International Roundup

BY ASPHALTPRO STAFF

FFor the special CONEXPO-CON/ AGG edition of AsphaltPro Magazine, we collected a handful of international news bites that are of specific interest to the asphalt and aggregate industries. For example, the team at ProStack, a Terex brand, announced the appointment of Milaha as the latest addition to its global dealer network.

Milaha is one of the largest and most diversified maritime and logistics companies in the Middle East, according to the manufacturer, and will be responsible for the distribution, servicing and supplying of parts for the entire ProStack range within the Middle East. That range includes telescopic conveyors, port hoppers, bulk reception feeders and tracked conveyors. The manufacturer believes this, coupled with Terex name, will allow Milaha to cater to a wide range of customers in its region.

Over the past few years, ProStack has been expanding into new territories as part of an expansion plan. This announcement adds to ProStack’s momentum in the bulk material handling and product stockpiling markets.

Lee Nesbitt, global sales manager for ProStack, described the new partnership as an important step forward for both entities. “We see the Middle East as a hugely important region for us, so it was vital that we found the correct partner for this territory,” Nesbitt said. “We believe with Milaha’s experience and local expertise, along with ProStack’s expertly engineered product range, this partnership can go from strength to strength.” For more information, visit www.terex.com/prostack or www.milaha.com.

We also learned that Metso Outotec— which provides sustainable technologies and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries globally—and its distribution partner McHales Plant Sales LTD signed a contract to expand their aggregates distribution coverage to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) starting January 2023. The two companies have successfully partnered in Ireland since 2015.

“This expansion of our distribution partnership with McHales enables us to not only service the already significant installed base of existing customers, but also reach out to new customers,” said Juha YliPetäys, senior vice president, Global Distribution Management at Metso Outotec.

“To ensure the best experience and technical support for our customers, a transition period between Garriock and McHales will continue until the end of March for aftermarket support. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank Garriock for their contribution during our fruitful partnership,” he concluded.

“Since our appointment by Metso Outotec as distributors with responsibility for the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland markets, we have seen how customer interest in Metso Outotec’s offering has increased significantly,” said Tim Shanahan, managing director of McHale Plant Sales. “We look forward to building on our partnership with Metso Outotec by bringing our knowledge and experience to the English, Scottish and Welsh markets.”

For more information, email juha. yli-petays(at)mogroup.com or email tshanahan(at)mchaleplant.com.

Down in Australia and New Zealand, the government entity Austroads has developed a webinar to present a proposed protocol and development work, as well as a plan for future validation studies, of the use of increased reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) percentages in new asphalt mixes along with the use of rejuvenators. RAP contents are typically about 10-20% in their mixes, according to Austroads, but higher contents are allowed if the effect of the aged binders in the RAP is accounted for. Rejuvenators are allowed to “soften the hardened binders which are present in RAP and are therefore considered an essential component for producing high-content RAP mixes.”

At press time, rejuvenators were not commonly used due to the lack of specs that evaluate the potential performance. To address the issue, Austroads developed a rejuvenator evaluation protocol to evaluate rejuvenators as part of binder blends and to assess their short/long-term aging resistance. To learn more about the webinar and protocol, visit https://austroads. com.au/.

The multinational inspection, certification and engineering consultancy RINA, based in Genoa, announced in January its acquisition of the entire share capital of Patrick Engineering Ltd., Chicago, which is an engineering consultancy company active in infrastructure, transport and renewable energy. With a turnover of approximately US$82 million and 340 employees in 19 offices mainly located in the northeast of the United States, Patrick Engineering will be fully integrated into RINA Consulting, the subsidiary of the RINA Group operating in the engineering sector.

The acquisition is intended to strengthen the group’s geographic footprint as well as add competencies across the group.

Ugo Salerno, chairman and CEO at RINA, said, “The acquisition of Patrick Engineering and the combined expertise of the new organization represents a unique opportunity for expansion and growth in the thriving North American Infrastructure market. It establishes an excellent platform not only in this sector, but also to grow all RINA’s businesses to make the US one of RINA’s main hubs. RINA will gain leverage to export its highly specialized competencies in materials, lab testing and innovative technology.”

Companies with international projects in the asphalt and aggregates industries are welcome to share their successes with AsphaltPro Magazine’s audience by reaching out to our editor at sandy@theasphaltpro.com.