For over three-quarters of a century, Standley Batch Systems has customized solutions for its customers with its concrete paver and block, precast and prestressed concrete, ready-mix concrete, dry mix concrete, bagging and frac sand plants, for every batching and mixing need. During its long history, no two customers have ever received the same plant.
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Standley Batch Systems is a leader in the custom design and manufacture of batching and mixing plants, as well as specialty products and accessories for the concrete industry. It has customers throughout North America and has even shipped its proudly ‘Made in the USA’ product lines as far as Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
The company has invested in itself to satisfy the increasing demand for its products. Investments have been made in equipment such as mechanical cutting lines, a new clipper line capable of angles and more. All of this improves productivity to shorten lead times and better satisfy orders.
“We are growing as we can to upgrade our processes so we can keep up with the demand because it’s getting to the point now where we are struggling to meet the deadlines. We’re doing this with new machinery, and by hiring new people. We are actually looking at buying another parcel of land next to us so we can expand,” said Sales and Trade Show Manager and Co-Owner Mark Hoffman.
The company is headquartered in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and was founded in 1940 by Elmer Standley. Originally, it operated under the name Standley & Co. and manufactured steel crates with a small group of dedicated craftsmen.
During World War II, Standley & Co. became part of the war effort by manufacturing crates to ship equipment overseas. The company also manufactured milk coolers as well as grain storage bins, hoppers and bucket elevators for agriculture.
In 1945, the company entered the concrete market with its ready-mix plants, though it would not break into the specialty plant market be until the 1980s. It was then that its innovative block, precast pipe, paver and prestressed concrete producing plants, established the company in the industry.
Standley & Co. became Standley Bin & Conveyor in 1960, a name that better reflected the scope of its offerings. It was at then that it relocated from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau, and since then, it has continued to expand. In 1989, with an ownership change, it assumed the name Standley Batch Systems Inc.
“We diversified back in 2007 when everything fell out of the bottom and started expanding into the coal, rock quarries, and frac sand markets, so we’ve picked that up along the way, but our main focus is still on the block and paver, precast and prestressed industries,” explained Hoffman.
Standley Batch Systems worked with CERT Corp. to reduce mercury emissions by developing a system that administered lime slurry to the furnaces at coal-powered plants. The project entailed the design and manufacture of a custom lime holding and conveying system that would allow lime to be mixed for application in the furnace.
“That neat little project actually came back when the economy was struggling in 2008. So, it came at the right time too,” Hoffman noted. What essentially started as a prototype, resulted in the sale of fifteen units at a time when sales were needed most.
The company’s success has been built upon what Hoffman referred to as, “the old-fashioned approach.” There is a preference for an in-person consultation to ensure its customers’ needs are understood and, ultimately, met. “You almost have to become, not a friend, but a partner with that customer to gain their trust, and that’s what we try to do.”
Through meetings, discussions and tours of existing plants to give customers a sense of its customization options, the company has developed a process by which every customer requirement can be addressed. From total plant design to conveying or dispensing systems, storage bins and silos, automation, installation and everything in between, customization is Standley Batch Systems’ specialty, and it has the resources to overcome even the most complicated design challenge – including challenges related to space limitations or special process requirements.
The company offers configurations and options such as touch screens, web-based remote diagnostics and services and a range of field control devices that can be used to detect and control moisture levels, monitor processes and materials and improve operational efficiency.
Safety is a significant part of Standley Batch Systems’ operational and product line success. In addition to OSHA and AMSA standards, it incorporates safety features required by its customers. It stays up to date with industry regulations and standards as well as the latest in technology and automation to improve safety.
“On our end, in our factory where we build everything, there’s been a big push for safety. And then also, when they’re building it, they know certain things that automatically have to go on each piece of equipment for safety, and if it’s left off a drawing, they know to address that. So it goes deep down into the fabrication of everything we do,” explained Hoffman.
Standley Batch Systems has a safe workplace that offers competitive benefits and a positive work environment which has attracted a wealth of talented and experienced employees. The average employee has been with the company between sixteen and twenty years. Turnover is low, and its loyal employees carry the company’s tradition of quality for which it has become known.
“We do things like in-house company functions: four-wheeler rides, fishing tournaments, once a quarter we’ll have a company fish fry for dinner. I mean it’s more of a family-oriented business as far as the workplace goes,” said Hoffman.
“We just want to keep our forty families in the black. I call them our family because they support a family, and we want to keep them employed with no stress of thinking of getting laid off ever,” Hoffman explained.
Standley Batch Systems intends to continue to grow with the best interests of its employees, its customers and the environment in mind. It has recently made greater efforts to go green by installing solar panels on the rooftops of its buildings and has plans to add more in the future.
