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TAggregates-minded eyes on Asian & African elections
here are several key national elections taking place this year that readers of Aggregates Business International – Asia, Africa & Middle East will be paying close attention to.
In India, prime minister Narendra Modi is standing for re-election in the country’s general election being held in April and May. Set to become the most populous country on earth by 2030, India’s economy is also growing in strength. ‘The economy, stupid’ was a phrase much used by Bill Clinton in his successful 1992 U.S presidential election campaign when forecasting the biggest factor influencing the American people’s voting intention. Relating that to the forthcoming Indian general elections, it is hard to see how Modi will not win a second prime ministerial term.
Closer analysis of Modi’s first term as prime minister reveals much to enthuse the country’s aggregates industry. To help reduce often crippling traffic congestion and to better connect scores of cities and towns yet to fully reap the benefits of India’s growing economic might, Modi has backed a five-year national road sector investment programme worth more than $90 billion. It is increasing road building in India to more than 40km a day. When you add in close to 10,000kms of earmarked new railways, and the development of port infrastructure around 10 coastal economic regions, there has been and continues to be a vast wealth of opportunities for quarry operators looking to supply infrastructure building contractors’ voracious appetite for raw building materials.
Election fever is in full swing in Africa, with the continent the scene of numerous important general elections in 2019. As I write this column in mid-February, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, is preparing to go to the polls. Meanwhile, Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC government is the hot favourite to win the South African general election in May. Given the importance and size of Nigeria’s and
South Africa’s quarrying and mining industries, many minerals processing companies will be hoping that renewed investment in new major infrastructure projects by re-elected or alternative administrations will stimulate domestic aggregates demand. Other general elections in Africa this year that could have implications for domestic and regional aggregates industries will take place in Mozambique and Namibia in southern Africa, in Somalia in east Africa, and in Libya and Tunisia in north Africa.
Focusing on South-East Asia, Thailand’s high-profile general election is due to take place in March. In February, Thailand’s king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, denounced his sister Princess Ubolratana Mahidol’s unprecedented bid for political power as inappropriate. Thai Raksa Chart, the party that nominated Princess Mahidol to run for prime minister, says it will comply with the king’s wishes after he opposed the move. The candidacy would have broken with the tradition of the Thai royal family publicly staying out of politics.
The Philippines general election takes place in May, and a month earlier Indonesians will be voting for their country’s next prime minister. As reported in previous editions of ABI, the huge growth potential within the South-East Asian aggregates sector makes it an exciting market for original quarrying equipment manufacturers. With its population of 264 million, half of which are aged under 30, Indonesia’s 135 million tonnes/year aggregates production already makes it the fastest growing aggregates market in South-East Asia.
Let us hope that re-elected or new administrations in Indonesia and other ABI-covered countries staging general elections in 2019 put infrastructure development and building materials sustainability at the forefront of their thinking when it comes to delivering on their election manifesto commitments. AB
Dilip Buildcon aggregates quarry in Uttar Pradesh, India
HEIDELBERGCEMENT
CUTS STAKE IN CIMENTS DU MAROC
HeidelbergCement has reduced its stake in Moroccan company Ciments du Maroc as part of its action plan to optimise its portfolio and improve cash generation.
The sale by the German global building materials giant of around 1.1 million shares representing 7.8% of Ciments du Maroc’s share capital generated around US$158 million (€140mn). The shares were sold to certain Moroccan institutional investors through an off-market block trade. Following this transaction, HeidelbergCement will retain a controlling stake of 54.6% in Ciments du Maroc and continue to fully consolidate the company.
Dr. Bernd
“HeidelbergCement is fully committed to remain the long-term majority shareholder of Ciments du Maroc, a key strategic asset within the group’s portfolio”, said Dr. Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.
“The reduction in shareholding is part of our action plan to optimise our portfolio and generate cash in order to speed up deleveraging. We continue to be well on track to reach our target of €1.5 billion of disposal proceeds by the end of 2020.”
Metso completes Metso Park India expansion
industries. This latest investment increases Metso’s crushing and screening plant production capacity in India by 40%.
Metso launched operations in India in 1992 and has since been developing a strong footprint in the market. In 2018, the company announced a new foundry project in Vadodara to increase metallic wear castings capacity, and it acquired a valve automation division of Rotex Manufacturers and Engineers Private Ltd. Today, Metso is present in India with over 1200 employees in seven regional offices, five production units and foundries, and an extensive service and distribution centre network across the country.
Metso has completed the expansion of its Metso Park production facility in Alwar, India. With this expansion Metso is addressing the growing demand for crushing and screening solutions in the Indian market, as well as improving the availability of products for export operations to Asia.
The global demand for Metso’s aggregates crushing and screening equipment remains strong, and India is one of the fastest growing markets for Metso in business areas. Metso Park is among Metso’s key global production sites delivering a wide range of equipment and a variety of service products for the aggregates, mining and process
Global aggregates demand to expand at robust pace
The global construction aggregates market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% in the period 2016-2024, reaching a market value of US$468.2 billion by the end of 2024, according to a new study by Future Market Insights (FMI).
The new FMI study titled
‘Global Construction Aggregates Market: Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016–2024’ states that new trends in construction aggregates, such as manufactured sand and recycled aggregates, along with rising investment in infrastructure globally are driving the global construction aggregates market.
“India has made rapid leaps in technology, and customers there are now demanding more and better solutions. The biggest stride of all is the shift from a price-sensitive market to a valuesensitive market. The Indian customers are technology-savvy and have strong entrepreneurial abilities. We at Metso are committed to developing our capabilities to better meet our customers’ needs in the changing business environment,” said Pekka Vauramo, Metso’s president and CEO, who recently visited Metso Park as part of a tour of Metso’s Indian business operation.
The growth of the construction industry, increasing construction spending, especially in developing economies such as India and the Middle East, are some of the other major market drivers. Conversely, high transport costs, regulations concerning stringent zoning, seasonal factors, and rising energy costs are expected to act as restraints to market growth.
During the 2016-2024 forecast period, the infrastructure segment will continue to account for the maximum share of the total construction aggregates market and is anticipated to expand at a healthy CAGR during the forecast period. By product type, sand will remain the largest revenue generating segment; however, crushed stone segment is expected to expand at a higher CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period.
Among regions, China is expected to dominate the construction aggregates market throughout the forecast period, expanding at a CAGR of 4.7% in value terms.
Scheifele, chairman of HeidelbergCement managing board
Fabrication area within Metso’s Alwar facility
CRH equipped for growth
CRH group chief executive Albert Manifold says the global building materials giant is in a good position to achieve further growth in 2019.
Manifold’s buoyant forecast came after the major cement, ready-mixed concrete and aggregates supplier, whose portfolio includes cement firms in China, India and the Philippines, posted sales of €26.8 billion in 2018, 6% up on the previous year. The group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at €3.37 billion, 7% ahead of 2017. Meanwhile, operating profit from continuing operations was also up
4% to €2.177 billion.
“2018 was another year of record profit delivery for CRH,” said Manifold. “We benefited from good demand and continued favourable market fundamentals in the Americas coupled with positive underlying momentum in Europe. Both were experienced against a backdrop of energy-related input cost inflation and significant weather disruption throughout the year but with a continued focus on performance improvement and operational delivery, margins were ahead of last year.
“Supported by strong cash generation, we continued to deliver value through efficient capital
Ritchie Bros. holds
“world’s largest” auction
Ritchie Brothers has completed what it says is the world’s largest ever equipment auction that raised over US$297m.
More than 15,900 bidders from 88 countries attended the event held on a 220-acre (89.03 hectare) site in Orlando, Florida from 18-23 February. The US$297m total was
7% up on the US$278m total for the 2018 event.
The company says this year’s event was its largest auction ever with more than 13,350 assets sold.
Equipment highlights included 800+ excavators, 640+ compactors, 430+ loaders, 395 skid steers, 385 dozers, 210+ articulated dump trucks, 240+
ABOVE: CRH firm Republic Cement’s integrated cement plant in Teresa, a town in the Philippines
management, completing €3.6 billion of acquisitions and €3 billion of disposals, while returning €0.8 billion to shareholders in the year through our share buyback programme. CRH remains well positioned to build upon the gains made in 2018. With a relentless focus on continuous business improvement, margin expansion, cash generation and returns for shareholders, together with continued strong financial discipline and efficient allocation of capital, we believe 2019 will be a year of progress and further growth for the group.”
dump trucks, 465+ aerial work platforms, and 465+ truck tractors. Every item was sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.
More than 11,300 bidders from around the world participated online in real time. US buyers purchased 85% of the equipment, while international buyers from countries such as Australia, China, Colombia, Germany, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates purchased 15%. Online buyers purchased approximately 49% of the equipment.
ASPASA MEMBERS RECORD ZERO FATALITIES
Moving into a third year without a fatality, members of South African surface mining and quarrying industry association Aspasa are leading the way with the adoption of advanced health and safety systems that are designed to minimise injuries in their mines and quarries.
This is a remarkable feat considering that the association represents hundreds of mining operations including quarries, surface, dimension stone, salt and other mainly small and medium-sized operations and accounts for a sizeable portion of the overall manpower employed in the mining sector.
Following the release of the Chief Inspector of Mines (CIOM), David Msiza’s, statement on mine health and safety statistics, the association’s director, Nico Pienaar, said he was pleased that
the association’s members had played their part in reducing fatalities and injuries on site.
“We had a great week in Orlando, helping more than 1,150 companies sell their surplus equipment to buyers from nearly every corner of the world,” said Ritchie Brothers CEO Ravi Saligram. “Orlando is the Super Bowl of auctions and our team was prepared and performed tremendously, helping us set multiple company records, including our largest ever gross transactional value (GTV) and the most equipment we’ve sold in one auction in 60-plus years of business. On day five alone we sold approximately 2,300 items for more than US$82mn — the largest single auction day in our history!”
The inspector has reported 81 fatalities from other sectors of the industry during 2018. The figures given by the CIOM show that 40 were in the gold sector, 12 in platinum, 9 in coal and 20 in the “other” parts of the sector. The CIOM points out these are in the diamonds, chrome, copper and iron ore operations. There are none in the commodities Aspasa represents. Due to Aspasa being able to have members in surface mines, those mines could also benefit from being members of Aspasa.
Pienaar said the association mainly represented members in the non-precious metal, stone and coal industries although membership is open to all surface mining types.
Nico Pienaar, Aspasa director
Ritchie Bros.’ Orlando auction site
VAUGHAN
Delivering on Babcock’s mandate
At the core of Babcock’s equipment division’s eminence in southern Africa is its unparalleled aftermarket support prowess, very much in line with its ‘trusted to deliver’ mantra. In his two and half years as MD of the company, David Vaughan has further championed the company’s service agenda with tangible results –business has done very well and winning the EMEA Best Dealer Volvo Services Award has been a major highlight. Munesu Shoko reports
Babcock is a household name in the southern African equipment industry. It manages the exclusive distribution and support of leading international brands in southern Africa, namely Volvo Construction Equipment and its two subsidiaries, Terex Trucks and SDLG, as well as Tadano (mobile cranes), Sennebogen (materials handling equipment) and Winget (concrete mixers and dumpers). Its territory comprises South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Zambia, as well as Zimbabwe, which it manages through a sub-dealer.
The success of the business has over the years hinged on its tremendous aftermarket regime. That Volvo CE, Babcock’s major principal, is a global force in the yellow metal equipment industry is no point of contention, but its major success in southern Africa has largely been buoyed by the excellent support service from Babcock.
Guiding the company’s aftermarket philosophy is Babcock’s understanding that in today’s operating conditions, equipment owners expect suppliers to meet their needs and respond to their problems effectively and swiftly. This is most certainly the case when it comes to big-ticket, missioncritical assets such as mining and quarrying equipment.
One man who has an unobstructed understanding of this is David Vaughan, who – some two and half years ago – was entrusted to lead Babcock’s Equipment division. Besides working for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and equipment suppliers during his 40-year career in the yellow metal industry, Vaughan also spent close to two years on the “other side of the fence” during his stint with a plant hire company.
Working on the end-user side of the equipment value chain has given him a clear understanding of the significance of flawless
aftermarket support from an equipment supplier. Consequently, in his new role, he doesn’t only see things from a supplier point of view, but from a customer perspective as well.
Prior to his appointment as managing director, Vaughan had been the sales director of Babcock’s Equipment division for over five years. He joined the company back in February 2005 as general manager of the Northern Region, which encompasses Johannesburg (Gauteng), Rustenburg (North West Province), Middelburg and Nelspruit (Mpumalanga), as well as Steelpoort (Limpopo Province) in South Africa.
Vaughan started his earthmoving equipment career way back in 1979 with one of the leading OEMs, which he joined as a trainee and worked in all the different arms of the business, ranging from workshops and warehousing to parts and field service. After two years of training, he became trainee product support representative, before assuming a capital equipment salesman role. From here, he never looked back – he went through all the roles, from general manager to sales director and eventually managing director.
When he took over the managing directorship role at Babcock, he had a single goal in mind – and that was to further boost the company’s customer service mission. “Over the past two and half years, we made a strategic decision to build the business on the back of our aftermarket service strategy. We have, during my tenure, worked hard to elevate our aftermarket offering,” he says.
To this end, Vaughan’s first major task as MD was to lead the restructuring of the business. “We had to split the business into four major regions – Northern, Southern, Eastern and Export. Each region is led by its own regional manager. The goal is to offer our customers quicker turnaround times on service and parts. The new structure has
ensured quick decision-making through direct lines of communication,” says Vaughan.
Another key intervention was to restructure the entire parts department. Coupled with this was the complete redesign of the service and maintenance contract offering to offer tailor-made contracts suited to each customer’s operating and economic profile. “We have also boosted the headcount in the aftermarket department, not just from a technical point of view, but also the different tiers of management to ensure optimal running of this crucial arm of the business,” says Vaughan.
A major focus on training has also been part of the aftermarket revolution. The workforce has been trained locally and overseas. Local training is conducted at Babcock’s own training centre. “Finding skills we need has become one of the biggest challenges for the capital equipment supply chain and end users alike. The situation will only get more acute as technology evolves and competition for talent tightens. Given the dynamics, it is vital for every forward-thinking company to have a system in place to develop the skills it needs, now and well into the future,” reasons Vaughan.
To be able to execute a proper aftermarket strategy, a fundamental requisite is to have the infrastructure that allows the supplier to promptly respond to any service needs. Babcock has done a lot in recent years in this regard. A ZAR100 million (about £5.4 million) investment in a contemporary facility in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, (inaugurated in 2016) took Babcock’s service to the next level in the coal-mining region.
This was followed by several investments in facility upgrades around South Africa and neighbouring countries. “A case in point is the recent move to a bigger premises in
Richards Bay, South Africa, as well as in Namibia. We have also done a lot of work together with our principals, especially Volvo CE, in terms of parts pricing and availability,” adds Vaughan.
Results of these initiatives are there for all to see. Winning the 2017/18 EMEA Best Dealer Volvo Services award was a true indicator of Babcock’s triumphant aftermarket strategy. “The measuring tool of the award is an independent survey conducted by a Volvo-appointed company that gathers feedback from customers across Europe, Middle East and Africa on the aftermarket performances of their respective dealers,” says Vaughan.
“Babcock consistently achieved higher scores than its competitors in many aspects of the survey. In essence, according to our customers, we are ticking all the right boxes when it comes to the provision of aftermarket service. The award is particularly encouraging for the whole team as it recognises all the initiatives we have put in place to be able to support our customers throughout our area of jurisdiction,” adds Vaughan.
Proof of the aftermarket strategy’s success is the growth of the company’s service/maintenance contracts portfolio.
“Having started with a single customer some two years back, we now have nearly 1,000 machines on service/maintenance contracts. This forms a huge part of our service turnover,” says Vaughan.
Overall, the business has done very well in the past two and half years. Sales of articulated haulers have been remarkable, especially in the mining and quarrying industries. In southern Africa, these industries tend to favour high-production type of equipment because of the large production capacities. “As a result, the bigger ranges – [articulated dump trucks] ADTs, excavators and wheeled loaders – are our market drivers,” he says.
John Garrison rallying the Superior team at the start of a show day at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017
The Volvo A30 has the largest population in the quarrying industry. However, some of the larger quarries have recently shifted to the A40, prompting major demand for the model. “ADT sales have been phenomenal. For the first time ever, in 2018 we sold more articulated haulers than any other supplier in South Africa. In our five-model Volvo range – A30, A35, A40, A45 and A60H – the A40 is currently the biggest seller. To give an idea, it enjoys over 45% market share in the country and over 95% in the Middelburg area,” says Vaughan.
The used equipment division has also enjoyed remarkable success in recent years, especially the used parts and component offering of the business, which was established some two years ago. Depending on condition and age, trade-in machines are either sold, refurbished or stripped for
used parts and components. The parts and components are either stocked as they are or refurbished and sold back into the market.
Looking to the future, Vaughan is hopeful that the construction industry, which has been in dire straits in the past few years, will start recovering this year, especially after the May elections in South Africa. He believes the country’s infrastructure, especially roads, needs some immediate attention. Coupled with the recovery of the construction sector will be the resurgence of the quarrying industry, which heavily relies on construction projects.
In conclusion, Vaughan reiterates that aftermarket will remain a major focus area for Babcock. “I am very customer-oriented and committed to building long-term relationships with our customers who trust us to deliver.” AB
THE DEFINITION OF TOUGH
OUR LINE OF TOUGH EQUIPMENT WORKS HARD IN TOUGH ENVIRONMENTS. DURABLE AND POWERFUL, YOU CAN BE CONFIDENT YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH LIUGONG’S POWERFUL LINE OF MACHINES. WITH A FOCUS ON THE EASY AND FLUID OPERATION AS WELL AS COMFORT, OPERATORS HAVE AN EASY TIME KEEPING UP WITH OUR MACHINES.
CENTRAL ASIA’S AGGREGATES ASCENSION
Central Asia’s five republics are rapidly growing their transport and other infrastructure, creating eye-catching opportunities for global building materials suppliers and aggregates handling and processing equipment manufacturers. Guy Woodford reports.
Close observers of geopolitics and emerging market economics will have noted how the five Central Asian republics - Uzbekistan (population 31 million), Kazakhstan (18 million), Tajikistan (9 million), Kyrgyzstan (6 million), and Turkmenistan (6 million) – are pivotal to the successful delivery of China’s epic Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a US$5trillion mega-infrastructure project across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Colloquially known as the ‘Stans’, a suffix meaning ‘lands of,’ the Central Asia republics are endowed with tremendous
natural resources. Among their wealth of commodities are hydrocarbons – oil and gas, as well as coal – which form the cornerstones of the economies of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that US$33 billion per year will be needed between 2016 and 2030 to tackle the massive infrastructure requirements of Central Asia. While some of this investment is required to replace the republics’ inherited decrepit Soviet-era transport infrastructure network, there is also a hunger among Central Asian people for greater connectivity
with the wider world, to be a region to do business with and holiday in. Central Asia’s republics are lands of opportunity and an increasing draw for growth-seeking global commerce, including major building materials and mineral processing equipment manufacturers.
In an interview with this magazine in autumn 2016, Professor John Read, Shell general manager for bitumen technology, said Central Asia’s republics along with North, East and West African coastal countries were key growth markets for the global bitumen sector going forward.
A Nordberg HP4 cone crusher working at a Nerudnik site in Uzbekistan
“These are regions that do not have a developed road network. To enable them to get to the same living standards we have today, we expect them to follow on in terms of massive investment in road networks from the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] countries. After the Central Asia republics, it will be Africa’s turn, specifically countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria – coastal locations exposed to the wider world. These will be followed by some internal African countries. A lot of World Bank money is going into Africa to help with road network development.”
During the same ABI interview, Read said that in his role at Shell Bitumen, he has worked closely with the World Bank on sustainability projects in various countries.
“The World Bank used to say, and may still do, that it was better for them to invest a dollar in roads, than a dollar in irrigation. If you connect two villages, they begin to trade. That creates wealth, and that wealth is used to purchase goods. Then you create the next village road and trade link.”
A new report titled Construction in Kazakhstan - Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022 by GlobalData, a leading global business market research consultancy, says the Kazakh government’s efforts to enhance transport and residential infrastructure will support the growth of the construction industry until 2022. The report highlights how the government plans to invest KZT6.5 trillion (US$20 billion) to develop Kazakhstan’s rail and road infrastructure. In addition, the government’s aim to develop renewable energy resources is expected to support investment in energy infrastructure projects, which will in turn fuel growth in the industry. The industry growth will also be driven, says GlobalData, by the Strategic Development Plan 2025, under which the Kazakh government aims to improve the competitiveness of business and human capital, institutional environment and technological modernisation, thus ensuring sustainable economic growth.
LiuGong is among Chinese global market construction and quarrying equipment manufacturers with a strong presence in
the Central Asia market. Qing Ling, the company’s Central Asia regional manager, states that aggregates demand across the five Central Asian republics is around 20 million tonnes/year. “Aggregates are mainly used in concrete mixes and end customers tend to be building and bridge and road construction contractors. The annual aggregates production in these countries is not enough to meet demand so they also need to import aggregates from China.”
Ling says that as well as BRI generating huge demand for aggregates in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and other cities and regions in the Stan republics, there are some other ongoing big transport and residential building infrastructure projects. These include 1000 kilometres (kms) of new road from the Almaty region to East Kazakhstan; a further 1200kms of new roads between the Almaty region and the Kazakh capital of Astana, the delivery of Kazakhstan’s 2020 Economically Affordable Housing Plan; and major civil construction works in southern Kazakhstan. Other projects include the expansion of the impressive metro rail network in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan.
Speaking about Central Asian republics’ aggregates sector customers’ equipment preferences, Ling says: “We find that wheeled
loaders with a 5-tonne bucket capacity are popular among medium- to small-size quarry operators. Wheeled loaders with bucket capacities of seven to nine tonnes are liked by larger quarry businesses.
“Overall, with a deepening of support from the Chinese government for the Belt and Road Initiative, there will be more projects and better prospects for the Central Asian republics’ aggregates sector.”
A spokesperson for Kleemann, the German global market track-mobile crushing and screening plant manufacturer, said that customers in Central Asia have historically favoured traditional stationary plant. They added: “The purchase decision is very price related, which is why many machines are bought from Iran and China. According to our experience, environmental protection does not play a major role in these countries. The greatest plant demand is for quarry applications.”
Metso is a premium aggregates processing equipment manufacturer keeping a close eye on Central Asia mineral products demand.
“Metso has been operating for many years in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and in parts of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan,” says Alexy Strikha, Metso’s Central Asia regional director. “The highest numbers of aggregates production are in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Kazakhstan market has experienced considerable growth during the last few years and has now stabilised. The Uzbekistan market is emerging and for the moment has the highest potential for growth among the countries in the region.”
Strikha says Metso puts Kazakhstan’s aggregates production capability to be up to 60 million m³, while the current demand is around 35 million m³. Estimating other Central Asian republics’ production volumes is, says Strikha, difficult due to variations in the recording of official statistics.
Commenting on the main types of aggregates produced in Central Asia and their usual buyers, Strikha says: “The main source for construction material is gravel that
A Metso aggregates processing plant being operated by Leading Force of Uzbekistan
Professor John Read, Shell general manager for bitumen technology pic – Stuart Conway (Shell)
is mined around large cities or construction areas. Most of the end customers are large construction companies that are active in segments such as road construction, house construction and major industrial structures.
“Aggregates produced in Central Asia are predominantly domestically consumed due to growing logistics expenses.”
Analysing some of the big infrastructure projects taking place within the five Central Asian republics, Strikha continues: “The Uzbekistan market is growing with projects like construction of business centres, for example Tashkent city with US$1 billion investment in construction. The plan is to build by 2020 around 500 apartment buildings in the Tashkent region and 500 hotels in the whole country.
“One of the main road construction projects in Uzbekistan is the TashkentSamarkand highway, which is planned to be built within the next few years. The country also has a few industrial construction projects, like refinery and automotive manufacturing.
“Kazakhstan finalised big infrastructure projects in 2017 like Astana Expo and Nurly Zhol. Nowadays, construction volumes there are reduced.”
Strikha says that due to Central Asia republic mining and production methods, semi-mobile wheel-mounted Metso NW plants are in the highest demand, as they allow reduced installation time and lower overall production cost, while supplying the best quality product.
“There is a high interest for the latest Metso technology development and smart solutions, and we expect that this interest will transform into solid demand,” he adds.
Protecting the environment through considerate aggregates production is a big thing in Central Asia, says Strikha, with “very strict” local legislation. “Customers are also paying a lot of attention to environmental issues. This is another reason why Metso equipment is in high demand.”
Strikha says Metso sees big potential in the Central Asia region due to its growing population, continuing urbanisation and people’s rising living standards.
Caterpillar is another big global
aggregates processing equipment player with a strong presence in Central Asia. Borusan is the U.S. giant’s dealer in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, while another dealer, Zeppelin, represents Caterpillar in several other Central Asian republics.
Mikhail Nabiyev, product manager at Borusan Makina Kazakhstan LLP, says that over 1,000 companies in Kazakhstan alone are registered to extract open minerals deposits. “Most of the mineral commodities in Kazakhstan are being consumed by the internal market, but a portion is exported to Russia, Kyrgyzstan and other Eurasian countries.
“In Kazakhstan, there is large governmental long-term plan. The Nurly Zhol programme which started in 2013 with the aim to develop and modernise the infrastructure, including roads and highways around the country, includes road projects up to 2025. During the period 2013-2017, over 1,800 kilometres of new roads were built.”
With low domestic prices for aggregates, sand and clay, Nabiyev says aggregates processing business customers in Kazakhstan look for cost-competitive equipment.
“The most popular models are the Cat 320D2L and 326D2L excavators with HP lines fitted with hammers, used for crushing rock, especially to finish after a blast. The Cat 336D2L excavator is used in quarries to load trucks or crushing machines. For some customers, Cat Certified Used is a solution that offers performance and reliability at an attractive value.”
Nabiyev stresses that the long-term outlook for the Kazakhstan aggregates sector will be influenced by government-led road construction initiatives. AB
A Cat 966H wheeled loader working at a quarry in Kazakhstan
Mikhail Nabiyev, product manager at Borusan Makina Kazakhstan LLP
Volvo EC200D boosts productivity for PT Berdikari Putra Perkasa
With demand for building materials on the rise in Indonesia, one company has turned to the new Volvo EC200D crawler excavator to provide the reliability and productivity needed to cope with a growing order book. Guy Woodford reports
The aggregates industry in Indonesia is experiencing a boom, with over US$104 billion invested in road infrastructure in the country. Providing the building materials to satisfy this huge level of investment is a challenge for many companies, but one contractor based outside Yogyakarta, has found the perfect machine to help: the EC200D excavator from Volvo Construction Equipment.
PT Berdikari Putra Perkasa was one of the first in Indonesia to receive an EC200D, with deliveries starting only a few months ago. However, the unit is already proving its worth, replacing an older machine and significantly boosting production for the company, which delivers building materials to projects around the local area.
The EC200D is based at the stockpile facility, playing a central role in operations where it works up to 20 hours a day moving over 300m³ of sand and gravel from quarries to the stockpile. From here the material is moved for processing before passing on to the construction projects where it will be used. Situated at an important bottleneck between extraction and transport, the excavator’s work is vital for the successful delivery of aggregates to customers.
“We really like our Volvo EC200D’s speed and fuel efficiency,” said Haji Mujiyana,
owner at PT Berdikari Putra Perkasa. “The D-series machines have a great fourcylinder engine, which offers best-in-class performance and we’ve seen that translate to tangible productivity gains at our facility.”
The Volvo EC200D is a solid performer that offers excellent fuel efficiency and productivity in a range of general construction applications. In addition to material handling, the versatile excavator is also perfect for road construction, building, landscaping and utility work. The excavator features the powerful Volvo D5E Tier 3 engine that delivers 123kW at 2,000rpm. Coupled with compatible hydraulics, the EC200D is designed to operate quickly and with short cycle times. It is configured with a 5.7m boom, 2.9m arm and 0.8m³ bucket, while maximum breakout force is 116kN.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, four Volvo EC210D crawler excavators are delivering much needed protection to Filipino villagers living near the Mayon volcano. The heavyduty units are building spillways to direct lava, debris and rain away from populated areas, while simultaneously preserving valuable aggregates resources.
The EC210D has a Volvo D5E engine, which combines with the machine’s proven hydraulics to provide high torque at low rpm for superior performance and fuel efficiency. AB
A new Volvo EC200D crawler excavator is providing the reliability and productivity PT Berdikari Putra Perkasa needs to cope with a growing order book
Jaw crushers are generally provided for abrasive to very abrasive materials as primary crushers.
MAXIMISING CRUSHING GAINS
By tonnage, crushing is by far the largest operation in aggregates processing. To do it cost effectively, it’s always important to deploy the right crusher for the application. This not only saves you time, but it will also save you money in the long run. Munesu Shoko reports.
Regarded as the main process in aggregates production, crushing is the first controlled size reduction stage and is the basis for optimal further size reduction. It is, therefore, important that when choosing a new rock crusher, the first thing you need to know is which one best matches your material – and it is imperative to find the right one the first time.
Just how important is crushing in the whole aggregates production equation? Reiterating the significance of the process, Heath Dickson, national mining sales manager at ELB Equipment, says “simply put, without crushing, in specification aggregate would not exist”.
Sandro Scherf, CEO of Pilot Crushtec International, says the crushing stages are critical to achieving the right quantity and quality of aggregate products. “Similar to driving a vehicle, to reach top speed you need to go through various gears; in aggregate production, you need to go through various crushing stages. The number of crushing stages will vary depending on production requirements such as the quantity you need to produce and the specifications of the final product,” says Scherf.
Tyron Ravenscroft, Finlay Product Manager at Bell Equipment, says without crushing, very little aggregate would be produced from purely using explosives to blast the natural rock. “Therefore, the crushing stage is a vital necessity to be
able to produce high-quality aggregates. However, screening the crushed material is just as important to be able to produce the different aggregate sizes, which then become a valuable and sellable product,” says Ravenscroft.
Johann Prüwasser, engineer at Keestrack, says the importance is extremely high because the crushing stage influences the overall quality of the final product. He adds that the costs of processing are mainly dependent on the crushing system and its energy demand.
It is important to deploy the right crusher for the right application. There are different types of crushers available in the market, ranging from jaws to cone and impact crushers. Scherf says for the long-term profitability of any operation, it’s imperative to have the correct type and size of crusher in a correct application.
He reasons that a jaw crusher is universally applicable in primary crushing applications and is used to reduce large material to a more manageable size. “From the hardest of granite or basalt, to the softest of sedimentary, the jaw crusher is a compression crusher that takes large primary material and reduces it to a manageable size for further crushing. In some cases, granulator jaw crushers can be used in secondary applications,” says Scherf.
Prüwasser reasons that generally jaw crushers are provided for abrasive to very abrasive materials as primary crushers. Cone crushers are mainly used for abrasive
to very abrasive materials as secondary crushers. Ravenscroft agrees, saying that a jaw is predominantly classified as a primary crusher, by virtue of being the first stage in the crushing process. “It caters for large feed size and a high production output, with a crushing ratio of 4/5:1,” says Ravenscroft.
Scherf says while there are primary gyratory crushers (similar in operating principle to a cone crusher), cone crushers are generally used as secondary or tertiary crushers. “Cone crushers are also compression crushers and offer a greater ability to adjust your final product size and shape than a jaw crusher and operate at a lower cost per tonne than an impact crusher in hard or abrasive feeds,” says Scherf.
Cone crushers are mainly used for abrasive to very abrasive materials as secondary crushers.
Ravenscroft says a cone crusher is classified as a secondary and/or tertiary crusher. “It further reduces the size of the rock at a 4/5:1 ratio and supplying desired end product sizes. Cone crushers can also supply a quality shaped product by using the crusher within its desired parameters and crushing ratios,” he says.
When it comes to horizontal shaft impactors (HSI), Dickson says as long as the client understands the wear costs and
ultimately the cost per tonne to produce, there is a place for this type of crusher in most applications, especially demolition, recycling of asphalt and applications where the client needs high reduction of material.
Scherf says while it can be used as a primary crusher in certain applications, a horizontal shaft impactor comes to the fore as a secondary or tertiary crusher in softer, non-abrasive rocks such as limestone. “As the name implies, it crushes using the impact of the feed material against metal hammers. Perhaps the most versatile of all the crusher types, offering the best in terms of reduction ratio and producing a cubicle product, the operating cost in abrasive or hard feed materials limits its practical applications,” says Scherf.
Ravenscroft says impact crushers can be classified as primary/secondary crushers or secondary/tertiary crushers. He adds that they have a higher crushing ratio of up to 10:1. They are more acceptable to larger feed sizes than cone crushers, but still giving an output size similar to cone crushers.
As far as the vertical shaft impactor (VSI) crusher is concerned, Scherf argues that this is the most misunderstood of all crushers and is often called a ‘shaping’ crusher. He explains that the VSI is an impact crusher that uses a rotor to accelerate material and sling it against a rock wall built around the rotor. The VSI is a critical part in obtaining high-specification road stone, or as a pre-milling crusher to increase mill throughput in mining applications. It is often used in sand-making applications, especially in applications such as silica sand and other abrasive feeds where the operating cost of an HSI would be too high.
Is geology a factor that determines
the type of crusher to be deployed in an application? Dickson says the end result the client is looking for would determine what crusher gets deployed for the job. “Ideally you would not want to necessarily deploy an HSI into a high silica application, but if the client is looking to maximise the fines generation and understands the wear costs or cost per tonne, this could be an option,” says Dickson, adding that capital expenditure (capex) vs tonnage can be a major factor when deciding what crusher to deploy.
Ravenscroft is of the view that knowing the geology of the material is very important as materials react differently when under pressure or impact in the crushing chambers. “Knowing the geology of the material assists in specifying the correct crusher for the specific rock application. Further to this, knowing the product size distribution of the Run of Mine (ROM) allows the crusher to be spec’d correctly. Should there be a high fraction of fines in the feed ROM, pre-screens can be fitted to the jaw, cone and impact crushers,” he says.
According to Scherf, in order to operate economically and safely, having the correct crusher for feed material is critical. For instance, in a coal application, using a cone crusher carries a very high risk of igniting the coal, due to the compression of the material in a small chamber. He is of the view that using an HSI on a very hard granite or basalt can result in the hammers breaking at worst, or very high operating costs at best.
“Knowing the silica content or abrasion index of the feed material is critical in selecting not only the correct crusher, but also the correct wearing materials to ensure a profitable operation,” says Scherf. He adds that rock properties, even on the same rock types, vary
considerably as they are produced in a natural and varying environment, not a controlled lab.
“Not all granites are the same, a fine grain granite is significantly harder than a coarse grain granite; some will have a higher silica (SiO2) content than others. In order to manage customer expectations and operating costs, we generally send rock samples to the Metso Lab for abrasion and crushability tests. We can then simulate the plant and provide accurate estimates of the operating cost and ensure we have the correct configuration,” adds Scherf.
Scherf also reasons that harder material will have an impact on the number of crushing stages. “The harder the rock the more energy required to break it down. Similar to a racing car, using different gear ratios depending on the race track, efficient and economical operation of a plant requires fine tuning to take the material properties into account,” he says.
Prüwasser says a good host rock is vital for production of a quality product, and the geology of the host rock is relevant right from the blasting stages of aggregates production. This tends to affect the size of the material that will report to the crushers, and hence will determine the size of the jaw crusher required at primary stage.
“The hardness of the material will also affect the primary crusher selection and may well impact the throughput that can be achieved through the crushing circuit. Silica levels and other abrasiveness factors will influence wear levels, so operators need to be aware that maintenance interventions may be more frequent under these conditions,” concludes Prüwasser. AB
A Metso HP crusher can produce a very cubicle product when utilised correctly.
The VSI is a critical part in obtaining high specification road stone.
Impact crushers are mainly used for less abrasive materials as primary and secondary crushers.
The final product requirement is the cornerstone of equipment selection and plant design.
BIG MANUFACTURING GAINS
Northern Ireland’s eminence in the global aggregates production industry has been emphasised by a significant investment by one leading global equipment maker in its Co. Tyrone-based manufacturing and assembly facility. Meanwhile, another leading sector player is to open its own new cutting-edge production site in a different part of the country.
Guy Woodford & Munesu Shoko report
Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology’s (Sandvik) ultra-modern manufacturing and assembly site in Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, has a rich aggregates processing equipment history. The 18-acre plot housing three factory buildings and 300 employees involved in the production of various Sandvik tracked mobile crushing and screening plant, used to be home to a large fabrication factory belonging to John Finlay, the founder and owner of Finlay Hydrascreens, now part of Omaghheadquartered Terex Finlay. John’s widow, Lily, still lives in a house located just above the Sandvik Ballygawley facility, where the couple’s grandson, Jake, works as an inventory planner.
Having moved its manufacturing capabilities from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, England, to Ballygawley in 2014, the last four years have seen Sandvik make huge investments in its Northern Ireland site, creating one of the world’s premier manufacturing facilities for mobile crushers and screens.
In late 2017, Sandvik Ballygawley’s shot blasting area for large components was expanded and upgraded. The enlarged area also reduced the amount of landfill waste linked to the previous operation. The previous shot blast system used a shot material called ‘JBlast’ which could only be used once. This hazardous waste was then collected and sent to landfill. The new shot blast technology has ended the consumption of copper ore,
replacing it with a chilled iron material. This material can be recycled up to 10 times, thereby reducing overall landfill waste by an impressive 96%. The improved shot blasting area is also self-contained under one roof, eradicating any potential quality imperfections caused by parts being exposed to the elements. It also creates a better working environment for employees.
The introduction of an enhanced shot blasting capability followed on from the £1.6 million investment in a state-of-the-art powder coating plant, replacing a traditional wet paint shop. Installed in 2015, the powder coating plant is benefiting customers by improving machine edge protection and increasing a plant’s corrosion resistance. Consisting of a load area, a shot blast, a prime-powder, a green-cure oven, a top-coat powder and a main oven, the powder coating plant uses a high-tech vacuum system so that more than 95% of all unused powder is captured and recycled.
The shot blasting area, powder coating plant and other manufacturing and assembly facility improvements have enabled Sandvik Ballygawley to increase the number of plant models it can supply each year. This is helping the Swedish global market original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cope with challenges associated with meeting greater customer demand for new and proven aggregates processing plant.
Among the models being manufactured and assembled at Sandvik Ballygawley are the Hillhead 2018 UK exhibition-unveiled QH332 DDHS (double-deck hanging screen), said by Sandvik to be the ultimate in tracked, mobile cone crushing technology. Based on
Sandvik has invested heavily in its Ballygawley site, creating a cutting-edge manufacturing and assembly facility
the QH331 mobile cone crusher, the QH332 DDHS Hydrocone crusher comes with the functionality of a double- or single-deck (utilising the top deck as a breaker deck) hanging screen in fully detachable, standalone form. Detachable or attachable without the use of additional lifting equipment, the QH332 DDHS delivers multi-functionality as a one, two or three-way split screener, as well as being an ultra-efficient and productive cone crusher.
During an Aggregates Business magazine tour of Sandvik Ballygawley in late 2018, Austin Walsh, the facility’s manufacturing engineer manager, stresses how employee safety, quality and production scheduling efficiency are, in that order, the top three day-to-day priorities for the Sandvik Ballygawley team. Emphasising the commitment to quality, Walsh explains how each manufactured plant goes through 40-50 quality inspection points during its manufacturing and assembly. Only around 20% of the basic steel fabrication work required on each plant takes place at the Ballygawley facility, with the rest contracted out to local firms. This, says Walsh, frees up critical manufacturing and assembly space.
Staff working in the manufacturing and assembly facility work one of two nine-hour shifts Monday to Thursday, from 7am-4pm
and 4pm to 1am. An extra hour’s overtime on the day or night shift is available during peak production periods. Friday’s two daily shifts are shorter, from 7am-1pm and 1pm-5pm. Further overtime is also offered on Friday evenings and Saturdays during peak production weeks.
Crucially, Sandvik’s significant investment in its Ballygawley site has halved the average time it takes to produce a crushing and screening plant, now 29 days, compared to 57 days three years ago. This has dramatically reduced customer lead times in the very competitive mobile tracked plant section of the global crusher and screener model market.
During our trip, we watched engineering technicians at work on a wide variety of mobile cone crushers and screeners, with a QH332 DDHS Hydrocone crusher and QA451 Mobile Doublescreen among finished models waiting in the yard for dispatch to a customer.
“There’s a culture of change within this company and its very prevalent,” summarises Walsh. “In the last three years we have exceeded all our expectations. But where we are at the minute is not where we want to be in three years’ time.”
Terex Corporation – whose Terex Materials Processing business segment is a major global player in materials processing equipment - is to open a new £12 million
(€13.95mn) manufacturing facility in in Derry, Northern Ireland.
The new 9,755m² manufacturing facility will focus on the design, manufacture and development of Terex Ecotec (waste management and recycling) and Terex Conveying Systems (TCS) (mobile conveying) product lines.
Kieran Hegarty, president of Terex Materials Processing, said: “As part of our growth strategy, we continually review markets to identify potential opportunities. The waste management, recycling and mobile conveying sectors are areas of significant growth and our objective is to be recognised as a leading global manufacturer in these areas. Our Terex Campsie facility will enable us to realise this ambition.”
The Terex Ecotec product line has grown significantly since it was established in 2014 as a strategic response to meet the specialised needs of customers in the growing waste management and recycling sector. The Terex Campsie facility will focus on developing advanced waste management and recycling products and services for Terex Ecotec customers with the goal of becoming a global leader in the industry.
Terex Conveying Systems was established to respond to increasing demand for mobile conveying systems which, as well as being complementary to existing core segment Terex
Sandvik’s significant investment in its Ballygawley operation has halved the average time it takes to produce a crushing and screening plant
Sandvik’s Ballygawley site has a rich aggregates processing equipment history
A Sandvik QH332 DDHS Hydrocone crusher waiting for dispatch to a customer
Kieran Hegarty, president of Terex Materials Processing, has big ambitions for Terex Corporation’s new Northern Ireland facility
GIVE YOUR PLANT NEW LIFE
A new asphalt-mixing plant – and all the efficiencies that go with it – would be a great addition to your business. But the cost of a new plant can be prohibitive.
There is a cost-effective alternative: a retrofit from Ammann. You can rejuvenate your existing plant at a fraction of the cost of an acquisition. All projects are managed by the Ammann Retrofit Centre in Austria, which relies on proven processes and experienced technicians to troubleshoot any issues and ensure superior results.
Among the areas of improvement:
Dryer
A new dryer optimises heat transfer and can incorporate an expanded range of materials.
Mixer
A new mixer improves uptime and reduces maintenance.
Amdurit® Wear Protection
Ammann’s proprietary wear system protects valuable parts and components up to three times longer than wear-resistant steel. It also reduces downtime and cuts maintenance and labor costs.
A retrofit can benefit your plant – whether it was built by Ammann or another manufacturer. Contact us to schedule a free analysis of your plant, and begin the process of revitalising your business.
Materials Processing crushing, screening and shredding equipment, will help enable Terex to enter the port and terminal industry. The mobile conveying range is designed to offer a number of advantages to traditional wheeled conveyor systems, including being cheaper to run, improved efficiency, a reduction in production costs, a reduced environmental impact, improved health and safety and improved product quality. The Terex Campsie facility will manufacture four new products in the conveying range and will facilitate ongoing product development.
Work is already underway at the Terex Campsie facility and is planned to be operational later this year. The facility will initially create approximately 100 new jobs that include production operative roles, management and support roles in HR, operations and finance, as well as a highly skilled engineering team that will be trained to leverage the company’s cuttingedge engineering capabilities and lead the development of Terex Ecotec and Terex Conveying Systems product portfolios.
Hegarty continues: “Our investment of this size in a new facility will support our ongoing growth and development as we seek to build on the momentum of increased demand for our products globally.”
In a pioneering development, Metso and its southern African distributor, Pilot Crushtec International, have rolled out an industry-first, standard five-year/ 10,000-hour warranty on
all Metso crushers and screens.
The move ushers in a new era in the crushing and screening industry where a one-year/2,000-hour warranty is generally the norm on these mission-critical assets. Francois Marais, director – Sales & Marketing at Pilot Crushtec International, says the move is informed by the supplier’s and its principal’s understanding that warranty is a valuable component to any capital equipment purchase, especially mission-critical and big-ticket purchases such as crushers and screens.
Marais says the standard five-year/10,000hour warranty for southern African customers is a true indicator of Metso’s confidence in its product. It is also a sign of service commitment from Pilot Crushtec International as the exclusive distributor of Metso’s aggregates products and services, including static, tracked and wheeled crushers, scalpers and screens in the region.
“We have been offering this warranty for the past six months on a pilot basis to gauge the level of interest and feedback from our customers. Effective the 1st of January this year, we were able to broker a deal with our principal, Metso, to standardise the fiveyear/10,000-hour warranty across the whole
Metso product range we supply,” says Marais.
“The initiative is in the best interests of the consumer. A long product warranty gives customers some extra coverage for their big-ticket purchases, along with a little more peace of mind. From an OEM perspective, it says a lot about the confidence in the brand. From a supplier point of view, it also means that we want to be there for our customers for the long haul and be involved in their businesses with a vested interest,” explains Jorge Abelho, director – Technical and Customer Support at Pilot Crushtec International.
As part of the Metso Life Cycle Services for Aggregates, Metso has previously offered its Equipment Protection Services (EPS) as an optional extra. The comprehensive plan includes extended warranties and scheduled inspections with Metso-certified technicians. EPS is built on three core elements: extended warranty to five years or 10,000 hours; scheduled inspections with Metso-trained and certified technicians, coupled with OEM parts recommendations; and maintenance planning and reporting for mobile equipment through Metso Metrics Services.
In southern Africa, this has since become standard. This gives equipment owners muchneeded confidence in their cost structure by anticipating and minimising unexpected equipment failures. The warranty covers the whole machine, excluding wear parts, for the first 4,000 hours, which is double the industry-wide 2,000 hours standard warranty. From 4,000 to 10,000 hours, the warranty only covers all the critical components.
“It made sense for us to package it as a standard offering. We believe in our quality and know that if customers prescribe to OEM servicing levels, their equipment will last longer and perform better. The extended warranty also assures our customers that the OEM and the supplier are ready to deliver on their promise,” says Marais.
“As part of the warranty, our Metsocertified technicians will undertake field inspections every 1,000 operating hours. During these visits, they will identify preventative and/or correction actions and provide recommendations accordingly,” concludes Abelho. AB
The comprehensive 5-year/10,000-hour standard warranty includes extended warranties and scheduled inspections by Metso-certified technicians.
As part of the warranty, Pilot Crushtec International’s Metso-certified technicians will undertake field inspections every 1,000 operating hours.
The new Terex Corporation facility in Northern Ireland is due to open later this year
POWER LOADING CAST IN STONE
The quarrying of durable Luserna stone requires brute force and nimble machine operation - something a CASE CX370D excavator is helping to provide at a quarry in Italy’s Cuneo province. Liam McLoughlin reports.
In the interwar years, around 90% of the stairs and pavements in Turin were constructed from Luserna stone. The imposing Mole Antonelliana building, which houses Italy’s National Museum of Cinema, uses slabs of this attractive and durable stone to support its looming brick tower.
Turin is also home to the European headquarters of quarrying equipment manufacturer CASE whose CX370D excavator has been used in the quarrying of Luserna stone in Bagnolo Piemonte, Cuneo province, by long-established company Vigilanco Alfredo e Fratelli.
Quarrying Luserna stone requires brute force and nimble machine operation. Once explosives have loosened stone from the quarry face, the CASE CX370D moves in to haul the several-tonne payloads onto safer ground, providing a mix of power, precision and speed. Alessandro Fresia, Italy marketing manager for CASE, commented: “CASE excavators offer the perfect balance between performance, operating costs and productivity, making them ideally suited to heavy earthmoving and quarrying. These are
key markets for CASE, with many of the heavy line machines specifically engineered to cope with the conditions present at these jobsites.”
Accurately moving payloads of this size at such speed requires a high level of operator skill, which the CX370D’s Auto Power Boost function is designed to enhance. The feature increases hydraulic pressure automatically to match operational needs, providing the level of safety and productivity necessary when working in such demanding conditions. Three power modes combine with Auto Power Boost to cater for all aspects of the job: ‘A’ mode allows for precise levelling and lifting; ‘H’ mode strikes a balance between productivity and fuel economy; ‘SP’ mode delivers maximum power, ideal for the hauling of the freshly quarried Luserna stone.
The CASE Intelligent Hydraulic System (CIHS) is designed to ensure force is matched by manoeuvrability, delivering adaptable and smooth control by ensuring that energy is saved in every cycle phase. The operator can precisely control the machine’s huge power and the stone is retrieved from the blast site quickly, efficiently and safely.
Mario Righi from Turin-based CASE
dealership Iveco Orecchia, which supplied the excavator to Vigilanco Alfredo e Fratelli, commented: “This CASE CX370D excavator was exactly what the client needed for the quarry: powerful and large, but not too cumbersome. The client told us they have been able to lift single rocks weighing 20 tonnes, and thanks to its powerful lifting and breakout force offered by the two-piece boom, operators could push the machine to achieve more in each cycle.”
In addition, the CX370D offers rear- and side-view cameras, combined with a wide screen, to provide outstanding visibility, while a soundproof, pressurised cab with plenty of legroom is designed to deliver a smooth ride and quiet work environment.
A Cat 745 ADT, fitted with one of Philippi-Hagenbuch’s PHIL sideboards
ABOVE: CASE-Italy-1: A CASE CX370D excavator at the Luserna stone quarry operated by Vigilanco Alfredo e Fratelli in Bagnolo Piemonte, Italy
Righi added: “The client and the operators gave us really positive feedback on the speed of operation afforded by the hydraulic system, the low fuel consumption and extremely comfortable cab.”
Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and is a key node in the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The country will receive more than US$87bn in infrastructure investment under the BRI, with the Jakarta-Bandung highspeed rail, Manado-Bitung toll road and Sumsel-5 power plant among the most highprofile projects.
The BRI (also known as One Belt, One Road) is a huge Chinese state-run project that aims to strengthen infrastructure, trade, and investment links between China and around 65 other countries.
The steady and reliable supply of raw building materials, such as aggregates, asphalt and concrete plays a vital role in the Indonesian phase of the BRI, according to Aldrin Johar Nurdin, business manager in Indonesia for China-based quarrying vehicle maker SDLG.
“With land acquisition troubles causing delays before some projects can begin, there is pressure to ensure that construction proceeds quickly and efficiently once they are underway,” says Nurdin.
“The production of these building materials as well as their handling and transportation on job sites typically require wheeled loaders.”
Hot-mix asphalt supplier PT Roadmixindo Raya, construction firm PT Hutama Karya, and concrete producer PT Varia Usaha Beton are among the companies that have selected SDLG wheeled loaders to aid in the production of raw building materials, such as concrete and asphalt, at plants across Indonesia.
The loaders handle between 500 m3 and 5,000 m3 of material per day. Transporting these amounts of material involves multiple trips, and a fast cycle time is critical to productivity. Nurdin says that keeping cycle time short involves skilled operation of the wheeled loader, but a responsive transmission and a powerful engine are also essential.
He adds that PT Roadmixindo Raya has praised the performance of the transmission on SDLG’s L958F wheeled loader and credited it with reducing cycle times at its Tangerang site. With an eight-speed transmission, the operator can shift gears to achieve optimal speeds for the 20m to 250m distance between the stockpiles of aggregates and the cold feed bins of the asphalt mix plant. PT Varia Usaha Beton states that the power of the L956F engine enables it to overcome the 15° slopes on the grounds of its crushing plant in Pasuruan, both quickly and effectively.
Beyond the responsive transmission and powerful engine of these machines, reliability and cost-effectiveness are also important considerations for any project, especially when handling highly abrasive minerals, aggregates and rocks.
“A machine’s minimisation of onboard electronics — and therefore its simplicity — is a positive quality, as it makes the machine more reliable and less susceptible to breakdowns,” says Nurdin.
“On megaprojects like those on BRI, this mix of reliability and cost-effectiveness is appealing as upfront costs can be kept low with bulk orders of machines. On the other hand, the reliability of these machines — coupled with responsive after-sales service support when required — help minimise longterm maintenance costs.”
Three Liebherr R 920 crawler excavators that South African mining company KEDASE purchased in 2016 have now completed more than 1,000 operating hours.
KEDASE, based in Boshoek, says that the compact dimensions of the machines and their fuel efficiency were key factors in the decision to buy them.
The three excavators are used for trenching, pipe laying and for the feeding of a screener in a chromium mine. With an operating weight of 21 tonnes and equipped with a Stage IIIA/Tier 3/CHINA III engine with an output of 110kW/150hp, the R 920 crawler excavator was developed specifically for these types of applications. For KEDASE, the machines have been
An SDLG L958F wheeled loader at an asphalt drum mix plant in Tangerang, Indonesia
A Liebherr R 920 crawler excavator in operation at the KEDASE quarry in Boshoek, South Africa
configured with a 5.7m boom, a 2m stick and a 1.15m3 bucket.
The R 920 concept is based on the standard European models. Launched onto the market at bauma 2016, the R 920 is accompanied by a revamp of the range of 20-to-25 tonne crawler excavators. In addition to the R 920 are the R 922 and R 924. The R 922 weighs 22 tonnes and has an output of 110 kW / 150 HP and the R 924 weighs 24 tonnes and has an output of 125 kW / 170 HP. Liebherr says these machines are aimed at less regulated markets like South Africa, South East Asia, Russia, China and India.
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has launched the EC210D crawler excavator in the African and Middle East markets. Volvo CE says the machine can perform a wide variety of tasks and features a robust frame combined with optimal engine power and hydraulic pressure to provide superior digging forces and fast cycle times for excellent productivity in all operations.
For fast cycle times and optimum fuel consumption, the EC210D is equipped with intelligent work modes, including the new G4 work mode. Operators can choose the best mode to suit the task at hand, selecting from I (Idle), F (Fine), G (General), H (Heavy) and P (Power max) mode. Volvo CE says that choosing the correct mode according to working conditions ensures added versatility and increased productivity.
The EC210D features increased hydraulic flow for responsive, accurate control in grading and combined operations. Operators benefit from smoother, easier movement when traveling and lifting simultaneously as well as better grading quality from the harmonised boom and arm movement.
A new 22-tonne Doosan DX225LC-5 crawler excavator has been converted into an ‘all-terrain’ machine for contracts being carried out in the Wadden Sea in Germany.
The excavator is operated by the Sven
Jacobs Tief-, Garten- und Landschaftsbau company, which is based in Tating, SchleswigHolstein. The excavator was supplied by local Doosan dealer Atlas Hamburg with the conversion being completed by OLKOMaschinentechnik.
The main application area for the new all-terrain excavator is the approximately 11.3km long Hindenburgdamm embankment, which connects the island of Sylt with the mainland in Germany. Around 8.1 km of the Hindenburg embankment runs through the Wadden Sea.
To prevent the standard Doosan 22-tonne crawler excavator from sinking into the water, a particularly low ground pressure was required. Atlas Hamburg therefore contacted OLKO-Maschinentechnik to carry out the conversion needed. OLKO has mounted the superstructure of the Doosan DX225LC-5 on an all-terrain undercarriage, rather than a standard pontoon, to ensure the full manoeuvrability of the excavator has been maintained.
The undercarriage is designed for difficult applications in adverse conditions and on challenging surfaces, such as those found in wetlands, as well as performing environmentally friendly work in sensitive environments. It also makes it possible to carry out work on lakes, rivers and coastal areas.
Caterpillar has introduced a product update package for 2019 to its Cat M Series medium wheeled loaders (the 950M, 962M, 966M, 972M, 966M XE, 972M XE, 980M and 982M models). The update includes technology advances that provide lower operating costs via extended service intervals, enhanced operator comfort with new seats and suspensions, emissions control strategies to meet EU Stage V standards (EU only), added machine configurations (982M Forestry Machine and 982M High Lift), expanded productivity measurement tools, remote software update capability, and refinements in ground engaging tool and coupler systems.
Caterpillar says that periodic updates allow it to bring new and improved features to market more quickly and more frequently than do conventional New Product Introduction (NPI) cycles. AB
A Cat 950M, one of eight wheeled loaders that are part of a 2019 product update
Volvo has launched the new EC210D excavator in the African and Middle East markets
Customers migrate to 20- and 30-tonne ADTs
Hauler operators are moving away from the one-size-fits-all approach of 25-tonne machines and are also requesting more specialised tyres. Liam McLoughlin reports.
There has been a “decided move” away from 25-tonne machines to the 20- and 30-tonne articulated dump trucks (ADTs) among its customers, according to Bell Equipment UK.
The company says that this may be a demonstration of one size not necessarily fitting all and adds that it has also seen a rise in the number of requests for specialised tyres on its haulers.
“Seventy per cent of our B30Es are now being fitted with wide tyres, whilst 100% of our B20Es are fitted with high flotation tyres, both of which are providing customers with more utilisation over the winter months – keeping them moving for longer,” according to Nic Grout, Bell Equipment UK’s sales, marketing and dealer manager.
He adds that fuel is fast becoming the major consideration for the industry, with more and more customers using the ‘tonnes moved per litre of fuel used’ measurement to determine their effectiveness and profitability.
“Since inception, Bell machines have been designed with an excellent power-to-weight ratio, meaning they use far less fuel per tonne than other like-for-like ADTs,” Grout says. “The introduction of larger 50- and 60- tonne machines is also enabling customers to haul more material in less time, saving both time and money.”
He adds that there is also a noticeable
trend towards the increased use of technology in fleet management. “The ability to monitor a fleet and access information, such as shift results, fuel usage, and tonnes moved, from one central location and at the push of a button, is very attractive to customers,” says Grout. Bell Equipment introduced its off-highway satellite-based management system, Fleetm@tic, in 2003 and the company says it continues to be a major draw for its clients.
The final major trend in hauling that Bell says it has experienced is an increased interest in its 4 x 4 range of ADTs, which is currently available in 30- and 60-tonne units. These are predominantly used for aggregates quarries where good haul roads are in place and they can provide a number of advantages over a rigid truck, including greater manoeuvrability and reduced tyre wear.
Volvo Construction Equipment (CE) has updated its G-Series articulated hauler range with new features including cruise control, downhill speed control and OptiShift.
The Swedish manufacturer says the G-Series already incorporates features to help operators get the most from the machine, such as hill assist, load and dump brake and dynamic Volvo Engine Brake.
These features are now joined by the latest updates including new cruise control and downhill speed control. Operators can
set and adjust the cruise control to maintain a constant travel speed for smoother and more efficient hauling, and when operating downhill the new downhill speed control enables operators to maintain their control and speed. Volvo CE says both these innovations result in enhanced safety, comfort and productivity in all conditions.
The ergonomic cab and intuitive controls are designed to suit all operators. Automatic functions, such as the new OptiShift, are intended to further improve fuel efficiency and productivity via faster cycle times and increased operator comfort, offering greater ease of operation for an unrivalled operator experience.
British quarry operator E & JW Glendinning has taken delivery of a new Volvo R70D rigid hauler.
The vehicle is being used to haul blasted material to the primary crusher at the
Volvo CE has updated its G-Series articulated haulers range with a number of intelligent safety features
The Bell 4 x 4 range of ADTs is currently available in 30- and 60-tonne units
company’s Linhay Hill Quarry at Ashburton, Devon.
“We conducted a competitive evaluation of the rigid hauler market and since we have over twenty Volvo branded machines operating here at Linhay and our other facilities, considered the best choice of hauler would be the new Volvo R70D,” said Richard Webb, operations manager of quarry and concrete products for E&JW Glendinning.
“The new Volvo has a long-standing pedigree with its Terex heritage and it carries on the work of our existing eighteen-yearold TR70 which has worked tirelessly here at Linhay. The R70D is well matched to our resident prime loading machine which is a Volvo L350F, dispatching the truck in just four passes. It will be working one single shift, five days a week, delivering approximately 250,000 tonnes of material from the face to the processing plant per annum.”
The R70D is powered by an MTU Detroit Diesel V12 engine developing 695 net hp and achieves a maximum torque of 3323Nm at the relatively low engine speed of 1350 r/min.
Volvo CE British dealer SMT GB says that electronic integration between the engine and transmission allows the hauler to achieve smooth gearshift quality for consistent momentum and acceleration on all hauling applications. Performance and fuel efficiency are enhanced by the integrated shift pattern system, which includes two transmission shift schedules – power and economy – for tailored performance on all hauling conditions. The operator can pre-select the transmission operating mode to adapt to varying haul loads. Meanwhile, the hydraulic systems provide necessary flow for cooling and
actuation systems that provide the required productive performance for quick cycle times and efficiencies.
Established in 1958, E & JW Glendinning produces quarry products, concrete products and asphalt from their facility at Linhay Hill Quarry with satellite outlets strategically located in Plymouth and Exeter. It also produces high polished stone value (PSV) gritstone chippings and asphalt from its Pigsdon Quarry operation located near Bude in North Cornwall. The company also operates a road maintenance division, contracting to private concerns and local authorities in Devon.
SMT GB markets Volvo CE products which include wheeled loaders, articulated haulers, hydraulic excavators, Volvo utility equipment and Volvo road equipment products in Great Britain. There are eight strategically placed customer support centres, a dedicated National Used Equipment Centre and a network of utility equipment dealers.
At the bauma construction expo in Munich (April 8-14), Italian company CASE will be displaying an Astra HD9 truck from sister brand IVECO in the quarrying section of the CASE stand. CASE says the Astra HD9 possesses the dexterity and power required to deal with the demands of quarrying applications.
Terex Trucks will be using bauma to communicate the message that it specialises in robust, reliable articulated haulers.
“The articulated hauler is the only product Terex Trucks manufactures – so therefore we’re able to focus all our attention on this machine,” says Terex Trucks MD Paul Douglas. “We will also be discussing the investments and improvements we’ve made in our product line and our growing dealer network.”
The updated Terex Trucks TA300 articulated hauler will make its first international tradeshow appearance at bauma in Munich. Since August 2018, the machine has incorporated a new transmission that is claimed to lead to a 5% improvement in fuel efficiency.
The largest Terex Trucks hauler, the TA 400, will also be on display. It is designed as a robust machine to excel in delivering cost-effective production at large-scale construction projects, quarries and mines.
Caterpillar articulated trucks will be represented at bauma Munich by the completely redesigned 730, which weighs 22% less than its predecessor the 730C, but retains 98% of the 730C’s capacity. The new truck features automatic control of traction, dumping, and retarding, as well as the Caterpillar Stability Assist system.
Also on display will be the 777G, a 90-tonne hauler with a Cat C32 engine rated at 945 net horsepower (704 kW) with US Tier 2 equivalent emissions. The new truck features a refined cab that positions the operator seat on the left side, along with a new console with an integrated hoist and shift lever.
The revamped 777G provides customers with a choice of bodies. The 60.1m3 dualslope body is designed for maximum material retention on grades and has two side-board configurations available for light material, as well as a rubber liner. The X-body is designed with a flat floor to better meter material into a crusher and is available with either steel or rubber liners.
Doosan Construction Equipment will be launching the new 30-tonne DA30-5 and 40-tonne DA40-5 Stage V compliant articulated dump trucks, replacing the previous DA30-5 and DA40-5 Stage IV models.
Doosan says the designs and developments in the new Stage V ADTs have resulted from intensive market analysis, customer visits, interviews with operators and additional feedback gathered by the company’s ADT product and R&D teams at its ADT plant in Molde, Norway. AB
Terex Trucks largest hauler, the TA400, will be on display at bauma
The new Doosan 30-tonne DA30-5 Stage V compliant ADT
The cab of the new Cat 777G hauler
Reliable & cost-effective drilling & hammering
Quality drill rigs, hammers and breakers are an essential part of any efficient aggregates processing operation. Guy Woodford reports on new models from four leading global market manufacturers.
In order to keep at the forefront of drilling technology, EPC-UK has taken delivery of an Epiroc SmartROC D65 down-the-hole (DTH) hammer drill rig, the first of its kind in the UK.
Incorporating cutting-edge automation and GPS technology, the SmartROC D65 is said to have the intelligence and power to consistently drill accurately located, highquality blast holes. The accurate drilling of blast holes, combined with fully digital blast design and analysis via EPC-UK’s in-house software Expertir, means the blast process can be managed with precision from beginning to end, delivering the desired outcome for the customer.
The rig’s hole navigation system (HNS) enables faster setup at each hole location, whilst the automated drilling process ensures consistent contact with the rock, which controls the compressor and air flow to maximise fuel efficiency. The HNS in conjunction with the built-in GPS removes the need to manually mark and survey hole positions, greatly improving both efficiency and safety.
“EPC-UK is continually investing in the future to ensure its technologies and engineering expertise are industry-leading,” explains Ben Coppock, national operations manager at EPC-UK, “which demonstrates our continued commitment to providing customers with the most up-to-the-minute drilling and blasting technology.
“The Epiroc SmartROC D65 will help us to further optimise the blasting process to produce the best possible fragmentation, as well as reduce fuel consumption due to its intelligent control of compressor load and engine rpm.”
Paul Warren, SED sales manager at Epiroc, explains the importance of EPC-UK’s inaugural UK investment: “The SmartROC D65 is our first ‘down-the-hole’ smart rig to be deployed in the UK. This is a significant step for Epiroc in terms of product development and we are delighted that EPC-UK has decided to introduce this new technology to the industry.
“We have worked with EPC-UK for a number of years and understand its business ethos of constant development and improvement, as it mirrors our own.”
Coppock concludes: “The addition of the new SmartROC D65 drill rig to our portfolio
will put EPC-UK at the forefront of drilling and blasting technology and when combined with our other technologies - drone surveys, fragmentation analysis, digital blast designand our engineering expertise, will enable us to provide our customers with the next level of blasting services.”
In conjunction with these technological developments, EPC-UK is also in the process of constructing a new bulk emulsion facility at its Rough Close Works facility in Derbyshire, England. It will enable the company’s ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate (ANBI) manufacturing process to incorporate some of the latest, safety-enhancing technologies. The plant will provide a safer and more ergonomic working environment for both operations and maintenance personnel and will be the first emulsion plant to comply with BS EN 61511 standard (Functional Safety for the Process Industry). The facility’s construction and installation will meet or exceed a wide variety of British and international standards and provide enhanced protection above the already high EPC Groupe standards.
The new Cat GC S Series top-mount, hydraulic, silenced hammers from
Caterpillar Work Tools—models H115 GC S, H120 GC S, H130 GC S, and H140 GC S - are specifically designed for hydraulic excavators with 13-40 tonne operating weights.
The new GC S Series models are said to combine optimum power-to-weight ratios with design simplicity to ensure reliable performance, versatility, ease of use, convenient maintenance, and cost-effectiveness in a range of applications— including quarrying, mining, municipal and general construction and demolition. As a package solution, Caterpillar-designed hydraulic kits are available to provide an exact hammer-to-machine fit for Cat models, ensuring optimum performance.
The Cat GC S Series hammers provide customers optimum impact power and reduced owning and operating costs. The gas-fired operating cycle delivers a constant reliable performance, maximising hammer efficiency.
The automatic shut-off feature provides blank-firing protection by stopping the piston from cycling internally when no material is under the tool. Eliminating blank firing protects the hammer by reducing internal stress and heat, which results in lower overall owning and operating costs. Additionally, the automatic shut-off helps protect rentalfleet hammers, which typically are used by operators with varied levels of expertise. EPC-UK has
As a standard feature, GC S Series hammers feature a protective, enclosed housing, designed to lower the noise level for the operator, as well as for the overall job site. In addition, the GC S Series incorporates features that buffer the effect of pressure spikes in the carrier’s hydraulic system and reduced shock loads on the carrier’s front linkage also serve to attenuate noise levels.
The most critical maintenance
requirement for hammers is adequate lubrication (hammer paste). To eliminate manual greasing, automatic lubrication systems are available for GC S Series hammers. Customers have the option of installing either a carrier-mounted or hammer-mounted system.
The top-mount design of GC S Series hammers increases impact power by ensuring that hammer force and stick force
are consistently in line. The top-mount style also provides a larger work area and enhances visibility for the operator. A further benefit of the design results from the top-mounted bracket transferring considerably less force into the end of the stick, reducing both potential bending stress and overall impact on carrier structures.
A high-pressure accumulator is standard with GC S Series hammers, factory supplied
A Cat GC S Series hydraulic hammer attached to a Cat 320F hydraulic excavator
Sandvik has added to its Ranger DX series of surface top hammer drill rigs with two non-cabin Ranger DXR models, the DX600R and DX800R (pictured)
likely to find a particularly attractive option in Noise Guard, a simple and rugged cover structure offering a total noise reduction of more than 10dB. It could be a decisive advantage when competing for contracts with strict noise limits.
Like the other Ranger DX series models, the DXR600R and DX800R drill rigs are said to offer reliability and large drilling coverage area - from the standard 17.6m² to an optional 26.4m², the latter via a lighter and more mobile package – a superior solution for hazardous conditions where safe and productive drilling requires advanced radio
and field serviceable. The accumulator helps protect the carrier hydraulic circuit by absorbing pressure spikes created during the firing stroke.
Caterpillar says that hammer speed/ frequency can be easily adjusted to match specific applications and materials to provide optimum productivity.
The design, manufacturing practices, quality inspections, and testing of GC S Series hammers are said to ensure durability in tough applications.
GC S Series hammers are designed with mounting brackets specifically matched to Caterpillar linkages ensuring optimal compatibility with Cat machines.
Full-length side plates on these hammers provide ready access to service points. Also, field-maintenance capability for tools and bushings, plus field-replaceable lower-tool bushings added overall customer value in terms of daily operation and maintenance.
GC S Series hammers are fully supported by Cat dealers. Customers can order parts and service for machines and work tools from a single source. Every Cat work tool is supported with a comprehensive range of pre- and after-sales services, including advice about work-tool selection, operator training, equipment management, and a range of financial and insurance solutions.
As initially reported in the Equipment Update section of Aggregates Business magazine’s January-February 2019 issue, and in response to customer requests, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology has added to its Ranger DX series of surface top hammer drill rigs with two non-cabin Ranger DXR models, the DX600R and DX800R. The new Ranger DX models are said to offer improved safety in the toughest quarry, open pit mine and construction applications.
Contractors active in urban areas are
remote-control capabilities.
At the bauma 2019 exhibition in Munich, Germany (8-14 April), Furukawa is introducing the FXJ1070 - a new model in its FXJ series of hammers. Replacing the F100XP, the new model will be half a tonne heavier and has much more impact energy than its predecessor. Furukawa says the FXJ1070 offers improved durability and lower lifetime cost. The Japanese company, whose FRD Europe subsidiary is based in the Netherlands, is exhibiting its full range of demolition tools and crawler drills during the week-long bauma showpiece event. AB
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Furukawa is launching its new FXJ1070 hammer at the bauma 2019 exhibition in Munich, Germany
Uninom. Via Isaac
New CDE HQ offers big growth platform
CDE says its new global base can develop the company’s position in the aggressively competitive wet processing sector. Liam McLoughlin reports.
Wet processing equipment
provider CDE has officially opened its new global headquarters in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Having grown its team by 65% over the last two years the Northern Irish company, with 2,000 projects around the world, plans to create an additional 150 new jobs by 2020, bringing the total employed globally to almost 800. The new facility can accommodate over 400 people and CDE claims it houses the world’s largest engineering team dedicated to wet processing technologies.
CDE group managing director Brendan McGurgan and chief operating officer Sean Kerr sat down with Aggregates Business to discuss the impact the new facility will have on the company’s business.
“The new base brings everything together under one roof,” said McGurgan. “Over the last 10 years we have grown out of the existing offices in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. Our new HQ is a very open-plan building to encourage increased collaboration and ensure a one team culture to create the best solutions for customers.”
Kerr agreed: “Everything we do is a
bespoke solution for our customers which is quite unique for the industry. The open-plan of the new HQ and collaboration between all departments is critical for our solutions to be world class. That rapid communication, ability to be very agile and do things quickly is greatly enhanced by the environment here.”
As part of its five-year strategic plan, CDE has embarked on a strategy to deal with the end customer directly rather than sell through a distributor network. To that end CDE acquired the extensive Caterpillar NI manufacturing facility located at Monkstown, Belfast, last year to provide for additional considerable manufacturing capacity and further manage every aspect of customer needs.
“We are passionate about maintaining our USP which is about creating bespoke, customised solutions and a partner for life aftercare service,” said McGurgan. “That too is where our new HQ is important. We need the best environment to attract the best talent.
“A strong connection with third level educational institutions such as Queen’s University and the University of Ulster provides CDE a great pipeline of that new talent.”
Once the talent is attracted CDE seems able to keep it, with McGurgan pointing out that the company’s staff retention rate is
extremely high. “Almost half our global board of directors is made up of people who joined the business as a graduate,” he added.
He added that another major benefit of the new HQ is the facilitation of customer visits, and that it is an ideal venue to showcase an innovation ethos. On average, one foreign delegation is present at the new HQ each week with recent visits including groups from Canada, Israel and Argentina.
McGurgan said that, because of the customisable nature of CDE’s equipment, the company innovates in every single project it is involved with - both in terms of product and process. CDE’s innovation ethos appears to be reaping dividends. “Thirty per cent of our revenue, on average, comes from new products released in the last 36 months,” he said.
CDE, which claims to hold more patents than anyone else in the sector, has a specific number of its R&D staff now completely dedicated to ‘blue-sky thinking’ and new product development rather than refinement of existing products. That future thinking team is active in a diversity of areas including alternative materials, 3D printing, technology and software. “This industry is aggressively competitive which is why we focus heavily on new product development, coupled with
CDE claims its new global base houses the world’s largest engineering team dedicated to wet processing technologies
a strategy of protecting our design rights and IP [intellectual property] through patents.”
McGurgan also shared that the company had a large pipeline of new products with a significant number of patents pending.
“The main objective of this R&D is to enhance the customer experience and change the direction of the industry with these new and novel ideas, and that’s why we have the reputation as being the industry innovator,” Kerr added.
The internet of things is also set to be an interesting development for the industry as CDE incorporates its smart technology around the operation of plants. “We are moving to a new generation of quarry owners and managers who are brought up with considerable technological skills and therefore expect a certain level of tech sophistication in operating their plants,” McGurgan said. “This is something we have been working on and we will be launching a new innovation at bauma which will change traditional thinking and the manual way plants are typically run.”
This drive for continuous innovation to solve customer challenges means that CDE has plans for expansion beyond its new HQ, with an innovation hub scheduled to open on the same site within the next 12 months.
The new hub will feature a state-of-theart laboratory. “As we develop further into our regions and sectors, customers’ feed materials become increasingly varied,” Kerr said. “There are more surgical requirements on the separation side in terms of size fraction and removing impurities, chemicals and various other things, and this can turn what was typically waste into a valuable product. The new laboratory will enable us to
continue to extract the maximum value from our customers’ feed material streams.”
McGurgan said that recycling is fast becoming a necessity the industry needs to explore and increasingly presents both incredible business opportunities and environmentally sound practice.
“Virgin natural sand is the most used natural resource after water,” he said. “We need to preserve that and ensure we process in a responsible manner as the reserves of natural sand are depleting. We are looking towards material streams that would historically be perceived as wastesuch as highly contaminated soils, earth and excavation waste, over-burden and crusher dust on the sand and aggregates side - and have developed solutions that divert those materials from landfill and bring them back into mainstream construction as an alternative to virgin sand and aggregate.”
Therefore, one key area of CDE’s focus is the construction and demolition waste recycling sector, in which the company has played a central role in the UK over the last two decades. As a relatively small and densely populated island, natural sand availability in the UK was continuously going down. In addition, landfills were becoming filled with construction and demolition waste to the point where they were running out of space.
“People weren’t able to handle this waste or do anything with it,” said Kerr. “But through our R&D at the time we were able to recover up to 90% of the waste into recycled sand and aggregates which was used directly back into the construction trade. As that developed the rest of the regions started following suit and we have quite a number of recycling plants in Europe now, and our first
project in Australia.”
In terms of factors that have driven recycling in the UK he highlights the Aggregates Levy, which is a £2 per tonne tax for extracting natural sand and aggregate. “This really drove the demand towards alternatives,” he added. In addition, the government-supported agency WRAP subsidised the investment in technologies to enable the recycling of construction and demolition waste.
Kerr added that technologies such as CDE’s mean that recycled product is sold for 80-90% of the value that it had in its original, natural state.
“The UK is a global leader in this type of recycling, and on the back of the UK’s success and our experience in this area we have done the first projects of this kind to reclaim from landfill in India, Australia, and North and South America,” he added.
McGurgan believes that there is an increasing need globally to find alternatives to the finite resources used in the construction industry. For example, in the Middle East, Qatar relies on importing natural sand and aggregate for construction purposes. The Gulf state has huge levels of construction and demolition waste, and McGurgan said that ultimately there was potential for technologies such as CDE’s to address a need in such markets.
“There are benefits in recycling across the board,” he said. “In the Middle East water is more expensive than oil and we have the ability to recycle 98% of the water that’s used within the wet processing process. It’s the circular economy in action.” CDE has created what it says is the largest sand washing plant in the world at The Qatar Sands Treatment Plant.
ABOVE: The new CDE HQ is open plan and designed to encourage collaboration between staff
McGurgan added that in some markets, such as Switzerland, the cost of landfill is significantly high which was also driving demand for recycling services.
He concluded: “On top of all that, many countries are facing a shortage of processing capability and raw material resources while at the same time experiencing increasing demand for infrastructure, housing and civil works. Therefore, it is becoming essential for them to explore ways to maximise value from construction, demolition, excavation and various contaminated waste and re-use that valuable resource to meet supply and demand in the face of declining natural resources.”
US-based washing, crushing and screening equipment provider Superior Industries is another company that is heavily involved in sustainable technologies. Its Aggredry Dewatering Washer, a sand washing solution that supports sustainable aggregates processing, has been deployed by Wissota Sand & Gravel, an aggregate supplier based in Wisconsin.
“Our greatest resource is our water,” says Wissota Sand & Gravel president Christopher Larson. As its third-generation owner, Larson is keenly focused on sustainability initiatives, the latest being the installation of new sand washing technology that allows costefficient fines recovery and the conservation of valuable water resources. The operation utilises an innovative system that combines a fines material washer and a dewatering screen in a single machine. “Its advantages are far-reaching. Importantly, we’re realising these benefits at a fraction of the typical costs per tonnes in this application,” said Larson.
When using their prior sand screws, Larson said that the sand was coming out at about 25% moisture content. “Per my calculations, we were losing about 91m3 per hour – and the water was going to a part of the operation where it could not be recovered,” he added. “Replacing that water would require pumping it from a deep well or finding some surface water within the operation that could be recovered.”
It was the latter costly challenge, he stresses, that led to the acquisition of the
Aggredry Dewatering Washer. Larson describes the new system as “making a lot of sense in its unique combination of two triedand-true technologies – sand screws and high-frequency screens.”
The Aggredry Washer at Wissota features twin 1,524mm fines material screws (500 tonnes) combined with twin-high-frequency dewatering screens. “Our sand is coming off the two screens at 8% moisture content and requires no drying time,” said Larson. “Plus, we’re saving about 80m3 per hour.”
In the past, Larson said that his company had to be very selective on what could be run through the wash plant. “If we hit a dirty spot in the pit, we weren’t able to get enough fines out of the sand,” said Larson. “With our new system, we can process dirtier material and still manage the fines on the wash end of the plant. This gives us more throughput without having to be so particular about the material coming from the primary circuit. That’s a big advantage as the face of the pit is always changing.” He added that his operation crushes 1.8-million tonnes per year, with about 90% going through the wash plant.
Terex Washing Systems (TWS) will be presenting live washing demos of its AggWash 60 during the bauma 2019 construction industry show (8-14 April). The AggWash 60 wash plant incorporates screening, scrubbing, sizing and recovery of sand on one modular chassis and produces
up to six grades of saleable sand.
The AggWash is intended to address requirements for recycling customers and quarry owners, particularly in the construction, demolition and excavation waste recycling market. It is designed to maximise yields from feed materials with efficiently designed system processes that keep running costs at a minimum. TWS says the plant’s portable format makes it particularly suitable for green-field applications, contractor use and temporary planning permission sites. The company adds that operators more used to static installations will still appreciate the small footprint and minimal site preparations required.
TWS engineer Paul McWilliams commented on the design: “In all cases, installation time is significantly less than conventional builds thanks to the high level of factory pre-fitting and connections. The no-compromise design ethos ensures maximum serviceability and performance despite numerous innovative features, including easily removed pumps, ready access to screening media and intuitive controls.”
Also at April’s bauma show, McCloskey Washing Systems will present the CSP120 plant. The company says it is designed to deliver superior separation efficiency, produces the driest, drip-free final washed sand product in its class, and produces up to two in-specification sands, to desired grade, at up to 120 (total) tonnes/hour.
The plant has been designed with the machine operator in mind. In addition to the highest level of quality and performance, significant benefits include simple and fast assembly times, ease of operation, low maintenance and an overall reduced footprint.
The CSP range can be tailored to suit any sand application, regardless of desired tonnage, ranging from 40-300tonnes/hour.
McLanahan will be exhibiting its new UltraWASH modular wash plant at bauma, the first time it will have been displayed at a trade show. It can produce up to three aggregate products and two sand products. It features a single process water feed point and a single effluent discharge point.
McLanahan says that, thanks to its recent acquisition of Anaconda Equipment, the UltraWASH feed hopper and conveyor can be upgraded to come with tracks for easier conveyor maintenance. AB
BELOW: Terex Washing Systems will give live washing demos of its AggWash 60 during bauma 2019
An Aggredry Dewatering Washer from Superior Industries has been deployed by Wissota Sand & Gravel in the US
Screening media gains
Quality screening media on an aggregates production plant offers big uptime and productivity gains for quarry operators. Guy Woodford talks to one leading global manufacturer’s expert on the topic, and reports on two of another manufacturer’s latest screening media solutions.
Metso is a major player when it comes to state-of-the-art screening media for aggregates processing applications. The Finland-headquartered, global market manufacturer has one of the widest offerings in this business, offering the right screening media product for almost every application.
Claes Larsson, director, Screening Media Products, Metso, spoke to Aggregates Business about some of the most common customer challenges related to aggregates screening today.
“The most typical challenges for stationary plants are related to preventive maintenance and accurate follow-up on wear life of individual components, i.e. making sure every piece of equipment is protected properly for continuous operation. Another issue is health and safety during maintenance: how to minimise interventions to change wear parts and other components. In addition to these, making a variety of sometimes challenging end products according to tight regional specifications for aggregates can be challenging. Difficult
process conditions like blinding and pegging may reduce output.
“For mobile and portable equipment, quick changes of screening media are crucial to meet varying tasks and contractual commitments. These require fast service and prompt deliveries from the screening media supplier.”
Larsson says the main driver for using synthetic screening media is to reduce time-
consuming work related to change-outs, such as wire cloth. “The cost of this labour is important, but even more is the operational time lost when changing media. If screens in the plant are bottlenecks limiting the output, then quick pay-back can be achieved with the use of synthetic screening media.
“Other cases consist of those when customers are experiencing ‘non-performance’, meaning that the screen cannot perform with the existing screening media solution. The problems are often related to blinding of screen surfaces and pegging of rocks in apertures. Changing media will then help and make the unit productive once again.
“Other reasons could be purely health and safety-related. For example, rubber or polyurethane lower noise emissions compared to steel wire or perforated plate. Also, less maintenance needed on the unit equals fewer operator interventions and less risk of injuries. Also, with modular synthetic decks, lifting weights are typically lower when compared to standard steel wire solutions.”
Larsson says poor performance of the screening media can also affect other
A hammerless fixing being applied on 305PS rubber modules
equipment such as crushers. Blinding and pegging can result in carry-over of fines into the crushing chamber, resulting in process or wear-related issues.
Highlighting how Metso can solve these challenges, Larsson says: “Metso has been working with screening media solutions for decades and is a pioneer in the development of synthetic screening media. Today, we have a comprehensive range of screening media products and accessories and can select the best solution for almost any customer application.”
Larsson stresses how Metso’s portfolio of polyurethane and rubber screening media products covers applications from heavy primary screening to dewatering, including wire and tension synthetic solutions, as well as modular systems and panels.
He continues: “Metso has screening media solutions to prevent blinding and pegging by using more flexible materials. The Screen Planner software allows you to control and maintain the history and operation of the screens. We also have tools that enable the calculation and identification of hidden added value when planning to change to an optimal screening media solution.”
Larsson says Metso’s recently launched hammerless attachment solution eliminates the use of sledge hammers and crowbars, as the pins are screwed into place and removed by using an impact driver, taking only seconds. This method is safer and is said by Larsson to require less operator force and strain compared to traditional pin and sleeve systems, easing work in confined spaces. Larsson notes that a dramatic decrease in shutdown duration increases the uptime of the screening process and makes a difference in productivity, in addition to improving safety.
During 2019, Larsson says Metso will migrate from “old-style” gravity casting of polyurethane to injection moulding. “This will result in advantages including better availability and better accuracy of openings, leading to more exact production of aggregates. The products will also allow for a higher open area.”
Haver & Boecker, a leading equipment manufacturer and solutions provider in
mining and aggregates applications, has developed Ty-Dura rubber screen media for large tonnages, large top sizes and abrasive material. It is said to work well with crushed dry aggregates and high-tonnage wet applications, such as scrubber or mill discharge, while also being exceptionally durable and offering effective noise reduction.
Ty-Dura was highlighted by Haver & Boecker at the 2019 AGG1 Academy & Expo (12-14 February) in Indianapolis, USA.
“Our Ty-Dura screen media stands up well to the most unforgiving applications,” said Karen Thompson, Haver & Boecker Canada president. “With its high durability and longevity, producers will often be able to spend less time changing worn-out screen media and more time increasing their bottom line.”
Ty-Dura is manufactured in both sidetensioned and modular configurations, and is available in square, round, slotted or specialty opening designs that are all tapered to resist or eliminate pegging.
The side-tensioned hooked sections feature a custom-formulated, compressionmoulded natural rubber, supported by a stainless steel cable substructure allowing for easy tensioning and preventing the stretching often experienced with other types of rubber screen media.
Ty-Dura’s hooked sections also eliminate the need for a deck conversion when switching from woven wire. Retrofitting a machine from a cambered deck to a flat deck can cost as much as US$15,000 per deck. The hooked sections can be used on the cambered deck to eliminate the need for that conversion. This also allows operators to test the media on a vibrating screen with no
additional conversion cost or changes to the machine.
Ty-Dura modular panels are available in pin and sleeve, snap, groove and bolt-down options.
It is said to be a great option for top sizes larger than 15cm and high tonnages. The rubber — up to 10cm thick — also resists abrasive material. Its openings are tapered to prevent blinding and pegging.
Ty-Dura is also ideal for applications where sound is an issue, as the rubber dramatically reduces noise.
Because it handles impact so well, Ty-Dura is highly effective on a vibrating screen’s feed end or in the second position.
Ty-Dura is ideal for all types of vibrating screens except for high-frequency fine screening units.
Haver & Boecker also offers its Tyler brand of hooked engineered screen media, including the Ty-Max and Ty-Wire products, as another solution to the problem of expensive deck conversions.
Tyler engineered screen media was due to be showcased by Haver & Boecker at bauma 2019 in Munich, Germany (8-14 April).
Ty-Max and Ty-Wire can be blended with woven wire or self-cleaning screens on cambered decks. In many applications, operators are looking for more wear life on the feed end of the screen. This can be accomplished by installing a section of Ty-Max at the feed end. Ty-Wire can be used in the middle of the deck, for example, where basic screening takes place to give operators the ideal combination of wear life and open area. Using woven wire or selfcleaning screens at the discharge end will provide maximum open area at the end of the deck.
The screen media is manufactured out of Haver & Boecker’s signature blend of polyurethane. It’s made in one of the only facilities that blends its own material, which is critical for quality control. Chemists developed the media to offer the best combination of open area and wear life for both wet and dry applications. Engineered screen media is poured open cast, resulting in a claimed 1.5 to 2 times longer wear life than injection-moulded products sold at comparable prices. In addition, open-cast polyurethane permanently hardens when cured to maintain its chemical properties, so it resists wear and tear. AB
LS polyurethane fitted on an inclined screen
Ty-Dura rubber screen media
Ty-Wire screening media
ABOVE: Benninghoven’s state-of-the-art HQ
Future-proofed Benninghoven targets growth
Following a €130 million Wirtgen Group investment, asphalt plant maker Benninghoven is primed for growth. Guy Woodford reports.
Benninghoven’s production facility at the Wirtgen Group company’s ultramodern 313,000m², 800-employee headquarters in Wittlich, south-west Germany, is as cavernous as it is well resourced. A tour of the 46,000m², LED-lit facility takes in a raw material storage area, a large laser steel cutting, plasma drilling, component manufacturing and pre-fabrication area, a generously proportioned surface treatment-powder coating hanger, a sizeable final assembly area, a spacious and wellequipped electric production room, and a giant central asphalt plant parts warehouse. All of this is managed via the latest SAP (Systems Applications Product) business management software.
Step outside the central warehouse and you cannot miss a fully assembled asphalt plant used by the company’s senior field engineers, sales teams and apprentices from the Benninghoven training academy, which takes in aspiring engineers from local schools and colleges. Apprentices also have onsite their own large indoor metalworking and
electrical engineering training workshops.
Benninghoven says the health and safety of all employees was a primary concern when designing its new headquarters, which also features an attractive and 12,000m² five floor administration building. This is apparent in the site’s ergonomic, air-conditioned offices and the production facility’s use of powder coating rather than wet paint. This has meant that previously used solvents have been largely eliminated from the production floor. Another big environment-minded advance has been the installation of a system that extracts hot air from the production facility, which is then purified in a filter unit, while the energy generated from the exhaust air is returned to the air circulation.
The new headquarters, which took just over two years to build after groundbreaking in late August 2016, is said by Benninghoven to demonstrate the company’s clear commitment to Germany as a production location. With its emphasis on lean management and the use of Industry 4.0 technologies, the firm, acquired by the Wirtgen Group in 2014, also stresses how the
new production plant, which will eventually rise to a 150 plant/year production, makes it more competitive and able to meet increasing market demand for its asphalt plant and associated products. Overall, you are left with the lasting impression that a lot of thought as well as money has gone into maximising the return on this eye-catching capital project.
Benninghoven produces mobile, transportable and stationary 100-400tonnes/ hour rolled and mastic asphalt mixing plant, capable of handling up to 90% recycled asphalt pavement (RAP). Benninghoven plant is known for its innovative modular system and intelligent connection technology, making assembly easier. The company also produces high-quality, maintenance-friendly components for all its plant.
Benninghoven manufactures four types of asphalt plant – MBA, ECO, TBA, BA (BA RPP), all featuring the company’s BLS 3000 control systems. The company also produces its own asphalt plant combustion (burner) technology, with burners available in five sizes, and carries out full asphalt plant retrofits. During my tour I am told the heat generated by a burner running for just one hour is enough to heat the average family home for a whole year.
MBA 1250, 2000 or 3000 plant are said to
offer high flexibility, easy transport, and short assembly and dismantling times. A gravelled and compacted area is also said to be sufficient for an installation location.
The new concept 1250, 2000, 3000 and 4000 ECO series plant, being showcased at bauma Munich 2019 (8-14 April), offer nearly all mixing tower components in ISO-container dimensions, lowering the logistics cost. Like MBA plant, they can be assembled and dismantled quickly and easily, with modular extension possible. Easily transported, ergonomic and offering simple maintenance access, the ECO plant is capable of 100-320tonnes of asphalt mixing/hour. ECO plant can also accommodate a cold RAP addition of up to 30%.
Benninghoven TBA 2000, 3000 or 4000 plant offer huge hot and ready-mixed asphalt storage capacity. They can handle a cold RAP addition of up to 40%, and a hot RAP addition of 70-90%. An intelligent building block approach is said to allow for quick plant assembly and installation. Like the ECO plant, modular extension is possible with the TBA, which can work off either a transportable or stationary foundation.
Finally, BA 3000, BA/ BA RPP 4000, and BA/ BA RPP 5000 plant have the advantages of the highest capacities and a short project realisation phase and quick assembly and installation. The BA and BA/ BA RPP models are said to offer very good accessibility in all areas, and multiple configurations. BA/ BA RPP plant can handle up to 90% RAP. Their emissions and energy consumption are both said to be low.
A recent development saw Benninghoven install its BA RPP asphalt plant’s proven recycling drum using counterflow action with a hot-gas generator on the firm’s 160-320tonnes/hour semi-mobile and stationary TBA plant range.
Benninghoven’s hot-gas generator is said to be a solution that is environmentally friendly, future-proof and a secure investment. With it, the recycling material –in addition to the virgin mineral – is heated by an EVO JET burner. However, this takes place indirectly in a recycling drum using counterflow action. Depending on the quality of the recycled material used, feed quantities of over 90% are possible.
Unlike conventional parallel drums
used for recycling, these recycling drums use counterflow action for heating the gas indirectly. Here, the material is conveyed in the opposite direction to the heat source. As a result, the discharge temperature of 160 °C is the same as the application temperature, with the exhaust gas temperature approximately 100 °C (though above the dew point). This procedure leads to key advantages for the operators of asphalt mixing plants. In classic recycling systems using the parallel flow principle, the temperature is limited to 130 °C by the resulting exhaust gas emissions. However, the exhaust gas temperatures physically exceed this, which leads to increased energy consumption and a greater load on the dust collection system. To enable the asphalt mixture to reach a temperature of 160 °C, overheated virgin mineral must be conveyed.
The EVO JET burner can be supplied with different fuels as normal and supplies the thermal energy required for drying and heating the recycling materials. The generated hot air is mixed intensively with the circulating air, also using counterflow action. In doing so, the hydrocarbons in the exhaust air are almost eliminated.
After my tour of Benninghoven’s HQ in January this year, I sat down with three senior
Benninghoven figures, Marcio CavalcantiHapple, head of sales, Albert Czerny, sales manager, and Lars Henrich, head of marketing, along with Paul Holmes, managing director of Wirtgen Group UK & Ireland, to discuss how Benninghoven plans to capitalise on its new production facility and headquarters.
Speaking about Benninghoven’s current global market reach and likely growth areas, Lars Henrich says: “We are well established in Europe through our subsidiaries, with a particularly big market in Russia and in Turkey. We are not yet selling into Latin America and Asia, but both offer good growth potential for Benninghoven.”
“The European market is a batch mix plant market. It’s a much more mature market which tends to run asphalt distribution from fixed location plants,” explains Paul Holmes. “In America and developing market countries, they tend to favour continuous mix plant. Wirtgen Group has Ciber, the mobile continuous mix batching plant company in Brazil and there is good cooperation between Ciber and Benninghoven. The new engineering director at Benninghoven did the same role at Ciber. As we look at each market, we need to go into new ones properly. Have we got production capacity? And have we got
ABOVE: Steel cutting area in Benninghoven’s HQ production facility
The Benninghoven plant portfolio
A Benninghoven TBA asphalt plant
localised support from one of our subsidiaries?
“Benninghoven has gone through a big change: two factories to one, a revised product range focusing on the modularity of plant, such as the ECO range, and then bringing everything we do on to SAP business management software. Looking at SAP from an engineering perspective, it means every component on an asphalt plant needs to have its own number, to ensure production line consistency. We now also use Siemens NX software, which is a three-dimensional building block, in our engineering. That’s another big change. The factory is very much the start of our growth strategy. Within the Wirtgen Group, Benninghoven and Kleemann [mobile crusher and screener plant manufacturer] offer two of the biggest growth opportunities.”
Marcio Cavalcanti-Happle adds: “Our focus after this big change period is to
Benninghoven’s state-of-the art production facility has many elements. These include an academy workshop, burner production, steel cutting, electric production, fabrication and an asphalt plant surface treatment powder coating bay
concentrate on our long-time markets while firmly integrating Benninghoven within the Wirtgen Group, in terms of sales network and expertise, to gain the trust of customers. I use the example of one asphalt mixing plant having the same complexity as 19 different paving machines, all with their own options.”
Holmes says there is a growing trend in mature markets such as northern and western Europe to use more RAP in each asphalt mix. This is partly due to increased strict legislation on carbon emissions but also down to other factors such as the rising cost of bitumen, greater knowledge of how to process RAP, and a desire for companies to be ‘seen to be green’. This, he says, creates exciting sales opportunities for Benninghoven.
Cavalcanti-Happle says he has just returned from visiting customers in Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. “They talked
about the market now wanting to achieve a standard target of 100% use of RAP with zero CO2 emissions in asphalt mixes by 2030.”
“I think what will happen in the future is that asphalt production will be more automated, as technology continues to develop,” says Albert Czerny.
“I think off the back of increased automation will be how customers can manage data that our sophisticated [BLS 3000] machine control software and telematics is generating,” says Holmes. “Giving customers the ability to benchmark plants, so they can find out why one of their four plants, say, is performing more efficiently than the others. Why is one plant producing asphalt for £2 a tonne, while the others produce it for £2.05? We want our customers to be able to access all this innovation and, ultimately, make more money.” AB
Benninghoven’s milestones in history
East Africa’s brave female stone crushers
Some East African women looking to earn money to help support their family are risking life and limb crushing stones by the side of busy highways. John Njiraini reports
It is with no doubt the most dangerous spot to choose for any enterprise. Yet a few metres from a sharp bend along the Kisumu Kakamega road in western Kenya, some 365km from the country’s capital, Nairobi, is where 35-year-old Mary Madeva has chosen a spot to carry out her trade.
Going by the road guardrails, the continuous yellow line, and the steep descent because of the hilly terrain, it is obvious the stretch is a black spot. Worse still, motorists demonstrate high levels of recklessness in observing the speed limits on the newly rehabilitated busy road.
Oblivious to the danger, heavily pregnant Madeva is busy crushing stones for ballast. Next to her, her two-and-half-year-old son, Derrick Ongango, eats a piece of sugarcane with the innocence of a child who does not understand that disaster could strike at any moment.
“We choose spots along the busy road to get customers,” says the mother of four who has been crushing stones for six years,
adding that safety is the least of her concerns. “I do it here to feed my children.”
Welcome to the unconventional world of the women stone crushers of East Africa. Due to abject poverty and the desperate need to earn a living, women in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have ventured into the trade of crushing stones into ballast that has traditionally been associated with men.
Poverty among women in East Africa, and Africa as a whole, is endemic. United Nations data shows that around 44% of women in the continent live in penury. The situation is worse for widows who have to toil for their children single-handedly.
For the women in the stone-crushing enterprise, the majority of whom are widows, it is a life of sweat, sore palms and red eyes as they sit for hours crushing stones to accumulate enough ballast that, tragically, they then sell to middlemen for a song.
Although they are not recognised, let alone celebrated, the women are playing a role in driving the booming building and construction industry that recorded a
growth of 8.6% in 2017 according to Kenya’s Economic Review 2018. The sector is maintaining an impressive performance after expanding by 6.1% in the second quarter of 2018.
Due to the efforts of these women, the construction aggregates industry continues to be supplied with low-cost materials, in the process contributing to the building of relatively affordable houses mainly in rural areas, where the majority of the population depend on the ailing agricultural sector.
“Traditionally this is a man’s job but many women in this village do it to earn a living,” explains Miriam Agida, 66. A widow, Agida has been in the stone-crushing trade for “donkey’s years”.
She adds that in Vihiga County alone, there are about 1,500 women engaging in the business of stone crushing, an enterprise that is widely popular among women in most parts of western Kenya, despite the fact that many consider it to be a man’s job.
Across East Africa, about 60,000 women are directly earning a living from the trade and the number is projected to increase in the coming years as declining arable land due to population growth and climate change continues to have adverse impacts on the agricultural sector which for years has offered women a lifeline.
Unfortunately, the job of crushing stones is tough and dangerous for the women and the earnings meagre. To start with, the women are forced to go to quarries to source for stones. In the quarries, they are often at risk of sexual abuse or rape, the latter of which is said to contribute to the high rate of children born out of wedlock.
If they are lucky to come out of the quarries unscathed, the women must make sure the stones are broken into transportable sizes and hire young men to transport them to their respective spots along the road.
“The women pay me and others to harvest the rocks in the quarries and
Mary Madeva crushes stones by a west Kenyan highway, as her son, Derrick, eats sugarcane – pic: John Njiraini
deliver them at the spots where they do the crushing,” says Wycliffe Odemu, 33.
The women then sit down to work, crushing the stones to ballast for hours every day. This they do manually, with a sledgehammer and shovel as the only tools.
On average, it takes about five days to crush enough ballast to fill a half-tonne pickup truck and it can take up to two weeks to crush enough to fill a three-tonne canter truck.
Being at the mercy of middlemen means the women are badly exploited, earning a paltry US$10 for the half-tonne truck and $30 for the three-tonne truck.
The middlemen make a killing without breaking a sweat because they sell the material to retailers at $15 per tonne who in return sell to consumers at $18 per tonne.
“Poverty has condemned us to this life,” states Agida, who has been trying to mobilise the women into groups to give them a voice against the middlemen. She says she saves little amounts through table-banking models and pushes for help from both the county and national governments.
Table banking is a strategy whereby members in a group meet once every month, place their savings, loan repayments and other contributions on the table then borrow from them immediately.
However, the fact that earnings are meagre has made it impossible to formalise the groups because for the women it’s a case of a hands-to-mouth vicious cycle.
Indeed, this has even made it impossible for the women to save enough to invest in basic ballast crushing machines, some of which cost as little as $900 on e-commerce platform Alibaba.
“A group methodology provides the best channels for financial institutions to help empower women. Coming together and saving makes it easy to offer them loans,” says Mary Munyiri, Kenya Ecumenical Loan Fund (ECLOF) chief executive officer.
1: Miriam Agida says poverty has condemned her and other East African women to life-endangering work crushing stones next to highways - pic: John Njiraini
2: Wycliffe Odemu says women pay men like him to harvest the rocks in quarries and deliver them to their next-to-highway stone-crushing spots - pic: John Njiraini
She adds that being a microfinance bank that has 60% of its presence in rural areas, ECLOF is dedicated to women’s empowerment and that is why it offers water, sanitation and hygiene loan products.
In Kenya, the national government is now appreciating the role of women stone crushers and other informal aggregates suppliers in the building and construction sector.
“Informal suppliers of materials like stone, hardcore and ballast from quarries are essential in the sector,” says John Omenge, principal secretary in the State Department of Mining at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining.
He adds that for this reason, the government has initiated measures to formalise the artisanal and small-scale mining sector. The government has also come up with policies to ensure the players in the sector operate in a conducive environment, are provided with the right tools and protective gear and earn a better return for their labour.
“One of the most important aspects of the reforms we are initiating is to eliminate middlemen in the supply chain,” says Omenge.
For Madeva, Agida and other women in the stone-crushing enterprise, this is crucial. Apart from the myriad of dangers they face, the women are also exposed to health risks and complications, common of which are chest pains, eye problems, irritable skin, muscle pains and even miscarriage for pregnant women.
“I know I am putting my unborn baby in danger, but what alternative do I have?” says Madeva.
Despite the odds against them, the majority of these women are optimistic about better days ahead. With the Kenyan government promising to formalise the sector, and the demand for building materials expected to increase substantially after the government earmarked investing in affordable housing as one of the ‘Big 4’ agendas, they hope good tidings will come their way.
“We hope the government can source for ballast from us. This will go a long way in transforming the lives of many poor women,” notes Agida.
Over the next four years, the Kenyan government is targeting to provide at least 500,000 affordable houses, a move that is expected to significantly drive demand for construction aggregates and other building materials.
Government data indicates that Kenya requires a supply of 200,000 affordable units every year until 2022 owing to a housing deficit of two million units. To realise this goal, the country needs to invest a staggering US$22.3 billion. AB
Mary Munyiri, Kenya Ecumenical Loan Fund (ECLOF) chief executive officer - pic: John Njiraini
TAPPING INTO BIG MANUFACTURED SAND BUSINESS
India is one of the world’s biggest consumers of aggregates, as the country continues to invest heavily in big infrastructure projects. Guy Woodford reports on one company that is tapping into the manufactured sand market to ensure it fully capitalises on the wealth of opportunities available to Indian building materials producers.
Mumbai-based KTN Infra (KTN) is one of a huge number of aggregates producers growing with India’s insatiable appetite for new transport and other infrastructure. The company has seen a growing demand for manufactured sand, fuelled partly by rapid construction work in and around the giant business-oriented, west coast city of Mumbai, in Maharashtra state, but also by the state government imposing a ban on river sand extraction.
Although a new company in the Indian construction sector, KTN’s associated partners have a rich background in the
building industry, having been involved in numerous large and smaller projects. The company management’s vision was to have a plant which could not only feed their own projects with manufactured sand, 0-10mm and 0-22mm aggregates, but could also generate a surplus for sale.
KTN started looking for options which could suit their requirements and help the profitability of their business model. After considering various options, Vishal Joshi, owner of KTN, bought land and purchased a Metso crushing and screening plant.
“After purchasing the land, choosing the right plant suiting our requirements was crucial,” explains Joshi. “When deciding upon the crusher plant purchase we were thinking
of a company which could give us not just the quality but also the required quantity, as our material requirement is huge. We had a clear notion we wanted a reliable and committed partner with a good and proven track record.
“After evaluating many options, we decided to go with a Metso crushing and screening plant. Now we are producing 10mm, 20mm and crushed stone sand from the plant, out of which 35-40% is for our own consumption and the rest is supplied to our customers; mainly corporate.”
After understanding KTN’s requirements, Metso set about designing and supplying a three-stage crushing and screening plant capable of adapting to meet evolving market demand.
A Volvo EX210B LC crawler excavator feeds a truck at KTN aggregates and manufactured sand production site in Mumbai
The equipment supplied to KTN included a Nordberg C106 jaw crusher, Nordberg GP220 cone crusher, Barmac B7150SE VSI (vertical shaft impactor), Premier CVB inclined screen and a Premier TS 3.3 multi-slope screen to cater to KTN’s specific manufactured sand need.
Metso says the crushing process makes its Barmac VSI equipment unique. Whereas most other types of crushers use metallic parts to crush rock, Barmac VSI models use the rock fed into the machine to crush itself. This autogenous crushing action is said by Metso to offer the lowest possible cost per tonne of any impact crushing method. The high-velocity impact crushing achieved in a Barmac VSI is said to improve the soundness and cubical shape of the material and produces high-quality end products. Generally, the more cubical your product, the better its performance in concrete, asphalt and base mixtures. The Barmac B7150SE VSI used by KTN can take a maximum 45mm feed size and produce up to 545tonnes/hour of final aggregates/manufactured sand product.
Sanjeev Raina, deputy general manager, Projects, Metso India, said: “After receiving the KTN order, the bigger challenge was the timely delivery and commissioning of the project. In the end, our project team
designed and supplied the plant in record time. The even more commendable part was that the plant’s commissioning and load trial was done in one go. This brought great satisfaction for the customer. Currently, the plant’s average daily production over an eight-hour work day is 1,300 tonnes, of which 40% is sand.”
KTN’s Vishal Joshi added: “Honestly, my experience has been fantastic right from the delivery of the plant to the commissioning. All the way it has been very good. Even the services offered so far, be it by the installations team, commissioning team or the services team, have been exceptional.
“The plant is in its early stages. The quantity is picking up gradually, but the quality has been good. I’m very happy with it. Around 35% to 40% of the products we produce with the plant are for our own consumption. We also supply companies including L&T, IRB, UltraTech and RMC India, who are mainly the big concrete players in Mumbai. We also supply a few developers like Oberoi. None has ever raised an issue about the material delivered to them.”
Breaking down KTN’s current production ratios, Joshi continued: “Around 40% of our total production is manufactured sand, 30% is
0 to -10mm, and 30% is 0 to -20mm. For the perfect shape and size, we installed a Metso Barmac VSI, and, as far as I have seen, this is the best-in-class equipment.”
Whether prime minister Narendra Modi secures a second term in office after the country’s general election in April and May this year, or a new prime minister is sworn in, the huge investment in Indian infrastructure is set to continue well into the 2020s. Given that, along with a possible permanent ban on the use of river sand extraction in Maharashtra state, the current ratio of manufactured sand within KTN’s overall aggregates production could rise considerably in the coming years. If so, further KTN investment in Metso plant and services is a distinct possibility. AB
1: Inspecting material being fed into KTN’s Nordberg C106 jaw crusher 2: A Metso engineer overseeing production from the control room of KTN’s Metso modular plant 3: A site inspection of KTN’s Metso modular plant solution, taking in a Nordberg C106 jaw crusher, Nordberg GP220 cone crusher, Barmac B7150SE VSI, Metso Premier CVB inclined screen, and Metso Premier TS multi-slope screen 4: A haul truck feeds basalt rock into a KTN receiving hopper prior to first stage crushing
Doosan’s new 80 tonne excavator
Doosan Construction Equipment has launched the company’s new 80tonne crawler excavator.
The DX800LC-5B is said to offer optimum value to the end user thanks to outstanding productivity, high fuel efficiency, superior comfort for the operator, enhanced reliability, durability and maximum uptime. These attributes make it ideal for heavy-duty mining and quarrying applications as well as major infrastructure construction projects.
The long carriage (LC) design, in combination with the undercarriage expanded to its maximum working width, offers
optimum stability and safety in all kinds of digging, lifting and loading applications.
Built with high-quality, proven main components and offering a very robust design, the DX800LC-5B enables customers to work in environments where avoiding downtime is critical. In fact, the use of superior components throughout, specifically customised for use in large equipment, ensures this new machine offers claimed best-in-class power, productivity and durability. Contributing to the claimed best-in-class productivity is
the combination of a new 358kW diesel engine and a comprehensive advanced and intelligent hydraulic system (ecoPower).
The DX800LC-5B incorporates an Electronic Control Unit which serves to optimise the performance of the diesel engine to achieve the maximum fuel efficiency. The ecoPower technology builds on this by focusing on the role of the hydraulics system and demonstrates Doosan’s continuous iteration of all the processes and components used in the company’s products to achieve unprecedented levels of diesel energy efficiency.
Doosan’s ecoPower technology utilises an electronic pressure-controlled pump within a closed-centre hydraulic system to accomplish increases in productivity and fuel consumption improvements. A close- centre main control valve minimises pressure loss, while the electric pressure-controlled pump manages and optimises engine power more effectively.
The DX800LC-5B has a very spacious operator cab, equipped with ergonomic controls and instrumentation. Special attention has been given to keeping noise to a minimum by improved sealing of the engine compartment and extensive use of sound-dampening materials. www.doosanequipment.eu
Leica-SVAB’s tool recognition for loaders
Tool Recognition is a wireless system that automatically detects the work tool that is used on a quarrying or construction application crawler excavator or wheeled loader via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The system can automatically identify which work tools are connected to the machine.
“Some operators change bucket several times a day; with the Tool Recognition configuration, the risk of human error is eliminated. The integration with the machine control solution means the operator only needs to focus on one panel,” explains Marcus Grevelshøj, product manager for excavator and wheeled loader solutions at Leica Geosystems.
The machine operator no longer needs to manually change
settings in the Leica Geosystems machine control solution when changing work tools with this system; this is now an automated process. The driver will also get a warning if a work tool without a tool recognition module is selected. This minimises the risk of using the wrong
Elkon’s Jordanian plant trio
One of Jordan’s largest ready-mix concrete producers has increased its production capacity with three more ELKON concrete batching plant. The latest purchases by the company are said to have followed its successful use over several years of a secondhand ELKON plant.
The purchasing company’s new plant are being put to work on three separate production sites. One plant is working within a confined 15m² x 30m² space at the company’s central concrete production facility in Amman. Following detailed analysis by ELKON engineers and meetings with company officials, an ELKOMIX-200 concrete batching plant, including two 150tonne capacity cement silos and an aggregate storage bunker featuring four 30m³ compartments and a concrete ramp, is said to be working well despite the severe onsite space restrictions.
bucket and the subsequent over- or under-digging and costly rework. Besides directly supporting the attached tools, the tool recognition system also supports standard tilt buckets and detachable tilt rotators.
www.leica-geosystems.com www.svab.se/en
An ELKOMIX-135 plant recently purchased by a major Jordanian ready-mixed concrete producer
A new ELKOMIX-135 stationary concrete batching plant, in which the aggregates can be loaded without a ramp, is working next to an established company batching plant in the Marka region, near Amman. Given the truck-mixer approaching difficulties onsite, an ELKON Twinshaft Mixer is being used. This mean that while the truck mixer is being filled from one discharge outlet, another truck mixer can approach the other outlet, allowing for uninterrupted serial production.
The ELKON customer’s third site is located near Jordan’s Syrian border, where mobility is more important. Here, a new ELKOMIX-135 Quick Master compact concrete batching plant, combining the advantages of mobile concrete batching with the flexibility of stationary concrete batching, is being put to work. www.elkomix.com
Argonics’ OTR tyre sidewall protection
US company Argonics has launched new technology for OTR (off the road) tyres that is designed to protect sidewalls from punctures and other damage in harsh quarrying environments.
The Argonics OTR Sidewall Protector is made from durable, specially formulated polyurethane. The company says tyre sidewalls are at particular risk of damage from jagged edges in the piles of debris that build up at quarrying sites.
Argonics states: “Due to its ability to withstand abrasion, cutting, and tearing, urethane is ideal for situations where severe wear is a problem. The material also has the ability to change shape under heavy load pressure, then return to its original shape once the load is removed.”
The company says the modular system makes replacing a damaged part more cost effective than with a one-piece tyre design.
Argonics adds that the sidewall protector installs quickly, once the special flange has been installed by certified personnel, and that virtually no maintenance is needed, other than to retorque the bolts after 15 to 20 hours of use, comparable to installing new tyres on a car.
Argonics tested the OTR Sidewall Protector for over a year before launch, and it is now available for tyre size 29.5R25, with more sizes planned to follow shortly. The 29.5R25 size fits a range of articulated trucks, scrapers, wheeled loaders and wheeled dozers. www.argonics.com
Kespry launches site planning toolkit for aggregates and mining
Kespry launches site planning toolkit for aggregates and mining
Drone and aerial intelligence company Kespry has launched a site-planning toolkit designed to increase profitability, productivity and safety at aggregates and mining sites.
Its features include tracking of earthworks and site status with elevation profile data. The Kespry Cross Section tool automatically generates elevation profile lines created in the Kespry cloud and can automatically compare that profile to data from previous flights or a design plan. US-based Kespry says this enables site managers to access and assess site progress with greater detail.
A 3D volume modelling tool is designed to enable users to create a 3D polygon when calculating the quantity of material to be removed for proposed excavation and blasts. The company says this enables site managers to more accurately estimate quantities to better plan and schedule earthmoving operations.
George Mathew, CEO and chairman of Kespry, said: “Same-day, accurate analytics mean the elimination of production delays caused by long data capture and analysis processes. Now, site owners and operators can quantify the amount of material moved or blasted across active sites in granular detail and as frequently as their businesses need. We’re delivering on a comprehensive vision that allows professionals across these industries to make the most profitable and timely decisions possible while meeting safety and compliance requirements.”
A compliance and safety tool uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically detect, monitor and alert users of non-compliant and dangerous slopes, berms, roads and benches throughout the site.
“In a quarry situation, you have to deal with high walls,” said Ken Kampman, survey manager and operations manager, Fred Weber Construction. “When you get down there at the bottom of those high walls, you risk facing falling rocks. Kespry keeps us away from the walls, it keeps us away from the top of the berms. Kespry also keeps us out of the path of any quarry trucks, dozers, and all that stuff. It just keeps us away from any potential danger.”
www.kespry.com
Caterpillar attachment locator
Caterpillar has added the PL161 attachment locator to the Locator series of the Cat Product Link hardware product line. The PL161 locator is said to be the most advanced original equipment manufacturer (OEM) integrated technology solution for attachment tracking. With the ability to track location and utilisation, users can know where their attachments are across all worksites, reduce the number of lost attachments, and plan for attachment maintenance and replacement.
The PL161 attachment locator can be used on attachments and non-powered assets as an affordable option for last known location tracking, and it integrates easily into users’ operation for full fleet management of machines and attachments from one dashboard on a smartphone or a tablet.
The PL161 locator is a
customer-installable device that supports operation in harsh environments. The compact design of the locator makes it compatible for a wide range of assets without interfering with the work they are doing. Bluetooth range is up to 30 metres, depending on the environment and any obstructions. The device is battery powered with an estimated life of two years.
The PL161 locator is designed to be used with the Cat App and with other PL Series scanning devices installed on Next Generation excavators and retrofit kits are available for older machines. When using the Cat App within range of the PL161 locator device, the location will be logged automatically. This system leverages cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity through the user’s own smartphone or tablet to transmit data to the VisionLink
and My.Cat.com applications. Purchase of the PL161 locator comes with a subscription to VisionLink for the life of the device.
The PL161 locator is available from the factory on select attachments and will be factory installed on all excavator attachments starting from the middle of 2019. The Cat App is compatible with most smart devices that have Bluetooth 4.0 or later and is available for download from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). www.cat.com
Piles of debris at aggregates sites are a risk to the sidewalls of OTR tyres
Caterpillar’s new PL161 attachment locator
The Kespry planning toolkit automatically compares site data with that gathered in previous drone flights
APRIL
8-14 bauma 2019
Munich, Germany
Organiser: Messe München GmbH
Tel: +49 89 949-11348
Email: exhibiting@bauma.de www.bauma.de/index-2.html
17-19 Marrakesh Mining Convention 2019
Morroco
Organiser: MMC
Tel: +44 (0)208 242 6566
Email: shariq.abdul@valiantbmedia.com http://marrakeshminingconvention.com/
MAY
15-18 CICEE 2019
Beijing, China
Organiser: China Machinery Industry Federation, China Construction Machinery Society and Changsha City Government Tel: 0731-86969961 www.chinacicee.com
22-23 Argus European Bitumen and Asphalt 2019
Athens, Greece
Organiser: Argus Media group
Tel: +44 207 780 4341
Email: bitumen@argusmedia.com https://www.argusmedia.com/ conferences-events-listing/europeanbitumen
JUNE
11-13 Plantworx 2019
East of England Arena, Peterborough
Organiser: Rail Media & CEE
Tel: 020 8253 4517
Email: simon.frerecook@plantworx.co.uk www.plantworx.co.uk
21-22 CQMS 2019
Punchestown Event Centre, Co. Kildare
Organiser: Machinery Movers Magazine Tel: +353 83 433 5968 www.machinerymovers.ie/cqms/
SEPTEMBER
5-7 RecyclingAKTIV and TiefbauLIVE 2019
Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, Germany
Organiser: Karlsruher Messe-und Kongress GmbH Tel: 0049-721-3720-2300
Email: verena.schneider@messe-karlsruhe.de www.recycling-aktiv.com
DECEMBER
10-14 Excon 2019
Bengaluru, India
Organiser: Confederation of Indian Industry Tel: +91-44-42444564
Email: excon@cii.in https://excon.in/exconpub.php
2020
MARCH
10-14 CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020
Las Vegas, NV
Organiser: AEM
Tel: +1 414-274-0644
Email: customerservice@conexpoconagg.com www.conexpoconagg.com
MEET THE TEAM
Throughout the year Aggregates Business travels the globe attending conferences, events and equipment shows, keeping you informed of the latest offerings. Why not come and join us for a chat at any of the events below?
APRIL 2019 8-14 bauma 2019
Save minimum 15% in fuel consumption
Renewed Lokotrack® LT200HP™ crushing plant
The renewed Lokotrack® LT200HP™ mobile crushing plant can save minimum 15% in fuel consumption compared to hydraulic-driven cone crushers thanks to its direct belt drive from gearbox, and is the first Lokotrack to comply with Stage V emission regulations.
In addition to being more efficient, the renewed LT200HP also features several safety and maintenance improvements. These include elevated service platforms to ensure safe, easy access to service and maintenance points and improvements that make daily maintenance quicker and easier.
Scan QR code below to see how it looks!
