Small Board Paver Plants

Small board paver plants are more than a passing trend in in the North American block on pavers market. They represent the future of a business that caters to customer tastes. Each person is unique and more and more people are expressing their individuality in the hardscapes they surround themselves with. Many people are no longer satisfied with going to the store at taking what is available. They what to go online or through a catalog to find the product that suits them best.

It is difficult to mass produce pavers at a rate of 2,500 - 3,500 square feet per hour and still have the ability to meet each customer's unique demands. It works if you are a large company in a heavily populated market with multiple plants and an excellent distribution network. In that case the big board production model makes sense, much of the time. But what if you are not in this situation? What if you you are trying to serve a medium to small market with one or two production facilities. Then maybe a small board machine is right for you.

In my travels, I have met many block and paver producers that would like to find a way to service a market with a small board plant that allow the easy versatility needed to produce custome jobs as they arise, and to produce a more reasonable amount of pavers, say 900 - 1,200 square feet, or even 1,200 - 1,600, per hour. As we see an up-turn in housing again, and with more commercial buildings, there is an increased need for more paver producers in more regions of North America. Small board production plants will in many cases be the answer.

The demand for small board machines has been on going, the supply has been the anchor. I know of several cases in which companies have ventured to supply small board paver plants, but never followed through to support and improve on these systems. I know this to be true, as I have come across several plants in my work and in my travels that have small board machines.

Having sold paver plants in the past, I have heard many reasons that people should not get small board machines for producing pavers. We would often get inquiries for a small board plant or even a half board plant, and always we sent over a quotation for a big board machine.  I was told it is for the best as small boards machines were nothing but trouble. I now know that the trouble was in trying to change gears from a machinery companies manufacturing perspective, not based on what would work for the concrete producer. Of all the plants I have visited with small board machines, the customers have been happy with the board size and the production versatility as they expected they would. What have been issues have been controls that are not designed for that style of production, that are over complicated. Handling was often a shrunken version of a version built for a pallet 4 times as large.

Over several years I have come to know the KVM company. They are a Danish machinery producer of concrete block and paver plants. While working for a Danish pipe machinery company I visited several of their installations in Europe. In the following years I have also had opportunities to see KVM equipment running here in North America. I am some one who is very familiar with paver machines, as they have been the family business since the early 1990's. I have spent years working with paver machine parts and selling the equipment. With what I know, I can clearly see that KVM makes a quality system.

What's more KVM is focussed on smaller board production plants, and that is a far cry from other companies that provide a one size fits all approach. You and your market are unique, evaluate systems and board sizes that are right for both.