On the last day of July, Continental Cement proudly opened its new state-of-the-art terminal in Memphis, Tennessee. Customers, vendors and Continental leadership were on hand to celebrate the momentous occasion with a ribbon cutting ceremony and tours of the facility. Finally, guests had the opportunity to witness the first trucks to ever come through the Terminal – MMC, long time Continental customer – and Razorback Concrete Company, another Summit Materials operating company.
The previous terminal, located on Henry Street, gave the company 70 strong years of service, but had location limitations and used older equipment that had great maintenance needs.
The new terminal is located strategically on President’s Island on McKellar Lake which increases efficiency for customers. With no limitations, the new location has plenty of opportunity for growth, including a second dock for future expansion.
The new Terminal boasts many key features, including:
The first-ever drive through dome – the only one of its kind in the world – brings a standard dome’s underground tunnel above ground and uses that space for trucks, allowing loading directly from the dome.
The 5,000-ton capacity dome can accommodate for the growing height of trucks as tall as 13’10”.
Refurbished silo with 3,000-ton capacity.
New Hopper Barge unloading system.
Self Service Loading (SSL) on both truck lanes, allowing drivers to load their trucks themselves through the use of a computer-controlled loading system.
Most importantly, the Terminal was designed to enhance safety for Continental employees. In addition to new lighting and jib cranes for the walkway, it also has platform extensions for improved safer access to product line and better access to the stairtower. It also houses a control tower for better visibility during unloading with a remote-control crane, vacuum arm and skid steer for floor cleanup on the barge; these features increase employees’ safety by significantly reducing their time on the barge.