To provide the most comprehensive solutions for our customers, we take pride in pairing superb aggregate equipment with experienced staff members. Recently, our team has grown to include a familiar face. Dave Phelan has joined our ranks as a Product Support Manager. Dave’s 40 years of experience working with aggregates, crushers, feeders, and all things construction will be put to use providing innovative solutions for our customers. 

We recently took some time to get to know Dave a little better. Here’s what he has to say about his experiences, Sepro and Carminex, and where the industry is heading. 

Hello Dave! Could you briefly introduce yourself to the people that don’t know you yet?

I grew up on a 200-acre beef farm in central Ontario with one brother and two sisters. I graduated high school from L.C.V.I. in Lindsay Ontario in 1978.

My family sold the farm for its gravel resources to Beamish Construction in 1978 where I worked for over three years. I started working for a division of Beamish called Royel Paving Ltd. crushing aggregate for their asphalt plant. This was seasonal work and each winter I went to Alberta to work for a drilling company.

In 1980 I got married and am still married 39 years later to the same great lady. We have one son who is now a teacher in Ontario with two great little sons of his own. In 1981 I decided to go to college and graduated S.S.F.C. in Lindsay with a two-year Heavy Equipment Diploma.

Since graduating, I’ve worked in a range of industries from recycling construction materials, servicing aggregate equipment, product development, sales, and more. 

How did you get your start in the aggregates industry?

During and after college I worked for D. Crupi and Sons Paving in Agincourt where I operated a wide range of equipment from road planers to asphalt plants. There I became an asphalt plant foreman and then the Recycle Crushing Supervisor in charge of operations and maintenance.

I worked for Lippmann- Milwaukee Inc. for 12 years as their Canadian Sales Manager and with their Engineering department. During my time at Lippmann, I designed many new pieces of equipment, apron feeders, HSI Impactors, feeders and jaw crushers as well as many improvements to existing aggregate equipment.

Why did you decide to join the Sepro team?

I joined the Sepro team to help accomplish the same goals I had done previously with Lippmann. During my crushing career, I had operated and maintained several crushers built by the predecessors of Sepro and know this equipment and the history behind it. I thought I could be of assistance to their current operations.

What makes Sepro different from the other companies you have worked with?

Sepro has built an existing team of great people. It’s also built on a platform of serving and working with its customers to better a product and help the customer improve their operations.

What is your official job title and what are your primary responsibilities?

I have been hired as the Product Support Manager to help the sales and engineering teams better promote Sepro’s products and customer possibilities.

What do you find most appealing about the work you’re currently doing?

I love talking with customers and designing equipment suited to their requirements. Each customer is different as no one application is the same.

What are some of the challenges you foresee in the aggregate/mining industry? Do any possible solutions come to mind?

I think climate change is going to be the most significant factor in the future and things like shoreline restructuring are going to become a major factor in the industry. Designing improved ways of handling and processing material is a driving force behind why I stay in this industry.

Do you have a favourite piece of equipment? What is it and why?

To say whether I like one industry or type of equipment over the other does not even come to mind. I’ve done concrete, asphalt, wood, tire, recycling as well as virgin aggregates and mining. All have their place, and it is amazing to see the similarities between the operations and people.

One thing I have found about these industries, is that 98% of the people that work in them are not about themselves, but take pride in their operations and fellow employees. I have great respect for the men and women working in our industry, and it takes a lot to persevere through the different work and environmental conditions.

In your free time, what do you enjoy doing?

When the day is over we all need some form of release and, depending on what you do or where you are or what your life is about, that can vary.

In the summer I golf as much as I can. In the fall I love to hunt, and in the winter it’s snowmobiling. I make sure to complete everything on my to-do lists before diving into these activities.

Thanks for your time, Dave! 

If you have any questions for Dave or our other experienced staff about aggregate equipment or parts, feel free to give us a call at 1.450.922.0900. Our team is excited to help your current or future project reach its target goals.