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The new plant not only has the capacity to meet Lakeside paving projects, but independent customers as well.

The new plant is also equipped to meet the emerging market demand for reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) mix designs. While Washington Department of Transportation currently allows up to 20 percent RAP content to be used on its projects, commercial customers currently allow 20 to 25 percent.

"We made sure this new plant was equipped with two RAP bins to handle the RAP that comes from our projects as well as suppliers," Dempsey notes. "We know that as material costs rise, the benefit of increased RAP usage will require facilities to have the capability to produce quality high-RAP mix designs."

Lakeside also considered the future possibility of producing warm mix with the new plant.

"We're just getting into some warm mix test projects, so we'll be able to add a water/AC mixing system if the interest in warm mix continues to grow and our customers want to spec it for their projects," Dempsey adds. "But our primary interest in selecting and installing a facility that meets emerging mix design trends is that it can produce quality RAP mixes, and this plant will do that."

Choosing the Dillman DuoDrum
Since the decision was made to invest in a new plant and move the old plant, the final analysis zeroed in on a high-production plant that could be operated at approximately the same cost as the old plant.