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Texas Frac Sand Operator Outreach Playbook

XTANK.co · Sales Outreach Document · 2026 Edition

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◆ Sales Outreach Document ◆ 2026 Edition
TEXAS
FRAC SAND
Operator Outreach Playbook
This guide helps XTANK.co reach the right people at frac sand producers in Texas. It explains how frac sand is mined, washed, classified, dried and shipped. It names every tank and vessel in the wet plant and in the water circuit, and it shows where the Freedom Tool can do work. Three company pages give facility data, current status, target job titles and a call plan. Cold email templates are at the back.
3
Companies In V1
32
TX Sand Plants
5
Primer Pages
13
Vessel Types
XTANK.CO
© 2026 — STATE OF TEXAS
00
Section 0 — Start Here
How To Use This Playbook
READ SECTION 1 BEFORE YOU SEND THE FIRST EMAIL
Why This Market Is Different

A frac sand plant is a water plant that makes a dry product. The value is not in the liquid. The value is in the sand grain. Water is the tool that cleans the grain, and dirty water makes a grain that fails the specification.

That is your opening. You are not selling oil recovery here. You are selling clean process water, fewer pond cleanouts and fewer tank entries. Use the process language in Section 1 and the templates in Section 4.

The Six Step Outreach Method
1
Learn the process
Read Section 1, pages 03 to 07. A frac sand site has three parts: the mine, the wet plant and the dry plant. Only the mine and the wet plant hold liquid. Know which part your target runs before you write a word.
2
Pick the tank
Read Section 2. Choose one vessel for your first ask. Do not offer a plant wide solution in the first email. Offer one tank.
3
Pick the company and the person
Section 3 opens with the Texas operator map on page 12, then three company pages. Every page carries a current status and an Apollo.io search string.
4
Send the matched template
Use the template written for that job title. Change the first line only. Keep the email under 120 words.
5
Follow the cadence
Four touches over 18 days. Stop after the fourth. Move the contact to a 90 day re-touch list.
6
Ask for a trial, not a sale
The first close is a no cost trial on one tank or one pond. The second close is the plant. The third close is the fleet of plants.
The Three Tiers
TIER 1 — LARGE IN-BASIN PRODUCERS. Atlas, Alpine Silica and U.S. Silica run the biggest Permian plants. Many tanks. Many ponds. Call these first.
TIER 2 — MID SIZE IN-BASIN PRODUCERS. Black Mountain, Vista and High Roller. Smaller companies. Faster access to the decision maker.
TIER 3 — TERMINALS AND REGIONAL SAND. Brady sand, Hood County and the rail terminals. Fewer wet plants. Lower priority for a first call.
Language Rule
This document uses Simplified Technical English. Sentences are short. Each sentence gives one idea. The active voice is used. Words have one meaning only. Write your emails the same way. Plant engineers read fast and they distrust sales language.
XTANK.CO
TEXAS FRAC SAND
02
01
Section 1 — Process Primer, Part 1 of 5
The Mine And The Plant Feed
DUNE TO SLURRY — WHERE THE DIRT COMES FROM

Frac sand is a proppant. A pressure pumping crew pumps it into a well with water. The sand holds the fracture open after the pressure is released. The grain must be strong, round and clean.

Texas supplies most of its own sand today. The sand is called in-basin brown sand. It comes from wind blown dune fields in the Permian Basin. The main counties are Winkler, Ward, Crane, Ector and Dawson. A second source is the Brady brown sand in McCulloch County and the Hood County sand near Fort Worth. Northern White sand is railed in from Wisconsin and Illinois to Texas terminals.

Steps 1 To 4 — From The Dune To The Wet Plant
1
Strip and mine
Permian dune sand is unconsolidated. No blasting is needed. No primary crusher is needed. Scrapers, dozers and front end loaders take the sand straight from the dune. Some sites use a dredge in a wet pit instead.
2
Feed and scalp
Sand is dumped into a feed hopper. A scalping screen removes roots, rock, caliche and trash. This step protects the pumps downstream.
3
Make the slurry
Process water is added at the feed point. The mix becomes a slurry. Slurry pumps move the sand to the wet plant. From this point until the dryer, the sand travels in water.
4
Source the water
A Permian plant uses very little fresh water. It draws brackish water from shallow wells and it recycles most of the plant water. Some sites now take treated produced water from a midstream water company. Water supply is the single biggest constraint on a West Texas sand plant.
What Gets Into The Water That Should Not Be There
Oil, diesel and hydraulic fluid. Loaders, dozers, scrapers, conveyor drives and slurry pumps all leak. A hose burst on a loader in the pit puts hydraulic oil straight into the feed. Fuel and lube trucks work in the same area.
Clay, silt and ultra fines. The dune carries clay coatings and wind blown silt. These are the material the wet plant exists to remove.
Grease and pump packing. Slurry pump seals and bearing grease enter the circuit at every transfer point.
Algae and bacteria. Warm, still water in West Texas ponds grows algae mats fast. The mats float, then they sink and foul the pump suction.
Undissolved polymer. Flocculant that does not mix fully makes gel lumps. Crews call them fisheyes. They float and they plug lines.
Salt and scale. Brackish and recycled water leaves calcium and sulphate scale at the surface line of every tank.
XTANK.CO
PROCESS PRIMER 1 OF 5
03
01
Section 1 — Process Primer, Part 2 of 5
The Wet Plant
WASH, SCRUB, CLASSIFY, DEWATER
The wet plant does one job. It takes a dirty, mixed size sand and it makes a clean, sharply sized sand. Everything in the wet plant runs in water. This is the part of the site that holds tanks.
5
Desliming with hydrocyclones
The slurry enters a bank of hydrocyclones. Centrifugal force sends the coarse sand to the bottom outlet. The clay, the silt and the ultra fines leave from the top outlet with most of the water. That overflow stream goes to the water circuit on page 05.
6
Attrition scrubbing
The thick sand slurry, at about 65 to 70 percent solids, enters attrition cells. High speed impellers force grain against grain. The rubbing action strips clay coatings, iron stain and surface films from the sand. This step controls the turbidity result. Scrubbed material is then deslimed again.
7
Hydraulic classification
A hydrosizer or a density separator makes the fine end cut. Rising water lifts the lighter and smaller grains. Heavier and larger grains sink. This is how the plant separates 100 mesh sand from 40/70 sand while both are still wet.
8
Ultra fines recovery
A small cyclone and a dewatering screen catch saleable fines that would otherwise go to the pond. In a 100 mesh market this stream is money, not waste.
9
Dewatering screens
Vibrating dewatering screens drop the moisture to about 5 to 8 percent. Water that drains through the screen returns to the sump and then to the water circuit.
10
Wet stockpile
Damp sand is conveyed to an intermediate stockpile. It drains further while it sits. The stockpile is the buffer between the wet plant and the dry plant.
The Tanks And Sumps In This Part Of The Plant
FEED SLURRY SUMP
CYCLONE FEED TANK
ATTRITION CELL FEED TANK
CLASSIFIER FEED TANK
UNDERFLOW SUMP
SCREEN UNDERPAN SUMP
PROCESS WATER HEAD TANK
PUMP GLAND SEAL WATER TANK
The point to remember. Every one of these tanks and sumps has an open top surface. Anything lighter than water, or anything that foams, sits on that surface and then gets pulled into the next pump. Oil, grease, polymer gel and froth all move downstream this way.
XTANK.CO
PROCESS PRIMER 2 OF 5
04
01
Section 1 — Process Primer, Part 3 of 5
The Water Circuit
THE PART OF THE SITE WHERE THE FREEDOM TOOL LIVES

A modern frac sand plant recovers about 90 percent of its process water and uses it again. In West Texas the plant has no choice. Water is scarce and it is expensive to haul. The water circuit is therefore the most important support system on the site.

Read this page twice. Almost every Freedom Tool application in this playbook sits on this page.

11
Collect the dirty water
Cyclone overflow, screen drainage and sump water all combine. The stream carries about 1 to 2 percent solids. Those solids are clay and silt. They are too fine to settle on their own.
12
Make down the flocculant
Dry anionic polymer is wetted, mixed and aged in make-down tanks and aging tanks. The polymer solution is then dosed into the thickener feed. Polymer that does not wet fully forms gel lumps that float. Operators must skim these lumps or the dosing line plugs.
13
Thicken or clarify
The dosed stream enters a thickener or a clarifier. The polymer binds the fines into flocs. The flocs settle. A rake moves the settled solids to a centre discharge. Clean water rises and overflows the top launder. The underflow leaves at about 30 to 40 percent solids.
14
Return the clean water
Thickener overflow goes to a process water tank or a clean water pond. Pumps send it back to the wet plant. This is the recycle loop. Whatever floats in that tank goes back into contact with the sand.
15
Send the solids to the pond
Thickener underflow is pumped to a lined settling pond or a tailings cell. Water evaporates or is decanted back. The pond forms a surface crust, grows algae and collects wind blown dust.
16
Add make-up water
Losses go out with the damp sand, with evaporation and with the pond solids. The plant replaces the loss from brackish water wells, from a fresh water pond, or from a treated produced water supply.
The commercial link. Turbidity is an API test on the finished sand. A dirty recycle loop puts fines and film back onto a clean grain. The lab sees it. A load that fails turbidity is a load the customer sends back. Clean water is not a housekeeping issue at a sand plant. It is a product quality issue.
XTANK.CO
PROCESS PRIMER 3 OF 5
05
01
Section 1 — Process Primer, Part 4 of 5
The Dry Plant
DRY, SCREEN, STORE, LOAD OUT
The dry plant holds no liquid process tanks. Do not try to sell into it. Learn it anyway. A plant manager will not respect a vendor who cannot describe the back half of the site.
17
Reclaim from the wet stockpile
A reclaim tunnel or a loader feeds damp sand at about 5 to 6 percent moisture to the dryer.
18
Dry the sand
A rotary dryer or a fluid bed dryer, fired on natural gas, takes the moisture below 0.5 percent. A fluid bed dryer uses less fuel and needs a smaller baghouse. A rotary dryer handles a wider feed size.
19
Screen to the mesh cuts
Dry screens split the sand into the sold products: 100 mesh, 40/70, 30/50 and 20/40. In-basin Permian plants sell mostly 100 mesh and 40/70.
20
Store and load out
Product goes to silos or to covered storage. Loadout is by truck, by rail, or by overland conveyor. Atlas moves sand 42 miles on the Dune Express conveyor instead of by truck.
21
Control the dust
Baghouses and wet scrubbers capture respirable crystalline silica at the dryer, the screens, the transfer points and the loadout. A wet scrubber has a recirculation tank, and that tank holds water. Collected baghouse dust is wetted and returned to the mine.
Where Liquid Still Exists In The Dry Plant Area
WET SCRUBBER RECIRCULATION TANKS. Water that has washed silica dust. It carries fines, foam and scale. It is a closed loop with a surface.
DUST SUPPRESSION WATER TANKS. Water for road spray and for conveyor spray bars, often with a surfactant added. Algae and film block the nozzles.
DIESEL AND FUEL TANKS. Large day tanks and bulk tanks for a haul fleet. Water bottoms, static in the flash zone, and vapour in the head space.
LUBE OIL AND USED OIL TANKS. New oil and waste oil from the shop. Water and sludge collect. Disposal is a cost line.
XTANK.CO
PROCESS PRIMER 4 OF 5
06
01
Section 1 — Process Primer, Part 5 of 5
The Specification And The Last Mile
WHAT THE LAB TESTS — AND HOW THE SAND REACHES THE WELL
The API Specification — API RP 19C And ISO 13503-2
TestWhat it measuresWhy it matters to you
TurbidityCleanliness of the wash. Reported in FTU or NTU Your test. The limit is 250 FTU or less. Dirty recycle water raises this number. A failed turbidity result is a rejected load.
Sieve distributionPercent of grains inside the named mesh range Set by the classifier in the wet plant and by the dry screens. Not your test.
Sphericity and roundnessGrain shape, scored 0 to 1 A value of 0.6 or higher is required for both. Set by geology, not by the plant.
Crush resistancePercent fines made under load, tested to 4K psi and up Grain strength. In-basin brown sand is rated lower than Northern White.
Acid solubilityPercent lost in hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid Measures carbonate, clay and iron contamination on the grain.
Use this on the call. Ask: “How often does a load come back on turbidity?” Then ask what the lab says the cause was. In many plants the answer traces back to the recycle water loop, not to the mine.
The Last Mile — Where The Sand Goes After Loadout
A
Plant loadout
Sand is loaded into pneumatic trailers, belly dumps, containers or rail cars. In-basin plants ship mostly by truck because the well is close.
B
Overland conveyor, where it exists
Atlas runs the Dune Express, a 42 mile electric conveyor from Kermit into Lea County, New Mexico. It is rated at up to 13 million tons per year and it removes thousands of truck trips.
C
Transload or terminal
Northern White sand is railed to a Texas terminal and is transferred to trucks there. In-basin sand normally skips this step.
D
Wellsite storage
Sand is discharged into silos or into containerised box systems at the pad. The pressure pumping crew blends it with water in the frac blender.
E
The water side of the same pad
The same pad holds frac water tanks, produced water tanks and transfer pits. This is the standard XTANK use case, and it sits with the same customers.
Why this matters commercially. Two of your three targets are not sand companies alone. Atlas sells proppant, logistics and distributed power. ProFrac owns Alpine Silica and also runs pressure pumping fleets. One relationship can reach the sand plant and the wellsite water tanks at the same company.
XTANK.CO
PROCESS PRIMER 5 OF 5
07
02
Section 2 — Equipment Map
Every Vessel At A Frac Sand Site
WHAT IS INSIDE IT — WHAT COLLECTS ON THE SURFACE
VesselWhat is inside What collects at the surfaceFreedom Tool fit
Feed slurry sump
and cyclone feed tank
Raw sand slurry from the mine Hydraulic oil, diesel film, grease, floating trash, froth STRONG First point after the pit
Attrition cell and
classifier feed tanks
Dense scrubbed slurry, 65 to 70 percent solids Froth from the impellers, liberated organic film, oil GOOD Confirm access and level swing
Flocculant make-down
and aging tanks
Anionic polymer solution Undissolved gel lumps, surface skin, dry powder crust STRONG Stop the lumps reaching the dosing pump
Thickener or clarifierFlocculated fines settling out of the water Scum blanket, floating flocs and oil in the overflow launder STRONG Skim the launder. Check the existing rake first
Process water and
recycle water tanks
Recovered clean water going back to the wet plant Oil sheen, algae, foam, floating fines, scale at the water line STRONG This water touches the product
Settling and tailings
ponds
Thickener underflow. Open to air Surface crust, algae mats, wind blown dust, oil sheen STRONG Break the crust. Dose below the surface
Fresh and brackish
water storage
Make-up water from wells or from a supplier Algae, biofilm, iron floc, dust STRONG Protect the whole plant at one point
Treated produced
water tanks
Midstream water taken as make-up, where used Free oil, emulsion, solids, scale STRONG This is the core XTANK use case
Wet scrubber
recirculation tanks
Water that has washed silica dust from the dryer Fines, foam, scale, film GOOD Small tank. Good first trial candidate
Dust suppression
water tanks
Road and conveyor spray water, often with surfactant Algae, film, debris that plugs the nozzles GOOD Easy access. Low risk to the process
Diesel and fuel
tanks
Diesel for the haul fleet and the mine equipment Water bottoms, sludge, vapour in the head space GOOD Static grounding at the flash zone
Lube oil and used
oil tanks
New oil and shop waste oil Water, sludge, emulsion layer GOOD Cut the disposal volume
Product silos and
dry storage
Dried, screened sand Not applicable. No liquid NONE Do not offer anything here
Use this table on the call. Ask which vessel gives the crew the most trouble. Let the engineer choose the tank. A tank the engineer names is a tank the engineer will fight to fix.
XTANK.CO
EQUIPMENT MAP
08
02
Section 2 — Ranked Applications
Where The Freedom Tool Fits
RANKED BY STRENGTH OF CASE — LEAD WITH A AND B
A. Protect the recycle water loop and the turbidity result. A frac sand plant reuses about 90 percent of its process water. Whatever floats in the process water tank goes straight back into contact with clean sand. Oil film and fine solids on a washed grain raise the turbidity result and can fail an API test. The Freedom Tool skims that layer at any liquid level, with no power and no tank entry. Ask: “How often does a load come back on turbidity, and what does the lab blame?”
B. Break the crust and control algae on ponds and water tanks. West Texas ponds form a surface crust and grow algae mats. The mats float, then they break up and foul the pump suction and the spray nozzles. Cleanouts need a vacuum truck, a crew and sometimes a boat. The tool breaks and skims the surface layer, and it lets a biocide or an inhibitor be added below the surface with no pond entry. Ask: “Who cleans the ponds today, how often, and what does one cleanout cost?”
C. Keep mine oil out of the water circuit. Loaders, dozers, scrapers, conveyor drives and slurry pumps all leak oil, grease and hydraulic fluid into the feed. Once the oil is in the slurry it travels the whole loop. A skim on the feed sump or on the process water tank takes it out at one point instead of every point. Ask: “When a hose lets go on a loader in the pit, where does that oil end up?”
D. Clear the flocculant make-down tanks. Polymer that does not wet fully forms gel lumps and a surface skin. The lumps plug the dosing line and they upset the thickener. Crews skim them by hand today. The tool removes the floating fraction while the tank stays in service. Ask: “Does anyone still fish lumps out of the polymer tank with a net?”
E. Fuel, lube and used oil tanks. A sand mine runs a large haul fleet, so it holds bulk diesel and it makes waste oil. The tool provides static grounding at the flash zone and it is Type 1 fire suppression compatible with all foam types. It also removes the water and the sludge layer from a used oil tank, which cuts the volume you pay to dispose of. Ask: “Who handles your waste oil, and what do you pay per barrel?”
F. The oilfield tanks at the same company. Atlas sells proppant, logistics and distributed power to Permian operators. ProFrac owns Alpine Silica and also runs pressure pumping fleets that consume large volumes of frac water and produced water. The produced water tank is the standard XTANK use case and it is your easiest first sale. Use it to build the relationship, then move into the sand plant.
Honesty rule. Applications A to F rest on documented plant problems and on how the tool behaves in produced water service. None of them has been proven at a frac sand plant yet. Say so. A plant engineer who catches you overstating a claim will not answer the second email.
XTANK.CO
APPLICATION RANKING
09
02
Section 2 — Claims And Proof
What You Can Claim
EIGHT STATEMENTS — ALL SUPPORTED BY THE PRODUCT
Remove the oil film and the floating solids from the process water before that water touches clean sand again.
Skim the scum blanket and the floating flocs from a thickener or clarifier overflow launder.
Remove undissolved polymer lumps and the surface skin from a flocculant make-down tank, with the tank in service.
Break the surface crust and the algae mat on a settling pond, a tailings cell or a raw water pond.
Add surfactant, biocide or scale inhibitor at liquid level, below the surface, without tank entry or pond entry.
Control the vapour in the tank head space by sweep and purge, and reduce how often a hatch must be opened.
Provide static grounding in the flash zone. The tool is Type 1 fire suppression compatible with all foam types.
Operate with no moving parts, no power and no tank entry. Built in 316 stainless steel. Patented.
PROOF YOU ALREADY HOLD.
The Freedom Tool is patented and is built in 316 stainless steel. It is in service in produced water tanks in Texas. Named customers include WaterBridge, Select Water Services, Pilot Water, Summit, Reclaim, Triple Crown, Judah Oil, Apache and ConocoPhillips.

Video of the tool in service is on xtank.co. Send the link after the first reply, not with the first email.
PROOF YOU DO NOT YET HOLD.
No frac sand installation exists. No third party test data exists for a thickener launder, a flocculant tank, a scrubber recirculation tank or a tailings pond.

Turn this into the ask. The first sand producer gets a no cost trial and gets named as the reference site. Engineers respond well to being first when the risk is zero.
The One Sentence Version
“The Freedom Tool sits in a tank, skims whatever floats, controls the gas above the liquid, and grounds static in the flash zone. It has no moving parts, needs no power, and needs no tank entry.”
Say this sentence out loud until it is natural. It is your answer to “what does it do?” on every call.
XTANK.CO
CLAIMS AND PROOF
10
03
Section 3 — Target Contacts
Who To Contact At Every Site
TWELVE ROLES — RANKED BY VALUE TO XTANK
RankJob title What this person ownsBest opening angle
1Plant ManagerThe wet plant and the dry plant. Approves new equipmentCost per ton and uptime
2Process Engineer /
Plant Engineer
Wet plant performance, water balance, flocculant doseRecycle water quality and turbidity
3Quality Manager /
Lab Manager
API RP 19C testing and the certificate of analysisTurbidity failures and their cause
4Maintenance Manager /
Reliability Lead
Pumps, cleanouts, shutdown work, vacuum truck spendNo moving parts, no power, no entry
5Environmental /
Water Manager
Water permits, pond management, discharge and reusePond crust, algae and water loss
6Operations Manager /
Director of Operations
Daily production across one or more plantsFewer cleanouts, fewer truck runs
7HSE / Safety ManagerSilica exposure, confined space entry, fire riskFewer tank entries, static grounding
8Mine Manager /
Pit Superintendent
Mining fleet, pit water, feed to the plantLoader and dozer oil in the feed
9Projects / Capital
Engineering Manager
New plant builds and plant expansionsDesign stage specification
10Fleet / Fuel
Coordinator
Bulk diesel, lube oil and waste oilWater bottoms and disposal cost
11Procurement /
Supply Chain Lead
The purchase order and the vendor termsTrial terms and vendor onboarding
12VP Operations / COOA rollout across every plantFleet economics after the first win
A Note On Company Names Before You Search
MSHA carries three names for one site. The controller is the parent MSHA holds accountable, such as Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. The operator is the LLC on the mine ID, such as Atlas Sand Company, LLC. The mine name is the site trade name, such as Kermit Facility. Search the controller name in the Apollo company field. Use the mine name as a keyword, never as a company. The one exception here is ProFrac, where the sand brand Alpine Silica searches better than the parent.
Apollo.io Search Patterns
Company: Atlas Energy Solutions
Titles: Plant Manager, Process Engineer, Maintenance Manager, Environmental
Location: Texas
Keywords: Kermit, Monahans, frac sand, proppant
Company: Alpine Silica, ProFrac
Titles: Plant Manager, Process Engineer, Quality Manager, Operations
Location: Texas
Keywords: Kermit, Monahans, Lamesa, in-basin sand
XTANK.CO
TARGET CONTACTS
11
03
Section 3 — The Texas Operator Map
Every Company Worth A Call
THREE COMPANY PAGES IN THIS VERSION — MORE TO BE ADDED
CompanyTexas counties TierPriority for XTANK
Atlas Energy SolutionsWinkler, Ward (Kermit, Monahans) TIER 1 Highest. Largest proppant producer in North America. Full company page 13.
Alpine Silica (ProFrac)Winkler, Ward, Dawson (Kermit, Monahans, Lamesa) TIER 1 Highest. Largest in-basin capacity. Parent also runs frac fleets. Page 14.
U.S. SilicaCrane, Dawson, Limestone TIER 1 High. Two large automated Permian plants. Apollo owned. Page 15.
Black Mountain SandWinkler, Ward TIER 2 High. Large in-basin capacity. Private and easier to reach. Add next.
Vista MineralsWinkler, Hood TIER 2 Medium. Several mines plus rail terminals. Mixed in-basin and regional sand.
High Roller SandWard, Ector (Penwell area) TIER 2 Medium. Smaller plants. Short decision chain.
Covia / SibelcoMultiple, plus terminals TIER 2 Medium. Large operator group. Confirm which Texas plants are running.
Smart SandTexas terminals TIER 3 Low first. Northern White supplier. Wet plants are outside Texas.
Brady area producersMcCulloch (Voca, Brady) TIER 3 Low first. Hard rock sandstone, so crushing and washing both apply.
Van Horn area producersCulberson TIER 3 Low first. Newer plants. Confirm status before a call.
Three Things To Take From This Table

1. The volume sits in four counties. Winkler, Ward, Crane and Dawson hold most of the Texas in-basin capacity. A single trip can reach several plants.

2. Two of your three targets are oilfield companies, not only sand companies. Atlas also sells logistics and distributed power. ProFrac also runs pressure pumping fleets. That doubles the number of tanks behind one relationship.

3. Texas has about 32 operating frac sand plants. This version covers three of them in full. Prove the message on these three, then add the Tier 2 companies.

XTANK.CO
TEXAS OPERATOR MAP
12
01
TIER 1 — Company 01 of 03 — Producing
Atlas Energy Solutions
WINKLER AND WARD COUNTIES, TEXAS — PLUS LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
Tier
TIER 1
Status
Producing
Listing
NYSE: AESI
Base
Austin, Texas
XTANK Priority
HIGHEST IN TEXAS
Assets And Their Status
AssetCounty TypeStatus
Kermit facilitiesWinklerIn-basin dune sand mine and plantOperating. The origin point of the Dune Express.
Monahans facilityWardIn-basin dune sand mine and plantOperating.
Former Hi-Crush Kermit plantWinklerIn-basin sand plantOperating. Acquired with Hi-Crush in 2024.
OnCore distributed miningSeveralSmall modular sand units near the padDeployed. Acquired with Hi-Crush.
Dune ExpressWinkler to Lea, NM42 mile electric overland conveyorIn service since January 2025.
What You Need To Know
Atlas became the largest proppant producer in North America after the Hi-Crush acquisition closed in 2024. Reported combined capacity is about 28 to 29 million tons per year across all assets.
The Kermit and Monahans facilities alone were reported at a combined 16.5 million tons per year at the end of 2023.
The Dune Express cost about 400 million dollars and is rated at up to 13 million tons per year. It has two loadout facilities with over 84,000 tons of vertical storage.
Atlas builds and automates heavily. That is good for you. An automated plant hates a manual cleanout task.
Moser adds a distributed power fleet. Those units have fuel tanks and lube oil tanks. That is a second, separate opening at the same company.
Call Plan
Make this your first call in Texas. Open on the recycle water loop and on pond crust, not on oil. Atlas will say it is a water plant, not an oil plant. Agree, then ask where the loader hydraulic oil goes when a hose lets go in the pit. Ask for the Plant Manager at Kermit and the Process Engineer who owns the water balance. Keep Moser as a second, separate conversation.
Best Freedom Tool Openings Here
PROCESS WATER TANKS
THICKENER LAUNDER
SETTLING PONDS
FLOCCULANT TANKS
BULK DIESEL AND USED OIL
Apollo.io Search Strings — And Target Contacts
1. “Plant Manager” + Atlas Energy Solutions + Texas  •  2. “Process Engineer” OR “Plant Engineer” + Atlas Energy Solutions
3. “Maintenance Manager” OR “Reliability” + Atlas Energy Solutions  •  4. “Environmental” OR “Water” + Atlas Energy Solutions  •  5. Kermit OR Monahans + frac sand (keyword only)
Plant Manager — Kermit
Owns the plant. Approves new equipment.
Process / Plant Engineer
Owns the water balance and the wet plant.
Maintenance Manager
Owns cleanouts and vacuum truck spend.
Environmental / Water Manager
Owns ponds, permits and reuse.
XTANK.CO
WINKLER AND WARD COUNTIES, TX
13
02
TIER 1 — Company 02 of 03 — Producing
Alpine Silica — ProFrac
WINKLER, WARD AND DAWSON COUNTIES, TEXAS
Tier
TIER 1
Status
Producing
Parent
ProFrac Holding Corp
NASDAQ: ACDC
Base
Willow Park, Texas
XTANK Priority
HIGHEST IN TEXAS
Assets And Their Status
AssetCounty TypeStatus
Kermit mine and plantWinklerIn-basin dune sandOperating.
Monahans mine and plantWardIn-basin dune sandOperating. Bought as SP Silica in 2022. About 3 million tons per year.
Lamesa mine and plantDawsonIn-basin sandOperating.
Other Alpine sitesSeveralSand mines and terminalsOperating. Confirm the current list before a call.
ProFrac pressure pumping fleetsStatewideFrac fleets and wellsite waterOperating. Separate operating group, same parent.
What You Need To Know
Alpine Silica describes itself as the largest provider of in-basin frac sand in North America, with production of up to about 23 million tons per year.
Most of that sand is captive. It feeds ProFrac's own frac fleets. That changes the buying logic. Alpine is a cost centre inside a service company, not a merchant seller chasing margin on every ton.
A cost centre responds well to a cost reduction story. Lead with cleanout labour, vacuum truck spend and water loss, not with product quality.
The parent runs frac fleets that handle very large volumes of frac water and produced water at the pad. That is your core use case, and it is the same parent.
Search Apollo for Alpine Silica first, then ProFrac. Sand plant staff list the Alpine brand more often than the parent.
Call Plan
Two doors, one company. Door one is Alpine Silica plant operations at Kermit, Monahans and Lamesa. Open with pond and process water cleanout cost. Door two is ProFrac completions and wellsite water, where you already have references. Try door two first if a warm route exists, then ask for the introduction to Alpine.
Best Freedom Tool Openings Here
SETTLING PONDS
PROCESS WATER TANKS
FLOCCULANT TANKS
BULK DIESEL AND USED OIL
WELLSITE FRAC AND PRODUCED WATER
Apollo.io Search Strings — And Target Contacts
1. “Plant Manager” + Alpine Silica  •  2. “Operations” OR “Production” + Alpine Silica + Texas
3. “Maintenance” OR “Reliability” + Alpine Silica  •  4. “Water” OR “Environmental” + ProFrac  •  5. Kermit OR Monahans OR Lamesa + sand (keyword only)
Plant Manager — Alpine Silica
Owns one plant. Approves site equipment.
Director of Operations
Owns all three Texas sand plants.
Maintenance Manager
Owns cleanouts and shutdown scope.
Water Lead — ProFrac
Owns wellsite frac and produced water.
XTANK.CO
WINKLER, WARD, DAWSON COUNTIES, TX
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TIER 1 — Company 03 of 03 — Producing
U.S. Silica
CRANE, DAWSON AND LIMESTONE COUNTIES, TEXAS
Tier
TIER 1
Status
Producing
Ownership
Private. Apollo Global
bought it in 2024
Base
Katy, Texas
XTANK Priority
HIGH
Assets And Their Status
AssetCounty TypeStatus
Crane plantCraneIn-basin sand. Wet plant, dry plant, loadoutOperating since 2018. About 4 million tons per year.
Lamesa plantDawsonIn-basin sand. Wet plant, dry plant, loadoutOperating. About 6 million tons per year. 55 miles north of Midland.
Limestone County operationsLimestoneIndustrial and regional sandOperating. Confirm the product line before a call.
Industrial and specialty mineralsMultiple statesNon-proppant silica businessOperating. A separate buying group with its own plants.
What You Need To Know
Both Texas Permian plants are described by the company as fully automated, with a wet plant, an intermediate stockpile, a dry plant, a screening plant and a loadout. That is the full process on page 04 through page 06, on one site.
Apollo Global Management took the company private in 2024 in a deal valued at about 1.85 billion dollars. A private equity owner watches operating cost closely. Frame every claim in dollars per ton or in labour hours saved.
U.S. Silica also runs a large industrial and specialty minerals business outside oil and gas. Those plants wash and classify sand the same way. A win at Crane can travel a long way inside this company.
This is the most process disciplined of your three targets. Expect a formal vendor onboarding step and a materials review. Have your 316 stainless data sheet ready.
Call Plan
Lead with the API turbidity result and the recycle water loop. This company sells on quality and on consistency, so quality language lands here better than at a captive producer. Ask for the Plant Manager at Crane and for the Quality or Lab Manager. Ask what the lab blames when a turbidity result drifts up. Then offer a no cost trial on the process water tank.
Best Freedom Tool Openings Here
PROCESS WATER TANKS
THICKENER LAUNDER
SETTLING PONDS
SCRUBBER RECIRCULATION TANK
FLOCCULANT TANKS
Apollo.io Search Strings — And Target Contacts
1. “Plant Manager” + U.S. Silica + Texas  •  2. “Process Engineer” OR “Plant Engineer” + U.S. Silica
3. “Quality” OR “Laboratory” + U.S. Silica  •  4. “Maintenance” OR “Reliability” + U.S. Silica  •  5. Crane OR Lamesa + silica (keyword only)
Plant Manager — Crane
Owns the plant. Approves new equipment.
Quality / Lab Manager
Owns the API test and the certificate of analysis.
Process Engineer
Owns the water balance and the wet plant.
Procurement Lead
Owns vendor onboarding and the purchase order.
XTANK.CO
CRANE, DAWSON, LIMESTONE COUNTIES, TX
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Section 3 — Build Order
What To Add In Version 2
PROVE THE MESSAGE ON THREE COMPANIES FIRST
This version carries three company pages on purpose. Send the templates in Section 4 to these three companies first. Learn which opening gets a reply. Then write the next set of company pages with the language that worked, instead of guessing at it across all of them.
Add Next — In This Order
No.Company Texas countiesWhy it is next
4Black Mountain SandWinkler, Ward Large in-basin capacity, private, short decision chain. The best Tier 2 target.
5Vista MineralsWinkler, Hood Several mines plus rail terminals. Covers both in-basin and regional sand.
6High Roller SandWard, Ector Smaller plants near Penwell and Monahans. Owner level access.
7Covia / SibelcoMultiple Large operator group. Confirm which Texas plants still run before writing the page.
8Brady and Voca producersMcCulloch Hard rock sandstone. Crushing plus washing, so more equipment and more water.
9Van Horn producersCulberson Newer plants. Good design stage timing if a build is active.
10Smart Sand terminalsTerminals only Low first. No Texas wet plant. Only fuel and dust water tanks.
Not Yet Worth A Call
IDLE AND MOTHBALLED PLANTS. Several in-basin plants built during the 2018 boom now sit idle. An idle plant has no cleanout budget and no crew. Track them, but do not spend a touch on them.
DRY-ONLY AND TRANSLOAD SITES. A terminal that only stores and reloads dry sand has no wet plant. Only the fuel tank and the dust water tank apply. Low value for a first call.
How to build a page. Copy the layout on page 13. Fill the meta bar, the asset table, five facts, a call plan, the chips and the Apollo strings. Confirm every fact against the company website or a filing before it goes on the page. If you cannot confirm it, write “confirm” on the page instead of guessing.
XTANK.CO
BUILD ORDER
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04
Section 4 — Cold Email Templates, Page 1 of 2
Templates By Job Title
PLAIN ENGINEERING LANGUAGE — CLAIM ONLY WHAT YOU KNOW
The posture. You are an outsider from oil and gas produced water. Say so. Do not use process words you cannot defend on a follow up call. Talk about surfaces, floating layers, crust, ponds and hatch openings. Ask a question and let the engineer teach you the rest.
Template 1 — Plant Engineer or Process Engineer
Subject: A basic question about your recycle water
[NAME], I will be straight with you. I sell tank equipment into oil and gas produced water. I am new to sand plants, so I am not going to pretend I know your circuit. What I do know is surfaces. In any tank, anything lighter than the bulk liquid ends up in a layer at the top. Oil, film, foam, fine solids, crust. Our Freedom Tool sits at that level and pulls that layer off while the tank stays in service. No moving parts, no power, no tank entry. Built in 316 stainless steel. You recycle most of your process water. Does anything collect on the surface of that tank that you would rather not send back to the sand? Robert Muller XTANK.co | 713.725.2399 | robert@xtank.co
Template 2 — Maintenance Manager or Operations Manager
Subject: Who cleans the pond, and what does it cost you
[NAME], I sell a passive tank tool used in oil and gas produced water. I am new to sand plants, so I will keep this to what I can actually speak to. Ponds and water tanks build a crust on top. Algae, scale, fines, sometimes an oil sheen. Somebody has to go break it up and pull it off, and that means a vacuum truck, a crew and a day. The Freedom Tool breaks and skims that surface layer from inside, with the tank or pond in service. No moving parts, no power, no entry. How often does your crew do that job today, and what does one round cost you? Robert Muller XTANK.co | 713.725.2399 | robert@xtank.co
XTANK.CO
EMAIL TEMPLATES 1 OF 2
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Section 4 — Cold Email Templates, Page 2 of 2
Templates And Cadence
FOUR TOUCHES OVER EIGHTEEN DAYS
Template 3 — Quality Manager or Lab Manager
Subject: When turbidity drifts up, what does the lab blame?
[NAME], I work in oil and gas produced water and I am new to sand, so forgive a basic question. You wash sand with water you have already used. If anything is floating in that water, the grain picks it back up on the way through. My guess is the lab sees that before anyone else does. The Freedom Tool removes the floating layer from a tank while the tank stays in service. No power, no tank entry, 316 stainless steel. When a turbidity result drifts up on you, what does the lab usually trace it back to? Robert Muller | XTANK.co | 713.725.2399
Template 4 — Plant Manager, VP Operations or Procurement
Subject: One tank, one trial
[NAME], XTANK makes a patented passive tank tool. It skims whatever floats on the liquid, works the gas space above it, and grounds static in the flash zone. No moving parts, no power, no tank entry. Built in 316 stainless steel. It is proven in produced water tanks. Customers include WaterBridge, Select Water Services, Pilot Water and ConocoPhillips. It has not been used at a frac sand plant yet, and I am not going to tell you otherwise. I am asking for one tank to try it on. If it does nothing for you, we take it out. Is that worth a short call? Robert Muller | XTANK.co | 713.725.2399
Follow Up Cadence
TouchDay ChannelWhat to send
10EmailThe matched template above.
24Email replyReply to your own email. Add one line: the video link for the tank in service.
39LinkedIn or callConnect with a one line note. Or call the plant main line and ask for the role by name.
418EmailShort close out. “I will stop here. If the tank gives you trouble later, my number is below.”
Stop after touch four. Move the contact to a 90 day list. Re-touch when the site has news, such as a new plant, an expansion, a permit or a new hire.
XTANK.CO
EMAIL TEMPLATES 2 OF 2
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Section 5 — Objection Handling
What They Will Say Back
SHORT ANSWERS — DO NOT ARGUE
ObjectionAnswer
“We do not have oil in our water. This is a sand plant.” Agree first. Then ask what the loaders, dozers and slurry pumps are lubricated with, and what happens when a hydraulic hose lets go in the pit. Ask if anyone has ever skimmed the process water tank. Let the tank decide.
“Our thickener already has a rake and a scum arm.” Accept it and move. Go to the process water tank, the flocculant make-down tank, the settling pond and the scrubber recirculation tank.
“We just clean the pond once a year. It is not a problem.” Ask what that one round costs in vacuum trucks, labour and lost water. Ask how much water leaves with the solids. Turn a routine into a number.
“Our water is a closed loop. Nothing gets in.” Ask where the make-up water comes from and what is in it. Ask what the pond picks up from the wind. A closed loop still concentrates whatever enters it.
“We have never seen this used at a sand plant.” True. Say so plainly. The references are in oilfield produced water. The physics of a floating layer does not change with the fluid. Offer a no cost trial to make the first reference.
“Send me a specification sheet.” Good sign. Send it the same day. Include materials of construction, dimensions, weight and a photo in service. Ask for a fifteen minute call to size it.
“We have no budget this year.” Ask who sets next year's capital list and when. Ask to be on the list. Offer the trial now so the data exists when budget opens.
“Corporate approves all new vendors.” Expect this at U.S. Silica. Ask for the vendor onboarding pack and start it the same week. Ask the engineer to sponsor the trial while onboarding runs in parallel.
“Talk to procurement.” Ask for the name and ask for a one line introduction. Never go to procurement without the engineer behind you.
No reply at all. The most common outcome. Change the target role, not the message. Try the Maintenance Manager or the Lab Manager. They answer more often than plant managers.
Three Questions That Open Any Call

1. Which tank or pond on this site gives your crew the most trouble?

2. How often do you clean it, and who does the work?

3. What does one cleanout cost you in labour, trucks, water and lost time?

XTANK.CO
OBJECTION HANDLING
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Section 6 — Data And Limits
Sources And Verification Notes
CHECK BEFORE YOU QUOTE A NUMBER TO AN OPERATOR
Primary Sources Used
McLanahan — frac sand wet processing, attrition scrubbing, hydraulic classification, ultra fines recovery and thickener technical notes.
Agg-Net, Sly Inc., Powder & Bulk Solids and HP Process — wet processing, plant operations, and rotary versus fluid bed drying.
API RP 19C and ISO 13503-2 — proppant test methods. Turbidity limit of 250 FTU or NTU. Sphericity and roundness of 0.6 or higher.
Atlas Energy Solutions — investor releases on the Hi-Crush acquisition, the Dune Express first delivery, the Moser acquisition, and SEC filings.
ProFrac Holding Corp and Alpine Silica — the SP Silica of Monahans acquisition release and the Alpine Silica operations pages.
U.S. Silica — Crane and Lamesa location pages, the Permian expansion release, and press coverage of the Apollo Global take private.
Black Mountain Sand, Vista Minerals and High Roller Sand — company facility pages and trade press.
MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System — controller, operator and mine name records for Texas sand and gravel operations.
XTANK.co — the Freedom Tool product description.
Verify These Items On The First Call
Whether the plant uses a thickener, a clarifier or ponds alone.

Whether the plant takes any treated produced water as make-up.

Whether the site has a wet scrubber with a recirculation tank, or a baghouse only.
The current running status of each Alpine Silica Texas site.

What U.S. Silica now produces in Limestone County.

Which vessels sit inside a permitted or bunded area with restricted access.
Limits Of This Document

Company and site data was taken from company statements, filings and trade press in August 2026. Capacity figures are stated or reported figures, not actual output. Some figures date from 2023 and 2024 and may have changed. Confirm any number before you repeat it to an operator.

No named individual contacts are listed. Names change often. Use the job titles and the search strings, then confirm the person before you send.

The Freedom Tool has not been installed at a frac sand plant of any kind. Every application in this document is based on documented plant problems and on how the tool behaves in produced water service. Present it as a first application, not as proven practice.

Robert Muller — XTANK.co — 713.725.2399 — robert@xtank.co — www.xtank.co
XTANK.CO
SOURCES AND LIMITS
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