Custom Crushing and Materials Inc., located in Peekskill, NY, specializes in on-site crushing and screening. The company, founded in 1999 by Michael Divitto, processes mostly concrete, asphalt, and virgin blasted material in order to manufacture many materials on site for contractors. The company’s concept is to help eliminate some of the expenses of disposing waste materials by having to pay for hauling the material away or pay a tipping fee at a recycling facility. Additionally, the process allows a savings in the event the contractor should have a need to import material to the site.
Now the company is able to come to the site for the contractor, crush the material, recycle the material in some applications, and put it in place for the contractor to use as a fill or bedding material elsewhere on the site.
The company has always been innovative, and with Mike Divitto at its helm, was able to identify a “niche” of performing custom crushing and screening in the construction industry. From the company’s early beginnings doing work in the lower Hudson Valley of New York, Divitto was making a large portion of his living hauling materials. While in the process of hauling materials on and off-job sites, Divitto realized the need for someone to do on-site crushing and screening to reduce process fees on the contractor’s job site, thus saving the contractor considerable sums of money.
One of Divitto’s first purchases in this endeavor was a BL-Pegson Metro jaw crusher, which is a portable crusher. Then he purchased a Powerscreen Chieftain to do on-site screening and material separation. The Powerscreen Chieftain was purchased from Steven Kelly of Powerscreen of New York. Most of the equipment purchased thereafter was from Kelly at Powerscreen of New York.
“After the Powerscreen purchase, I was processing approximately 2,500 tons of materials per month,” said Divitto. “At one phase in the operation, I was doing some of the crushing work in my own yard. This was before I brought the crushing to the contractor. Contractors would bring their demolition materials to me to crush it and I would then re-sell the product.”
Most of the product that he was making at that time and, most of what he makes today, is 1 to 2 in. (2.5 to 5 cm) minus, which is used as a clean fill. This is the most common application from demolition work and the breaking down of the concrete or whatever material is on site and then using it to refill the hole of the building. Divitto also makes a 1.5-in. (3.8 cm) minus Item 4.
Kelly of Powerscreen has assisted in Custom Crushing’s growth by moving the company toward doing more on-site crushing. “Steve Kelly not only had contacts with contractors that needed this type of work, but he also showed me how this process could best be handled,” stated Divitto. “He helped me purchase a lot of the equipment to do the crushing and then helped him develop a customer base. Again, the advantages to taking this custom crushing work to contractors was eliminating hauling fees, trucking fees, tipping fees, and making this tremendous reversible product in various sizes that could be used on site.”
Since those early days, Custom Crushing’s inventory of equipment has grown tremendously. It includes: a BL-Pegson 26 by 36 Metrotrak jaw crusher; a Pegson Automax 1000 cone crusher; two Pegson 26 by 44 Premiertrak jaw crushers; three BL-Pegson 428 Trakpactors; a Pegson Maxtrak, which is a cone crusher on tracks; a Nordberg 28 by 42 LT 105 jaw crusher; two Hitachi excavators; a Powerscreen M50 conveyor; three Powerscreen M85 conveyors; a Cat 970F wheel loader; a Cat 988B wheel loader; two Powerscreen Chieftain screening plants; two Powerscreen Powergrids; an Erin FS165T fingerscreener; a Komatsu D65 TX-12 dozer; a BL-Pegson Maxtrak 1300 tracked cone crusher — the largest tracked cone crusher on the market — and a BL-Pegson 4242 SR Trakpactor closed circuit impact crusher.
As the company has grown, its market area also has expanded. The company covers jobs in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England states. It is currently processing approximately 15,000 tons (13,500 t) of recycled material each week, on average.
“Currently, we are involved with a Home Depot site project in Rhode Island,” said Divitto. “We are crushing materials that are being excavated on site. We are making 35,000 yds. of 4-in. minus material and 15,000 yds. of Item 4 stone. Work will continue on that site for approximately 90 days, using the BL- Pegson Automax 1000 cone crusher and the BL-Pegson Premiertrak cone crusher. This is one of the largest projects that the company has been involved with to date.”
Another significant job for Custom Crushing was the City Center project in White Plains, NY, in which a Macy’s store, strip malls and a bank were demolished.
According to Ralph Mataffari, project manager with George A. Fuller Construction, Custom Crushing processed more than 50,000 tons (45,000 t) of material from the job, made 4 to 5 in. (10 to 12.7 cm) minus deep fill material and 1.5 in. (3.8 cm) minus product. Item 4 material also was produced and left on site to use for backfill material.
“Custom Crushing did a nice clean job for the City Center project,” said Mataffari. “They are always on top of their equipment for maintenance and repair. The company is a very well organized and professional outfit.”
With growth comes more personnel and Harry Blustein III who joined Custom Crushing in July 2001. Divitto and Blustein are cousins and Blustein was asked to join the company as a partner. DiVitto and Blustein now share the responsibilities of running Custom Crushing and Materials.
“We have a vision of expanding and continuing to grow Custom Crushing and Screening by purchasing as large an inventory as we can possibly support, of state-of-the-art crushing and screening equipment,” commented Blustein. “Meanwhile, as we grow our inventory and business, we want to stay focused specifically on providing the best quality crushing and screening services on site that can be accomplished.”
Blustein believes that their advantage is their experience. Custom Crushing has been a pioneer in the tri-state area and they now have one of the largest selection of equipment available for this type of work anywhere. Many competitive companies have just a jaw crusher or just a cone crusher, according to the company.
“Nobody has made the commitment to inventory and to have the right equipment to complete these jobs as we have,” said Blustein. “When we go to our customers, we do not tell them what we can offer them. They are asked what their needs are and what products they want produced. Then we show up with the right equipment to produce that product to best satisfy their needs for the job. Good customer service — that’s probably why our sales are up 300 percent over last year.”
This story also appears on Aggregate Equipment Guide.
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