by Colleen Suo

For nearly 50 years, John Schivito has been leading A-JON Construction of Springfield, PA through its paces. Fresh out of the Army at age 22, John got a job with a local contractor. Soon thereafter, he started out on his own by removing and replacing concrete blocks in sidewalks in downtown Philadelphia. Once he found that he could make a full time living after graduating to flatwork and curb work, he started his own business. From there, he went on to paving and supplying construction concrete. Today, A-JON operates two facilities, the original location where his ready mix plant is located and the recycling facility, which he opened about three years ago. This eight acre site is devoted exclusively to recycling and mulch sales with much of the operation focusing primarily on recycling and processing RAP and concrete.

Schivito says he began recycling concrete and RAP about 10 years ago at their original site and added operations at this new location when continued growth required it. Initially, A-JON started recycling concrete with an Extec crusher plant that is still in use at the original site. After opening the recycling facility, A-JON began a working relationship with Stephen Lavery of Commonwealth Equipment. Since then, the business has grown and they have acquired nine pieces of McCloskey equipment including the most recent addition, the J45R tracked jaw crusher. The J45R is a machine that screens and recirculates oversized material in one step, making recycling concrete a faster and easier.

The J45R is a tracked, high capacity, 45-inch x 27-inch jaw crusher outfitted with a recirculating conveyor and 5-foot x 10-foot screen. It allows operators to produce a crushed and screened material with one machine. When the operator finds that he wants to produce a second product, just moving the conveyor to the side discharge position provides a second, screened material. Instead of overs being conveyed back to the jaw, the material is discharged to the side. The J45R at A-JON is set up in a compact configuration that is easy to access. Twin stackers take the crushed material from the crusher discharge and stockpile it in two places in one simple step.

Yard Manager, Andy Murphy says the J45R Jaw Crusher is nice to have. “Back in the day, you couldn’t get the material size that you really wanted with a jaw crusher. You’d have to use two machines. This gets it down to about an inch and three-quarters — so it saves us a step. It’s easy to work on and makes a very nice product.”

An A-Jon employee since 1997, Andy finds McCloskey equipment to be very reliable, adding that they “have a good relationship with the dealer” and has “no complaints” about the equipment.

John Schivito agrees. He says they depend on the advice of Lavery, to lead them to the right equipment for the jobs at hand. Schivito says they had used other equipment in the past but in their experience, “McCloskey was superior and we’ve been sticking with them for the past four or five years. Their service is the best. Parts are there; they’re there when we call them. The down time is minimal. It’s a great company. Really.”

Schivito also relies on a McCloskey R155 tracked, double deck screener to provide his customers with a high quality screened dirt and topsoil product line as another of the items that he offers. Just beyond the stockpile of screened dirt, they have a McCloskey I44R impact crusher with recirculating screen to process recycled asphalt and concrete into a finished product for site prep work, back fill and various other applications. Some of the asphalt material is recycled through one of their two Begala Asphalt Recyclers located near the scale house. Additionally, as part of their mulch operations (which will be featured in another issue of WHEN) they operate a McCloskey trommel and two 80-foot tracked stackers to move material.

Schivito says his two sons are both involved in the business and are looking to oversee the business one day when John retires. (He says he plans to work until he’s 90 years old, so that could be a while!) Sons John, Jr. (23) and Nick (21) are both involved on a daily basis and without a doubt, if the amount of activity taking place at this facility is any indication, A-Jon will continue to flourish into the next generation. For more information about McCloskey products visit www.mccloskeyinternational.com .