From rock to road

Based in Tennessee, USA, Astec Industries is a renowned OEM delivering niche solutions for construction, mining and general industry. The local operation is spearheaded by Astec Africa Middle East (AME) following the recent incorporation of Osborn Engineered Products SA. IMIESA speaks to Astec management, with a specific focus on the roads sector.

Products that will be familiar to local customers include Breaker Technology (BTI), KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens, Peterson,

Roadtec, and Telsmith, which now form part of the OneASTEC business model.

This follows a rebranding exercise where all new machines produced will be identified by a new Astec logo that represents the company’s purpose, ‘Built to Connect’.

Currently, Astec manufactures more than 100 products for its global customer base, with factories based in regions that include

North America, South America, South Africa and India.

“We made the decision to unify to make it easier for our dealers and customers to do business with us. By coming together as one organisation, we can offer greater customer service and drive innovation,” explains Barry Ruffalo, president and CEO of

Astec. “The rebrand enables us to build our strength together under one common name and purpose. We can better leverage our growth as one Astec team, rather than individual brands.” Comments Johan Goosen, regional managing director: AME, Astec (previously managing director of Osborn Engineered Products SA), “This is an exciting new era for our organisation, and our team at Osborn is proud to be part of it, and to be able to offer the resulting benefits to our customers.” Osborn will go to market as Astec with a new logo, colour palette and website.

Two primary business segments

Astec solutions are delivered via two primary business segments, namely Infrastructure Solutions and Material Solutions. Infrastructure Solutions includes roadbuilding, asphalt and concrete plants, thermal and storage solutions, while Material Solutions includes aggregate and other material processing solutions, such as mobile crushing and screening. “Since key Astec products have been sold in South Africa for a number of years, we already have a well-established customer base,” explains Calvin Fennell, regional sales director: AME, Infrastructure Solutions. “The key difference is that customers will now be able to engage with one OEM interface for sales and after-market services.

“Our roll-out into Africa and the Middle East is a carefully planned strategy over the next two to five years, which will be supported by asphalt plants and machines purposedesigned for regional requirements,” Fennell explains.

Examples include the development of single-axle and double-trailer mobile plants, which are expected to reach customers in 2022/23, as well as Astec’s BG series of asphalt batch plants.

Astec is gaining ground locally with its relocatable/stationary asphalt plants. These include its Astec Six Pack portable asphalt plant. The standard setup comes with the drum mixer, cold feed, scalping screen (with inclined conveyor), baghouse, surge bin, drag conveyor and control house.

Other key plants supplied in South Africa to date include the Astec Voyager 120 (120 tph) counterflow plant, designed to handle up to 30% RAP (or reclaimed asphalt pavement), and the Astec Double Barrel® dryer/drum mixer for up to 50% RAP. Production setup capabilities range from 181 tph to 544 tph.

As an aside, Astec was one of the pioneers in designing and manufacturing plants with

The Astec SB-3000 Shuttle Buggy®

a RAP capability to meet the development requirements of the USA’s interstate highway system. This led to Astec’s development and patenting of its Double Barrel® technology.

“Another interesting offering is Astec’s tank farm line for bulk bitumen storage. There’s increasing demand from industry for these types of installations to weather cyclical bitumen supply constraints experienced locally,” says Fennell.

Road trains

Within the roadbuilding sector, Astec has a complete solution for all asphalt pavement requirements. Technologies in the mix range from milling, road reclamation and soil stabilisation, to recycled asphalt pavement construction, and cold-mix asphalt applications.

“The Carlson paver range has traditionally been Astec’s compact line, while Roadtec products have been a dominant force in the major roads and highways markets of North America,” explains Philip Saunders, regional sales manager, Infrastructure Solutions. “The OneASTEC approach now combines Astec’s research and development programmes on future model

Astec’s Double Barrel® dryer/drum mixer Astec’s RX-600 EX (2.0 m) half-laneclass cold planer meets mainstream milling requirements

developments destined for the AME region. Watch this space.

“Astec’s strategy will be to progressively introduce new lines that complement existing products that have historically sold well in the region. A case in point is the material transfer vehicle (MTV) segment, where our MTVs are Sanral approved,” Saunders continues. “New product offerings include the MTV-1105 (tracked transfer vehicle) and the SB-3000 Shuttle Buggy®, which has replaced our tried and tested SB-2500.”

“We’ve also identified a need for 1.0 m to 2.0 m width milling machines and are excited about meeting the growing demand for cold-in-place recycling, alongside our soil stabilisers and road reclaimers,” says Saunders.

The Astec SX-6 EX will be the main stabiliser/reclaimer model sold locally, with the RX-600 EX (2.0 m) half-lane-class cold planer meeting mainstream milling requirements. The latter will be joined by the newly developed and lighter RX-505 EX (2.0 m) half-lane-class cold planer.

“Within the Infrastructure Solutions business line, customers will interface with Astec industry specialists who have in-depth experience and expertise within their specific segments. This will enable road contractors and asphalt producers to get the best value from their Astec investments,” adds Fennell. “This in turn will be supported by an integrated parts and service network in AME.

“Since its formation in 1972, Astec’s core competencies have always been founded on best-in-class products for every niche industry it serves, and we are committed to delivering on this promise,” Fennell concludes.

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