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QMS replaces primary crusher at Breedon’s Hope Cement Works

Breedon Group’s Hope Cement Works is located near to the village of Hope in Derbyshire, England.  It is recognised as the UK's largest cement plant and is integral to Breedon’s cement manufacturing capabilities.  In order to sustain the processing of quarried limestone required for cement manufacturing, the Group recently executed a major project to replace its 1940’s Fuller Traylor primary gyratory crusher with a new 1,250tph primary gyratory crusher, supplied by FLSmidth. Quarry Manufacturing and Supplies Ltd (QMS) were the lead partner in the installation, with the overall project being managed by the Projects Team at Hope, alongside a team of trusted contract partners.

Hope’s cement manufacturing process starts in its  quarries, which at Hope comprises of two sources of limestone: high silica limestone and low silica limestone. The quarry’s upper beds have more of the high silica limestone due to their high chert content. Further down in the quarry is where the lower silica limestone is located.  There are currently 13 operational benches in total in the limestone quarry.  In addition to the limestone material, shale is also used from an adjacent quarry on site, both the limestone and shale quarrying operations are integral to the cement manufacturing plant.  

More than half the cement that is made at Hope Works is transported in bulk via rail to depots in the Southeast (Dagenham and Theale), West Midlands (Walsall) and North of England (Dewsbury), ensuring the final product is delivered as sustainably as possible. Additionally, Breedon has import terminals to supply its customers in Northern England (Blyth and Runcorn), and in Scotland (Leith).

In order to sustain operations, Breedon installed a new gyratory primary crusher in September 2024.  The site had operated and maintained the previous Fuller Traylor crusher since its installation in 1952, with the body of the machine being completely original since its installation.  Due to advancements in primary crusher technology, and a desire by the business to improve the maintainability of the crusher, plans for the replacement of the original crusher were put in place in 2022.

The project involved the installation of a single, new primary crusher and associated equipment which was installed on the limestone crushing line. The limestone crushing line further consists of a twin line secondary and tertiary crushing stage, comprising of state-of-the-art QMS B6 cone crushers.  The task of pre-assembling the new FLSmidth crusher, demolishing and removing the old Traylor crusher, and finally installing the new FLSmidth crusher, was given to QMS who worked in close partnership with the Breedon team at Hope, their contract partners and equipment suppliers FLSmidth.

George Close, UK sales director at QMS, explains: “Working closely with FLSmidth, we had to first build up the new gyratory crusher. This was a time consuming and exacting process, as we were working to tight deadlines and the crusher had to be assembled on site.  This site assembly was the first time all the crusher parts had been together, as the components were delivered by FLSmidth from all over the world.  This took approximately five weeks. The second stage was to remove the old primary Traylor gyratory crusher; this utilised QMS’ expertise and experience gained on working with gyratory crushers throughout the world. This took two weeks, working 24/7, and was finally completed in mid-August (2024).

“The third and final stage of the project was the actual installation of the new crusher, this again further necessitated working round the clock, night and day, taking over five weeks to complete.  In addition, the new crusher has a QMS manufactured, bespoke stainless steel lubrication system which is now integral to the crusher’s operation. We further assisted through commissioning of the crusher, alongside the Breedon and FLSmidth teams, thereby ensuring that it was fully operational.”

With a project of this scope and importance, QMS was not the only contractor involved. “Our task not only involved work at our end, but also working with the Projects Team at Hope, including FortunumPM, which acted as Client representative, as well as the other contractors whose work was essential to the success of the project. Other contractors on the installation included PCS UK Ltd, who handled all the electrical work, Tideswell Welding Services, who handled all the ancillary fabrication and welding (not involving the crusher itself), and Access Drilling Services Ltd, who handled all the significant concrete removal work.  All the contractors on the project were unfailingly first class and a pleasure to work with,” added George.

David Boole, project engineer at Hope and Breedon’s representative for the installation, said of the work undertaken by QMS and the other contractors: “We have been working with Jonathan and the team from QMS for many years now.  They maintain the site’s Sandvik cone crushers (as well as the new QMS B6 cone crushers) and help to ensure Hope Works operates at optimised efficiency. The work undertaken on the installation of the FLSmidth gyratory crusher is a credit to QMS and the other contractors.”

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