Grinder Leads to New Service
Dave Eales regularly hired a subcontractor for his grinding work in the busy market of Vancouver, BC.
“It’s tough to get contractors up here right now,” Eales says. “When my subcontractor couldn’t meet my grinding needs, I made the decision to purchase my own grinder.”
When that same subcontractor was contacted about a new grinding project in the area, he passed that call along to Eales. That phone call has led to a new service for Eales’ company, Frazer Excavation. It also led to a unique set of challenges on one of the company’s largest jobs to date—clearing land for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games being held in Vancouver.
Meeting Demands
While grinding is a new service offered by Frazer Excavation, taking on new tasks is how the company has grown through the years. Founded by Eales and partner Mark Monkman in 1995, Frazer Excavation started as a “dirt company,” Eales says. As customers needed new types of jobs completed, the company offered additional services to the point where today they can take a piece of raw land and deliver a finished product for a developer.
 |
| As grinding becomes more popular, business is expected to grow. |
“We’ve reached the point where we can be a one-stop shop for our customers,” Eales says. “We’ve basically grown to meet their demands.”
Now 40 employees strong, the Maple Ridge, BC–based Frazer Excavation services the Vancouver area, typically on job sites within a two-hour radius of the city. However, Eales says he has no problem traveling 600–800 miles across the province for jobs. He is also considering tackling jobs in the province’s
interior areas.
When the need for grinding arose on a project and there was a lack of available subcontractors to hire, the company rented and later bought a Vermeer HG6000TX horizontal grinder. With grinding becoming more common—a trend led by burn bans and a push to recycle greenwaste—Eales says entering the market was a good step.
“Nobody wants to put greenwaste into landfills anymore,” he says. “That’s a big part of the reason I jumped into this. It’s a big capital expenditure at first, but in a year or two I think I’ll have enough work to be able to purchase another grinder.”
A New Challenge
Located approximately 70 miles north of Vancouver along the Sea to Sky Highway, the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort is one of those two-hour radius jobs Eales says make up 90% of his business. It is also where Eales put his Vermeer HG6000TX grinder to the test.
Frazer Excavation was subcontracted to clear the land for the Whistler Nordic Competition Venue, which includes areas for the upcoming Olympic Games events such as the biathlon, cross-country skiing and ski jump. Using the horizontal track grinder, Eales’ crew employed a 4-inch screen to handle the initial grind of the product.
For what seems like a simple task, Eales says the job posed plenty of challenges. The first was learning the equipment while trying to complete the job. As Frazer Excavation was relatively new to the grinding business, this project was one of the bigger jobs the company had taken.
“It was definitely a good project to get us going in the grinding industry,” Eales says. “We’re very happy with the piece of equipment we have.”
Being situated in a remote mountain area also added challenges.
“For a big area like we have up here, it’s amazing how many places you can jam yourself into,” Eales says. “A lot of areas are quite tight, and the track machine is very useful for that.”
Eales says the mobility of the HG6000TX is one of the main reasons he bought it. Not only has it allowed Eales’s crew to maneuver on the mountain slopes, but it also has been useful for the company’s second Whistler-related job—grinding the trees along the Sea to Sky Highway, which leads to the ski resort.
“There are some parts of the road that are fairly treacherous,” Eales says. “There are some spots you wouldn’t want to even to take your pickup truck, but we were taking this grinder.”
An area burning ban posed another challenge to the project. In place largely due to the dry weather in the area, grinding became necessary for disposal of the trees. Certain ban requirements also affected how Frazer Excavation was able to approach the job.
 |
| A compost blanket is applied to help control erosion on the slopes. |
Working from mid-July to mid-August, Eales and crew were in the mountainous area during one of the driest times. They were required to stop working by 1 p.m. each day, staying for an extra half-hour to watch for flare-ups. To accommodate this early stop time, the crew would start work at approximately 2 a.m. each day, using grinder, excavator and trailer-mounted lights to light the work area. This process also applied to the work on the highway.
“It was kind of a unique situation,” Eales says. “But the burning ban was the only restriction to the work.”
The Grinding Doesn’t Stop There
The grinding work at Whistler Blackcomb didn’t end with Frazer Excavation’s work. Denbow Transport of Chilliwack, BC, was the main contractor on the grinding project. Instead of hauling the product off the mountain, the Denbow Transport crew chose to take the product ground by Frazer Excavation and produce a compost blanket known as EcoBlanket, a Rexius product that uses specifications from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Jared Taylor, manager of the environmental and landscape division at Denbow, says the compost blanket is needed to help control erosion on the subalpine region slopes. Hydroseeding had already been tried with no success, so the compost blanket was being used as a growing medium. It also provided a perfect way for the product to be returned to the area.
“This process spoke to a number of things in terms of being environmentally sensitive,” Taylor says. “Something could be done with the product that’s advantageous.”
In addition to erosion, Taylor says there were two other major concerns for the area: airshed and watershed. Grinding and using the product as a compost blanket addressed these as well. The airshed concern was met by not burning, while the watershed concern was met since the product will not be left onsite to leech material into the ground. Addressing all three concerns, as well as the plant life that will now grow, has helped keep the project “green.”
After Frazer Excavation completed the initial grinding, Denbow reground the product to an exact specified size for the compost blanket. It was then mixed with chicken litter and biosolids from the municipality of Whistler. Nitrogen and water were also added before the mixture was put into sealed bags to compost for three months. One round of this composting project has been completed with two more to come, Taylor says.
Once the composting is complete, the product is then blown back onto the slopes in all the disturbed areas. Taylor says the product is also used in filter socks for a different treatment on the
ski-jump area.
When All the Work Is Done
In all, Eales says 40,000–50,000 cubic yards were ground at Whistler Blackcomb, with another 20,000–30,000 cubic yards on the highway project. In the end, the product cleared and put back onto the slopes will help prepare competition venues for hundreds of Olympic athletes in 2010. And while Frazer Excavation played only a small part in the preparation for the Olympic Games, Eales says it is still exciting to be a part of it.
“You find some pride in being involved, even if it’s just in a little way,” he comments.
Advertisement
Eales has also found uses for the Vermeer grinder outside the Whistler project. As grinding becomes more popular, and new opportunities to dispose of ground material arise, he sees this part of his business growing. Eales says the grinder is not just being used for land clearing; such businesses as mills have called on Frazer Excavation’s new service.
“I bought the grinder for land clearing, but it’s turned into so much more,” Eales says. “For what we do, it’s perfect; it’s as good as it can be.”
Author's Bio: Christopher Weishaar writes on topics related to technology and construction.
February 2008
Grinder Leads to New Service
Dave Eales regularly hired a subcontractor for his grinding work in the busy market of Vancouver, BC.
“It’s tough to get contractors up here right now,” Eales says. “When my subcontractor couldn’t meet my grinding needs, I made the decision to purchase my own grinder.”
When that same subcontractor was contacted about a new grinding project in the area, he passed that call along to Eales. That phone call has led to a new service for Eales’ company, Frazer Excavation. It also led to a unique set of challenges on one of the company’s largest jobs to date—clearing land for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games being held in Vancouver.
Meeting Demands
While grinding is a new service offered by Frazer Excavation, taking on new tasks is how the company has grown through the years. Founded by Eales and partner Mark Monkman in 1995, Frazer Excavation started as a “dirt company,” Eales says. As customers needed new types of jobs completed, the company offered additional services to the point where today they can take a piece of raw land and deliver a finished product for a developer.
|
| As grinding becomes more popular, business is expected to grow. |
“We’ve reached the point where we can be a one-stop shop for our customers,” Eales says. “We’ve basically grown to meet their demands.”
Now 40 employees strong, the Maple Ridge, BC–based Frazer Excavation services the Vancouver area, typically on job sites within a two-hour radius of the city. However, Eales says he has no problem traveling 600–800 miles across the province for jobs. He is also considering tackling jobs in the province’s
interior areas.
When the need for grinding arose on a project and there was a lack of available subcontractors to hire, the company rented and later bought a Vermeer HG6000TX horizontal grinder. With grinding becoming more common—a trend led by burn bans and a push to recycle greenwaste—Eales says entering the market was a good step.
“Nobody wants to put greenwaste into landfills anymore,” he says. “That’s a big part of the reason I jumped into this. It’s a big capital expenditure at first, but in a year or two I think I’ll have enough work to be able to purchase another grinder.”
A New Challenge
Located approximately 70 miles north of Vancouver along the Sea to Sky Highway, the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort is one of those two-hour radius jobs Eales says make up 90% of his business. It is also where Eales put his Vermeer HG6000TX grinder to the test.
Frazer Excavation was subcontracted to clear the land for the Whistler Nordic Competition Venue, which includes areas for the upcoming Olympic Games events such as the biathlon, cross-country skiing and ski jump. Using the horizontal track grinder, Eales’ crew employed a 4-inch screen to handle the initial grind of the product.
For what seems like a simple task, Eales says the job posed plenty of challenges. The first was learning the equipment while trying to complete the job. As Frazer Excavation was relatively new to the grinding business, this project was one of the bigger jobs the company had taken.
“It was definitely a good project to get us going in the grinding industry,” Eales says. “We’re very happy with the piece of equipment we have.”
Being situated in a remote mountain area also added challenges.
“For a big area like we have up here, it’s amazing how many places you can jam yourself into,” Eales says. “A lot of areas are quite tight, and the track machine is very useful for that.”
Eales says the mobility of the HG6000TX is one of the main reasons he bought it. Not only has it allowed Eales’s crew to maneuver on the mountain slopes, but it also has been useful for the company’s second Whistler-related job—grinding the trees along the Sea to Sky Highway, which leads to the ski resort.
“There are some parts of the road that are fairly treacherous,” Eales says. “There are some spots you wouldn’t want to even to take your pickup truck, but we were taking this grinder.”
An area burning ban posed another challenge to the project. In place largely due to the dry weather in the area, grinding became necessary for disposal of the trees. Certain ban requirements also affected how Frazer Excavation was able to approach the job.
|
| A compost blanket is applied to help control erosion on the slopes. |
Working from mid-July to mid-August, Eales and crew were in the mountainous area during one of the driest times. They were required to stop working by 1 p.m. each day, staying for an extra half-hour to watch for flare-ups. To accommodate this early stop time, the crew would start work at approximately 2 a.m. each day, using grinder, excavator and trailer-mounted lights to light the work area. This process also applied to the work on the highway.
“It was kind of a unique situation,” Eales says. “But the burning ban was the only restriction to the work.”
The Grinding Doesn’t Stop There
The grinding work at Whistler Blackcomb didn’t end with Frazer Excavation’s work. Denbow Transport of Chilliwack, BC, was the main contractor on the grinding project. Instead of hauling the product off the mountain, the Denbow Transport crew chose to take the product ground by Frazer Excavation and produce a compost blanket known as EcoBlanket, a Rexius product that uses specifications from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Jared Taylor, manager of the environmental and landscape division at Denbow, says the compost blanket is needed to help control erosion on the subalpine region slopes. Hydroseeding had already been tried with no success, so the compost blanket was being used as a growing medium. It also provided a perfect way for the product to be returned to the area.
“This process spoke to a number of things in terms of being environmentally sensitive,” Taylor says. “Something could be done with the product that’s advantageous.”
In addition to erosion, Taylor says there were two other major concerns for the area: airshed and watershed. Grinding and using the product as a compost blanket addressed these as well. The airshed concern was met by not burning, while the watershed concern was met since the product will not be left onsite to leech material into the ground. Addressing all three concerns, as well as the plant life that will now grow, has helped keep the project “green.”
After Frazer Excavation completed the initial grinding, Denbow reground the product to an exact specified size for the compost blanket. It was then mixed with chicken litter and biosolids from the municipality of Whistler. Nitrogen and water were also added before the mixture was put into sealed bags to compost for three months. One round of this composting project has been completed with two more to come, Taylor says.
Once the composting is complete, the product is then blown back onto the slopes in all the disturbed areas. Taylor says the product is also used in filter socks for a different treatment on the
ski-jump area.
When All the Work Is Done
In all, Eales says 40,000–50,000 cubic yards were ground at Whistler Blackcomb, with another 20,000–30,000 cubic yards on the highway project. In the end, the product cleared and put back onto the slopes will help prepare competition venues for hundreds of Olympic athletes in 2010. And while Frazer Excavation played only a small part in the preparation for the Olympic Games, Eales says it is still exciting to be a part of it.
“You find some pride in being involved, even if it’s just in a little way,” he comments.
Eales has also found uses for the Vermeer grinder outside the Whistler project. As grinding becomes more popular, and new opportunities to dispose of ground material arise, he sees this part of his business growing. Eales says the grinder is not just being used for land clearing; such businesses as mills have called on Frazer Excavation’s new service.
“I bought the grinder for land clearing, but it’s turned into so much more,” Eales says. “For what we do, it’s perfect; it’s as good as it can be.”