ForConstructionPros.com

With production facilities in Hennepin, Utica and Peoria, IL, Princeton-based asphalt producer/contractor Advanced Asphalt drew on its 47 years of experience when deciding on how to best upgrade two of its plants, according to owner Dick Nelson.

"Over the years we've used a variety of equipment, and we manufactured much of it ourselves, in order to address the aggregate and asphalt production needs of our company, so we have a pretty good idea of what we like and what works for us," Nelson states.

Advanced is a dominant asphalt producer/contractor in Northwest Illinois, with a market extending south to Peoria and north to Rochelle, west to Galesburg and east to Morris, supporting a paving crew out of each of its production facilities.

"Eighty-five to 90 percent of our work is tied to governmental projects (state, city and township paving contracts), and we're producing over a million tons a year of aggregate out of our Hennepin quarry and over a half million tons of asphalt out of our three plants," Nelson says. "All of our asphalt facilities are equipped with crusher and screening capabilities to process RAP, so we constantly adapt and improve our equipment to be as efficient and productive as possible while delivering a quality product to our customers."

Plant metamorphosis
Upgrades at the Advanced asphalt plants have come over the years by replacing components rather than entire plants.