Masonry Magazine October 1979 Page. 15
"Magnificent Machines"
Deliver the Goods-
12 Concrete Block
Every 14 Seconds!
A revolutionary block manufacturing system pioneered in West Germany is making a big impression in the U.S. at the Tri-Delta Building Materials Company facility in Las Vegas. Speed, quality, and unbelievable efficiency are built into the new system that heralds a whole new technology for block-making operations.
Most people go to Las Vegas for fun and games, and, hopefully, some profit. But Guy and Richard Apple are there strictly for business. And their profits are virtually assured from their totally new concrete block manufacturing facility which was formally opened on July 27, 1979. Carved out of six acres of Las Vegas desert on Wynn Road, the Tri-Delta Building Materials Co., Inc. plant is a marvel of automated efficiency. Everything is computerized and quality controlled with electronic precision. And the production capability is unbelievable.
The people who visited the plant during open house in July could hardly believe what they saw-but they actually watched 12 quality concrete masonry units (8"x8" x 16") being produced every 14 seconds! What's more, this was being accomplished with only a handful of men and their "magnificent machines."
The indispensible key to the system is the fully automatic MASA Record 9001-V block manufacturing machine. Pioneered in West Germany and now being introduced to the American market, it promises to revolutionize block production concepts.
Sharing top billing on the production billboard are two other MASA innovations that comprise the total system and make the entire operation jell as a smooth functioning unit. One has to be totally fascinated by the automated transfer system which conveys the green block to the kiln and the cured block to the cubing assembly.
Again, superlatives are in order concerning the entire MASA operation. The cubing process, for one, is so revolutionary that when you see the finished cube you still don't believe it. But it is made right before your eyes, and you wonder why somebody has not done it this way before.
These three elements then the block making machine, the automated transfer system, and the cubing process-make up the MASA concept which is embodied in the Tri-Delta plant.
Why was the MASA system chosen in the first place? Tri-Delta's principals, Guy and Richard Apple, have many years of combined experience in both the block manufacturing and mason contracting fields. They simply know a good thing when they see one and, based on their solid business savvy, the MASA concept is it. In fact, their original block manufacturing plant. University Block in Phoenix, Arizona, now is installing the same MASA system.
Though a fledgling operation. the Tri-Delta plant "has been running beautifully and virtually trouble-free, and we are producing high quality, high strength block that is ideal for any masonry building system," noted Richard Apple. "We are confident that the availability of Tri-Delta block will help to expand the masonry market in this area as well as alleviate any material shortages should that situation arise. The long-range picture looks extremely bright."
Based on the standard 8" x 8" x 16" block size, the Tri-Delta Operation is now producing well above 24,000 units per eight-hour shift. The finished block weigh approximately 29 pounds each and achieve a compressive strength of 2600 psi on a 28-day test. The production capacity, of course, varies with the type and size of block being manufactured.
The aggregate utilized in the process a lightweight granite called Riolite-is quarried only 25 miles from the plant site.
Another eye-popper concerning the MASA system is the minimal staff required to run it. At Tri-Delta, the entire operation is manned by only five persons the plant superintendent, the computer console operator, a forklift operator, a mechanic, and a maintenance man. The pre-programmed machines run practically by themselves.
Please turn page for the MASA system flow chart.
The story continues on page 18.
MASONRY/OCTOBER, 1979 15