulcan name was adopted in 1956. The firm's CalMat Division is based in Los Angeles. Visit www.vulcanmaterials.com for additional data.

Standard Industries, based in Ventura, is a non-union firm established in 1988 and handles public and private projects ranging from $100,000 to in excess of $500,000. The demolition and excavating contractor also operates a recycling center for ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap at 215 Rocklite Road. Standard's service area is generally from San Luis Obispo to San Diego but the Ventura contractor has done government projects in Arizona and Utah. For additional information call (805) 643-6669.