CASE STUDIES

James River Equipment

A closed-loop wash bay for a John Deere dealer’s prototype store in Boones Mill, Virginia.

Background

James River Equipment is a John Deere dealer serving agriculture, construction, and lawn & garden customers, and it is committed to being a good steward of the community and the land. When the company opened its Boones Mill store as a prototype for future locations, it wanted a wash bay that could clean everything from lawn mowers to combines, corn chippers, skid steers, and bulldozers without washing grease, oil, and mud into the ditch and down the road to its neighbors.

Tracked machines were the toughest jobs, often taking an extra hour or two to clean before technicians could begin repairs. After researching options and speaking with other John Deere dealers across the country already using ClearBlu systems, James River selected ClearBlu.

Solution

ClearBlu installed a closed-loop wash water recycling system with a high-volume water cannon and a heated pressure washer. Mud and grit collect in hoppers, and the wash water flows through three settling tanks that purge automatically on a set schedule. The final purge doses microbes that break down oil and grease and control odor, so the treated water returns to the wash bay for reuse, with fresh water added only to make up for evaporation. Treatment can be adjusted up or down to match how heavily the bay is used.

Results

The water cannon cut cleanup time on heavy, mud-packed equipment by 1-2 hours per job, getting machines into the shop faster. Just as important, the system lets James River live up to its environmental commitment: the store recycles its wash water instead of running fresh water all day, oil and grease are broken down on site instead of reaching the ground, and the solids dumped from the hoppers are clean dirt rather than waste hauled to a landfill.

ClearBlu’s customer service has been a defining part of the partnership. The ClearBlu team quickly responds to every issue, and has made several site visits to fine tune the system and retrain staff whenever needed. That commitment to taking care of the customer has made ClearBlu a partner James River plans to keep growing with.