‘We are driven by our relentless pursuit of innovation and quality.’

The specialists with a passion for soil stabilisation – with Wirtgen equipment

Mt. Carmel | Illinois, USA

Wirtgen’s WR series cold recyclers and soil stabilisers are an imposing sight. They are equally impressive in action, and it’s easy to see why they are one of the decisive factors in the success of Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group Inc. – specialist contractors for soil stabilisation with lime and cement from Illinois (USA).

‘As the guy responsible for our equipment, what interests me most about a construction machine is, of course, its availability for the job it’s supposed to do. From my experience, there’s nothing that gets even anywhere near to Wirtgen equipment. In the past, before we upgraded to WRs, we often took a pair of the machines we had along to the project site, because we never knew whether one alone would make it through a whole day. Today, there’s no need for that anymore’, says Kelly Crowder, Vice President of Equipment & Facilities in our double-interview with him and Company President Neil Ryan.

INTERVIEW

The core business of the Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group is soil stabilisation. How come?

Neil Ryan: We started out over a century ago, with a sand and gravel works along the Wabash River, not far from our home town of Mt. Carmel, Illinois. Thirty years later, we began doing full depth reclamation on county roads. After another thirty years, we began expanding into lime and cement stabilization. And that’s where we have stayed until today – doing what we do best. Nevertheless, our goal is to be even better in everything we do – and this is driven by our constant commitment to innovation and quality.

The build-quality of the WR machines is considerably better and more robust than that of all the other machines we have ever used. And I’m talking about a whole range of brands we’ve worked with in the past – and none of them got even close to the quality of our Wirtgen equipment.

Neil Ryan, President
Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group Inc.

What arguments convince your customers of the benefits of soil stabilisation?

Kelly Crowder: The method makes the replacement of soils with poor load bearing capacities more or less superfluous. Moving earth with excavators, loading it onto trucks, taking it away for disposal, and then trucking load bearing soil to the site and spreading it is a much more costly alternative.

On most of our construction sites, we actually manage to make transportation distances even shorter. We stockpile materials like lime and cement at ten of our own decentralised depots strategically located across the Midwest of the United States.

Soil stabilisation at an industrial site with two WR 240i machines: Mt. Carmel Stabilization relies completely on Wirtgen equipment.

What are the most typical contracts for you and our team?

Neil Ryan: The majority involve soil stabilisation for roads and highways of all kinds and the preparation of sites for industrial developments.


How do you get these contracts?

Neil Ryan: In most cases, we engage in dialogue with our customers as early as in the bidding phase and offer them our support. This is because precise project planning based on laboratory analysis is a very important factor in soil stabilisation measures. Our consulting services identify areas where costs can be reduced without compromising on quality – like in the choice of suitable construction materials in the ideal proportions and right quantities for the job.

For higher stability: large-scale treatment of non-load-bearing soil with lime and cement

Soil stabilisation is the method of choice when it comes to ensuring the load-bearing capacity and quality of soil in preparation for road construction and civil engineering projects. The precisely measured addition of stabilising agents with Wirtgen WR series cold recyclers and soil stabilisers can, for instance, reduce the moisture content of water-saturated soil, which is often vital for further roadworks.

Perfect stabilisation: the powerful DURA FORCE milling and mixing rotor of the WR blends the pre-spread stabilising agent with the soil to create a homogeneous mix.

What role do Wirtgen WR machines play for your company?

Kelly Crowder: You have to know that our projects are extremely varied. Some involve only a couple of metres and can be done in a day, while others can take months and need thousands of tons of lime and cement. All these contracts have had one thing in common over the past 14 years – Wirtgen soil stabilisers.

Neil Ryan: Wirtgen machines are unrivalled when it comes to versatility and durability. One day, a team can be out on a soil stabilisation project and, a day later, they can be granulating the asphalt of a road that needs repairing somewhere else – all with the same machine. And the productivity of the WR is high on both jobs.

Mt. Carmel Stabilization works primarily with high-powered (455 kW/ 619 PS) Wirtgen WR 240i machines. This Wirtgen cold recycler and soil stabiliser has a working width of 2.4 m and can mill to depths of up to 510 mm.

What do you, and especially the people who work with them, appreciate most about the cold recyclers and soil stabilisers?

Neil Ryan: The first thing you notice about the WR machines is their high quality – their proverbial ‘German engineering’. There numerous functions and features that make handling much easier and reduce the users’ workload. Above all, however, Wirtgen was the first manufacturer in the construction industry to share our dedication to delivering only the highest quality. The build-quality of the WR machines is considerably better and more robust than that of all the other machines we have ever used. And I’m talking about a whole range of brands we’ve worked with in the past – and none of them got even close to the quality of our Wirtgen equipment.

Kelly Crowder: As the guy responsible for our equipment, what interests me most about a construction machine is, of course, its availability for the job it’s supposed to do. From my experience, there’s nothing that gets even anywhere near to Wirtgen equipment. Our WR 240i machines are rugged and reliable and do a fine job on every project. In the past, before we upgraded to WRs, we often took a pair of the machines we had along to the project site, because we never knew whether one alone would make it through a whole day.

Today, we’re happy to have left that behind us. We have absolute trust in Wirtgen, even under the toughest conditions. We just love to get out and play in the dirt with our WRs!

Our WR 240i machines are rugged and reliable and do a fine job on every project, even under the toughest conditions. We just love to get out and play in the dirt with our WRs!

Kelly Crowder, Vice President of Equipment & Facilities at
Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group Inc.

Impressive all-terrain performance: the WR 240i can even work reliably on wet and soft ground without getting stuck in the mud.

About Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group Inc.

Founded in Illinois (USA) in 1918, Mt. Carmel Stabilization Group Inc. is a specialist contractor for the treatment and stabilisation of large areas of non-load-bearing soils.

With almost 300 employees and an extensive fleet of about 30 Wirtgen WR series cold recyclers, soil stabilisers, and Streumaster binding agent spreaders, the company is one of the market leaders in the Midwest of the United States.

Mt. Carmel Stabilization is also active outside its home region, and has already worked on projects in around 40 US states and Canada.

You can find details and more information on our product pages.