Rock Products recently featured KBDJ’s dry dust-suppression system in its July 2011 publication. Click on the link above to read the article.
HIGH AND DRY: Texas quarry one of the first in the state to go to a dry dust-suppression system
Published August 10, 2011 Uncategorized Leave a CommentKBDJ wins national award for “outstanding safety record”
Published December 21, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a CommentThe KBDJ quarry outside of Buda, Texas has been awarded a Sentinels of Safety award from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for achieving 23,421 employee-hours worked without a lost-workday injury. This is the second time KBDJ has won a Sentinels of Safety award from MSHA, which routinely conducts random safety inspections at the quarry.
“The safety of our employees, contractors, and neighbors is of utmost importance to KBDJ,” said Jill Shackelford, president of KBDJ. “It’s important that the community know we run an extremely safe operation. We’re very appreciative of MSHA’s recognition.”
This is the second Sentinels of Safety Award that KBDJ has won.
KBDJ’s 23,421 employee-hours without a lost-workday injury equates to more than four years without experiencing even a minor injury. KBDJ’s plant engineer, Lenny Bobrowski, credits weekly safety meetings held every Friday and frank discussions about accidents that have occurred at other facilities around the country.
“The whole crew operates with a keen sense of awareness about safety,” said Bobrowski. “We all realize that more than anything we want to get home to our families at the end of the day. I’m really proud of the team — they’ve earned this award.”
KBDJ posts MSHA inspection reports on its website and has received numerous perfect scores on its inspections. In 2007, one inspector wrote, “This inspection was an excellent one. The company was in compliance at the plant and with all records.”
Students learn about the environment at KBDJ’s limestone quarry
Published December 1, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a CommentMore than 140 fourth graders from Bridge Point Elementary School in the Eanes Independent School District spent the day studying rocks, planting flowers and learning about the Edwards Aquifer at the KBDJ, LP limestone quarry in Hays County. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Hill Country Conservancy and Hays County AgriLife Extension Office took part in the field trip, giving presentations on stormwater runoff, native plants and soil, respectively. Dr. Sigrid Clift, from the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, also gave a presentation on the Texas Rock Cycle, an exercise demonstrating rock transformation.
Bridge Point Elementary students plant wildflower seeds at KBDJ. Photo courtesy of Bruce Fisher.
“This is the third straight year we’ve hosted Bridge Point and it just keeps getting better,” said Jill Shackelford, president of KBDJ. “The kids were so excited and energetic and they asked excellent questions.”
One difference this year from past field trips is that the students actually went into the mine on a charter bus. On the quarry floor is where most of the operation takes place; boulders are moved from the quarry walls to the covered rock crusher, where they are broken into smaller rocks that are eventually sold as base material or aggregates for the construction of roads, homes and commercial buildings. Industrial Asphalt is currently mining the site and providing aggregates and asphalt to State Highway 130.
Students actually went into the quarry to study the rock being mined. Photo courtesy of Bruce Fisher.
Judging by thank you notes from the students, the experience was a big hit.
“This was one of the best field trips of my life,” wrote Daniel. “My favorite station was the quarry ride because I liked (seeing) the dump trucks dump rocks into the crusher.”
Emily added, “it was so cool plant flowers, see the truck dump the rock and learn about rock. Thank you for all the work you do to help the earth.”
This is the third straight year that KBDJ has hosted fourth graders from Bridge Point. Photo courtesy of Bruce Fisher.
KBDJ, LP is a certified wildlife habitat conservation site by the internationally-recognized Wildlife Habitat Council. The company’s employees and community partners conduct numerous environmental projects throughout the year to preserve and protect the open space surrounding KBDJ’s active mining operation. KBDJ also offers its site as an outdoor classroom to schools and professional organizations seeking to study the Texas Hill Country.
In recent years, KBDJ has won numerous awards including the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce’s 2010 Take on Traffic Award, the Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association’s 2009 Good Neighbor Award and Pit & Quarry Magazine’s 2008 Producer of the Year Award.
For a full slideshow of the event produced by photographer Bruce Fisher, please click here and type “limestone” into the password.
The staff of the KBDJ, LP Conservation Land and Quarry in Hays County planted wildflower seeds today in recognition of Earth Day 2010, continuing what has become an annual tradition. The seed mix, which was spread along the road that leads into the plant, was previously recommended to KBDJ by the Hill Country Conservancy.
“Wildflowers beautify our site and enhance the native landscape,” said KBDJ president Jill Shackelford. “We enjoy seeing new flowers appear with each new growing season. What a year it has been for Texas wildflowers!”
Last year, KBDJ planted live oak trees in front of the quarry entrance with the help of a group of middle school students from Grace Academy in Georgetown and Hays County Commissioner Karen Ford. KBDJ frequently hosts field trips of the quarry for fourth graders – the state’s fourth grade science curriculum closely matches the lessons in geology taught at the quarry – where students are encouraged to spread wildflower seeds. The quarry also holds an annual Christmas tree drive; each January, neighbors may dispose of live trees that KBDJ will submerge in a pond on site to create fish habitat.
KBDJ is a certified wildlife habitat conservation site recognized by the Wildlife Habitat Council, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat.
Ridge Shackelford, son of KBDJ owners Jill and Sam Shackelford at the quarry during a November 2009 field trip.
