ALL-ROUND OPERATORS

Growing from a five-man team to a business with more than 40 employees over the last eight years, diversifying its services has been key to Gibson & Son success. With owners Kris and Kory Gibson at the helm, the team is now helping customers recycle wood, clear their land, and find quality construction materials.

To do this, they had to combine their expertise with top-spec machinery. With help from the Powerscreen team, they’ve been able to find the best equipment to keep their well-rounded operations running well.

DEEP ROOTS

The Gibson family has been logging in Kittitas County, Ellensburg for many years. Opening their wood recycling yard in 2004, maintaining the local land is deep in Kory’s DNA. “My great grandpa was born and raised here and so was I,” he explains. “He started logging here in 1940 and my dad and I have followed in his footsteps.” As well as logging, Gibson & Son work on thinning, harvesting, land clearing, and site preparations across the county and the wider Ellensburg area. Recently, they’ve also stepped into road construction by mining their own product from a local rock quarry.

As Kory explains, “My family purchased the rock quarry pit in 2014 and started our gravel operation. We crush approximately 200,000 tonnes of rock per year. We also supply local, state and federal contractors with our product which includes crushed rock, topsoil, boulders and hog fuel.” To run their diverse sites and operations efficiently, the team needed a range of equipment including crushers, screeners and grinders. By partnering with Powerscreen, the business was able to access the kit it needed to grow from a family-only operation to offering full-scale groundworks and construction services. “We have been doing business with Powerscreen for 20 years,” says Kory. “They are always willing to work with us when we need to rent, buy or trade equipment. They always have equipment when we need it.

BRANCHING OUT

Gibson & Son rock quarry supplies a range of materials to projects across the state. As Kory explains, “We have a rock blaster come in two to three times a year and blast the pit. After that, we crush the rock using a Powerscreen rock crusher and process it on-site. We also sell one to five-man boulders and recycle concrete and asphalt.”

The site is made up of both Powerscreen and Terex machinery which breaks down the rock from the quarry walls into various materials. This includes an EvoQuip 1600 screener with a tailored screen deck, a Chieftain 2100X 2 Deck inclined screener, a Premiertrak 400X jaw crusher, a 1300 Maxtrak cone crusher and a CT80 conveyor.

These machines were chosen for their ability to process high volumes of materials, to flex to different operational needs and their mobility. These features mean the Gibson & Son team can get set up quickly and keep running for longer. “The Terex machines work really well for our business because they are very reliable and durable,” Kory explains.

The team also worked with Powerscreen to find the right kit for their forestry work. This included a wood yard that recycles waste logs, brush and stumps with a CBI Magnum Force 6800CT horizontal grinder. This mobile unit can also be taken out onto the site when required, meaning the team can chip up to 200 tonnes of wood an hour anywhere.

GROWING AND FLOURISHING

Alongside offering a range of equipment, the flexibility of Powerscreen’s purchasing terms means Gibson & Son could get the kit they needed quickly and affordably. As Kory explains, “Powerscreen are always willing to work with us when we need to rent, buy or trade equipment. They always have the kit when we need it.”

Sales Representative from Powerscreen, Jim Brennan adds, “It’s great working with Kory and the team because they focus on buying quality equipment. None of their kit is older than five years in age and they want to maximise uptime in production, which is what we’re all about. They’re a diverse business and we’re so pleased to be able to meet their needs.”

By offering a range of quality equipment under flexible terms, Gibson & Son partnership with Powerscreen has given them a strong base to grow their diverse services. As Kory says, “Powerscreen take really good care of us and makes sure our business is able to run efficiently. They also stock a lot of parts so we don't ever worry about being down for very long. They’re a great company to work with.”