Weddle Brothers use McCloskey for Cook Medical redevelopment project

by RockRoadRecycle staff writer

Indiana construction company Weddle Bros. Construction Co. was recently chosen by Cook Medical to redevelop its GE Appliances Plant. The project involves the demolition and rebuild of existing structures, and when complete, the new Profile Park will serve as one of Cook Medical’s centers.

The demolition of the Bloomington, IN, GE Appliances Plant – aptly named due to the range of equipment made on site – was the direct result in the steady decline of equipment manufactured at the site. This led to Cook Medical stepping in to purchase the facility. The company, which is dedicated to developing innovative medical solutions to enhance patient care globally, aims to redevelop the site, turning it into one of its strategic centers as the newly named Profile Park.

In order to ensure that the former site was demolished and rebuilt to Cook Medical’s exacting standards, the company called upon the services of Bloomington-headquartered Weddle Bros. Construction Co. This is the parent company of a group of professionally managed construction service providers engaged in healthcare, higher education, bio and life sciences, power, site, civils and transportation. Providing a wide variety of commercial, industrial and civic construction expertise, the company was founded in 1946.

Since its founding, Weddle Bros. has been driven by the principles of integrity, excellence, quality, collaboration and community involvement. In recent years it has diversified its offering into new areas of expertise, drawing on the vast experience at its hands to push for continuous improvement for the benefit of its clients, team and the communities in which it operates.

Employee-owned excellence

In addition to the veteran leadership team of Weddle Bros., the employee owned and empowered company has based its success on employing experienced and highly skilled tradespeople. This ranges from highly skilled staff such as carpenters and operating engineers to site laborers, all being a critical element in the company’s success. This has enabled highly skilled project teams to manage the entire construction process, delivering high levels of project control and high cost-benefit to its clients. To this end, Weddle Bros. is committed to delivering superior construction services with pride, integrity, excellence, quality and with a team approach on every project. It is committed to ensuring its clients achieve their visions and goals — while providing its employees with a culture where they can have an exciting and fulfilling career.

Expertise in healthcare and green construction

Hospitals and healthcare professionals such as Cook Medical have trusted Weddle Bros. to deliver a wide variety of memorable and essential projects for many years. Its portfolio has touched almost every clinical and specialty area and department ranging from new replacement hospitals to surgical suites, cath labs, emergency rooms, cancer treatment centers, state of the art imaging, women and children specialties and medical office buildings. Weddle is also committed to making a meaningful impact toward a greener future. As a construction company, Weddle’s work has the potential to greatly impact the environment, with the company striving to integrate sustainable practice into its operations.

Weddle Bros. has been building green for many years, before terms like “LEED” and “sustainable design” were buzzwords in the construction industry. Weddle employs LEED-accredited professionals who understand the standards and practices required for building high performing, energy efficient, sustainable buildings and infrastructure. This expertise and focus led directly to Weddle Bros. adopting new strategies and techniques to ensure that the resources used during the redevelopment of the GE Appliances plant were maximized.

Getting the most “on-site”

In order to create Cook Medical’s Profile Park facility, the existing buildings and infrastructure would have to be demolished and redeveloped. Weddle Bros. project management realized that if this material could be processed on site, then it would provide the ideal material for sub base and fill material. As well as being highly cost effective, it would match Weddle Bros. “green” credentials, and through using the material on site, waste would be minimized, haulage costs (and pollution) would be reduced and the efficiency of the operation enhanced.

The essential problem, however, was this was an area outside of Weddle Bros.’ expertise. Fortunately, a local company not only had the expertise to advise Weddle Bros. on what was required, but also acts as the authorized distributor for McCloskey’s range of mobile crushing and screening equipment throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, namely Franklin Rock & Recycle.

A name to trust

Choosing the right equipment for the Cook Medical Profile Park job was crucial. Franklin Rock & Recycle has the experience and expertise to provide the right equipment solution for any job, whether the equipment is needed to increase capacity or reduce operating costs, Franklin Rock & Recycle has the products and aftermarket support to support the company throughout the project.  The company, in addition to its many years of construction material processing expertise, offers a complete range of aggregate processing and recycling equipment. This includes fully self-contained McCloskey track mounted units (which were to prove ideal for Weddle Bros.’ specific requirements), but also includes wheeled units and fully customizable stationary plants.

Mobile crushing and screening solution

Following contact from Weddle Bros., Jarrod Franklin of Franklin Rock & Recycle went directly to the Cook Medical site in order to see first-hand exactly what was required. Following in depth discussions with Brad Boring (Cook Medical) and Jim McElroy (Weddle Bros.), Franklin realized that a mobile crushing and screening train would provide the most cost effective and efficient solution.

The equipment Franklin supplied and supported consists of a McCloskey I44 impact crusher, a McCloskey R155 scalper-screen, and in order to provide more efficient stock piling capacity, two McCloskey ST80T tracked stackers. These would be used as long as there was material to process, with the demolished GE buildings and infrastructure being initially crushed down to 1½” minus for base and fill material. Should it be so required, the R155 scalper-screen is also capable of not only scalping off but also fine screening of smaller particles.

The equipment was not only supplied by Franklin, but also supported by them, with McCloskey aftermarket support also being there to assist if and when required. “Weddle Bros. has limited experience of using mobile plants such as was used on the project. In order for them to get the very most out of it, we spent a week training them to use the equipment. McCloskey equipment is easy enough to use that general construction experience and common sense are basically all that is needed to have a successful operation,” said Franklin.

“We are the nearest provider (for the project), but McCloskey is a well-known, premium brand in the industry. This meant that Weddle Bros. site superintendent Jim McElroy and Cook Medical’s chief engineer Brad Boring were familiar with the attributes of the McCloskey range.”

As to the role played by his own company, Jarrod explained, “We provide after sale support, service and training – in fact, everything the customer needs. It helps that McCloskey backup is solid, but this was not needed for this project.”

The Franklin-supplied and supported McCloskey equipment has now been working at the Cook Medical site since September 2018. Its productivity and efficiency have proven to be “first rate” – so much so that it is actually on hiatus currently as it has so effectively dealt with the material demolished and excavated. Weddle Bros. is now waiting for a backlog of material to be built up for further crushing, screening and stockpiling.

Best place to work in Indiana

The enlightened attitude shown by Weddle Bros. to both its business practices and to its treatment of its workforce led to the company being selected, for the second year in a row, as one of the best places to work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. “The companies selected represent some of our most outstanding employers. They embrace the idea that a positive work culture which includes respect, communication, opportunity and being part of a team not only makes it a place in which employees want to work, but also fuels the success of the company,” stated Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. 

As the work on the Cook Medical development has shown, Weddle Bros. was a thoroughly deserving winner of this highly prestigious accolade, with its staff being fully trained to operate the McCloskey equipment, and the demolished material on site being reused for the Cook Medical development. n