Grand Canyon West is owned and operated by the Hualapai Indian Tribe. At Grand Canyon West, guests can explore a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hiking and river and aerial tours. The West Rim that hosts the Skywalk is a desert splashed with color, while the South Rim is the center of a dense forest. As you might expect, you’ll hardly find a shortage of things to do at the Grand Canyon.
But until recently, the Skywalk visitor center and parking lot were growing overcrowded. With an ever-increasing amount of foot traffic flocking to the Skywalk every year, more space for guests was no longer optional. An upgrade was necessary.
Jarom Hatch was one of the contractors hired to revamp the Skywalk’s visitor center and parking lot. Though initially in the pre-cast business, in 2016 Hatch decided his company, Hatch Industries, would bring part of the supply chain in-house by producing its own ready mix.
With a location as rural as the Grand Canyon Skywalk—an hour away from the nearest town—and highly perishable concrete, Hatch had the perfect tool for the job.
Rice Lake’s CB-3 concrete batch controller, paired with the Reliable Mix RMX 100 Portable Batch plant, allowed for batching directly on the construction site.
The CB-3 serves as the “brains” of the weight-based batching operation, allowing the batch operators to enter a mix design and load quantity; from there, the CB-3 performs automated batching and produces a consistent result every time.
With a portable batch plant and the CB-3, concrete can be batched onsite, preserving product and conserving equipment, namely trucks. This decreased overhead costs and ensured every batch of concrete was put to use. The latter can be difficult due to the volatile nature of concrete. As soon as water is added, the hydration process begins and concrete starts to harden; concrete has to meet strict specifications, which becomes less likely after more than 90 minutes in the mixer.
Complementing its portability, this type of batching system is beneficial from an economic standpoint. Portable systems allow users to produce ready-mix anywhere in the country, and as a result, follow the economy. Onsite batching with the CB-3 also means less running of the mix truck, which helps keep overhead costs down. With all of these advantages, it’s no wonder why the CB-3 portable batching system was the best choice for the Grand Canyon Skywalk’s renovation.
