CMI Roadbuilding, Inc. of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

began in 1961, when engineers headed by Bill Swisher started looking for new methods in the

road building A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

industry. Little had changed since the early 1900s in the methods of building roads, however, labor costs were skyrocketing and inflation meant taxpayers dollars were buying less and less. In the same period Society was becoming increasingly more mobile creating demand for better roads and highways. The CMI group believed that many road failures were due to poor riding surface which was mainly caused by inaccuracies in the subgrade.

Autograde

A machine was developed that could economically implement an Automated Profile Road Building Method and would be known as the Autograde. This machine was known as either a “trimmer-spreader” or a fine-grader. It could trim or cut off high spots of a road bed and then spread the soil across the entire width of the road profile. By its very nature it was fine-grading the

base course The base course or basecourse in pavements is a layer of material in an asphalt roadway, race track, riding arena, or sporting field. It is located under the surface layer consisting of the ''wearing course'' and sometimes an extra ''binder cour ...

of the new road. The Autograde used an

auger Auger may refer to: Engineering * Wood auger, a drill for making holes in wood (or in the ground) ** Auger bit, a drill bit * Auger conveyor, a device for moving material by means of a rotating helical flighting * Auger (platform), the world's f ...

with cutting teeth to perform this function.

Features

The Autograde could be adapted to perform many tasks including: ;Single or dual lane Trimmer-spreader Using the auger with cutting teeth, it could fine grade the road bed. ;Base Reclaimer Using the auger and a

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...

to pick up excess material and deposit it in a

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

. ;Asphalt Paver Using the auger and screed to place and level

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

on the road. ;Concrete Slip for paving Using the auger and screed to place and form a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

slab.

Advantages

This one machine could do the same work as numerous other pieces of machinery, only more quickly and more accurately.

Acquisitions

CMI acquired two concrete batch plant manufacturers, Ross Co. in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and C.S. Johnson in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Further developments

CMI Went on to develop other equipment and was purchased by

Terex Terex Corporation is an American worldwide manufacturer of lifting and material-handling plant for a variety of industries including construction, infrastructure, quarrying, recycling, energy, mining, shipping, transportation, refining and ut ...

in 2001. The remaining CMI Roadbuilding products were sold in 2013 to and independent company along with the CMI Roadbuilding Inc. name. CMI Roadbuilding established a separate facility in Oklahoma City, OK. Subsequently CMI also purchased the shuttered Terex Cranes Facility in Waverly, IA. Production of product lines was relocated to facility in 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:CMI Roadbuilding Road construction Construction equipment manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Oklahoma City Manufacturing companies established in 1961 1961 establishments in Oklahoma 2001 mergers and acquisitions