LKC Industrial: Dedication to the Hard Jobs

By: Ted Mettler

L. Keeley’s Industrial Group has been established as a leader in their field for their expertise in completing multi-million-dollar designs, installation, and maintenance of state-of-the-art mega shredders and material separators for scrap contractors; they also specialize in installing conveyor and packaging systems. L. Keeley’s Industrial Group offers full-range services across the retail, aerospace, and power utility industries.

“We’re the nitty-gritty guys who handle the tasks others don’t want to do – the difficult jobs, such as deep sewers. In the end, we transform projects beyond what others may envision, like having a stormwater fixture look like a flower garden.”

-Ted Mettler, VP of Industrial

The LKC Industrial Advantage:

The Industrial Group has self-perform capabilities for all of the below services. Their passion and hard work allow them to complete projects on-time and on-budget for customers.

United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) Qualified Millwright
Ironworking capabilities: steel, pre-engineered buildings, other materials
Self-perform site work capabilities
Certified Welders: arc, mig, tig, heliarc, brazing, and plastic welding
HYTORC Bolting technicians
30-Hour OSHA Training | 16-Hour Millwright OSHA Training
MSHA Part 46 Training
Self-contained breathing air – full and half face respirators
Crane safety, rigging, and materials handling equipment
Aerial lifts, high work fall protection
Shaft alignments, laser, and dial indicator alignments
Confined space | Lock out – Tag out
CPR / First Aid
Power actuated tools and equipment

Our Experience

The LKC Industrial teams have completed numerous complex and challenging projects to completion and to the satisfaction of our trusted clients and partners. The dedication to quality and safety is unmatched and has led to the Industrial Group being named a finalist for the AGC Keystone Awards for their work on a Greenhouse project.

Shredder Installation

St. Louis, MO | Car Shredder Relocation | September 2019

The LKC Industrial Group has extensive shredder experience, included experience relocating an existing shredder. Our customer purchased an existing shredder located in Alton, IL to increase the capacity of their St. Louis facility. L. Keeley’s Industrial Team was approached for their ability to offer an innovative, turnkey solution and for their experience installing that exact same shredder in Alton, IL seven years prior. L. Keeley relocated the shredder to PSC’s St. Louis Facility. Foundations and machinery installation dates were staggered to maintain an efficient schedule fully utilizing our 30-plus manpower crew.

One challenge the team faced during construction was that the pipe pile received from the manufacturer did not meet design requirements. L. Keeley was able to fabricate a suitable collar around the manufacturers welds to meet the necessary strength requirements. L. Keeley’s ability to find and implement a solution saved the client several weeks that it would have taken to re-procure new pipe pile. L. Keeley self-performed 80% of the project including; site civil, piledriving, concrete foundations, steel erection, millwright installation of equipment, flatwork, and carpentry work

Rock Crusher Construction

Illinois | Rock Crusher Construction | October 2019 | 36,000 Man Hours

The L. Keeley Industrial Group worked together with the L. Keeley Civil Group to complete the construction of a rock crusher capable of crushing 3,000 tons of rock per hour in order to increase production. The project included installation of 2,200 ft of 48”/60” belt conveyor and 2,324 CY of concrete was poured during the construction phase. The completed project resulted in a 200% increase in production for the customer.

One of the most challenging aspects of this project was having to work around the existing schedule of the quarry. Other quarry activities were on a full production schedule during the construction of the primary plant. Both L. Keeley teams self-performed all concrete work and the installation of equipment and steel. Despite having different scopes for the project, the Industrial and Civil teams came together to complete the project and ensure the client was satisfied. The end result was a great partnership between L. Keeley and our trusted customer, who was 100% satisfied with the execution and management performed by the L. Keeley teams.

Compressor Installation

Illinois | Compressor Installation | December 2019 | 4,560 Square Feet

L. Keeley’s trusted partner was in need of larger compressors to handle the demand for natural gas. L. Keeley was selected to help them achieve this by pouring the foundations, setting the compressors, and erecting a building around the newly set compressors, each weighing 98 tons. The natural gas is stored in rock beneath the ground, and in addition to distribution, the new compressors also provide storage, pumping gas down into these natural underground pockets.

One major challenge of this project was the process of setting two 98-ton compressors from 60 feet away. In order to accomplish this, L. Keeley used two cranes (350tn and 300tn) to simultaneously pick up each compressor and place it onto its foundation.

Despite being on a tight schedule, L. Keeley had the compressors ready to accommodate the demand for natural gas on-time and within budget.

Level 1 Clean Room

St. Louis, MO | New Construction | 2019 | 4,800 Square Feet

The L. Keeley Industrial Team worked with a trusted partner to construct a brand-new Level 1 Clean Room as an extension of their current facility. L. Keeley assembled a team of professionals that possessed unparalleled knowledge, experience, and familiarity with our partner’s existing clean room facility. The team was able to accelerate the design of the building expansion and execute early competitive procurement of long lead times.

Through proper planning and execution, the team was able to reduce negative impacts to our partner’s plant production during construction. L. Keeley self-performed critical activities such as excavation, site utilities, steel erection, and siding. The ability to self-perform these aspects of the project allowed for greater control over cost and schedule. Despite the tight timeline, the L. Keeley team was able to complete the Level 1 Clean Room on-time and on-budget.