Materials

New products, including additives, are coming onto the market to help reduce the cost of producing bitumen. Patrick smith reports. According to Eng. Paolo Visconti of Iterchimica, environmental issues and the health and safety of operators of manufacturing plants and workers laying bituminous mixes have raised long debates on the possible harmfulness of fumes which are emitted when heating these mixes at the temperatures (160-180°C) required for their production. "If, on the one hand, the effects on operato

A film has been made of the installation of one of the Ammann Group's first new BlackMove II mobile asphalt mixing plants.

Canadian firm Major Wire Industries now offers an array of innovative technologies for the screening sector. Latest developments include the Flex-Mat 3 High-Performance, Self-Cleaning screen media in Tensioned and Modular versions, OptimumWire Woven Wire and LFM Harp Wire, Double-Weave Woven Wire and Flex-Mat 3 Double-Wire and HyperSlot. These products suit an array of duties in aggregate and asphalt production applications and the novel Flex-Mat 3 high-performance, self-cleaning screen is now available in

WORK ON a major upgrade at a busy German road junction is expected to be completed by the end of 2011. To assist in the project, two Putzmeister large-boom concrete pumps, an M 58-5 from Berger Beton and an M 62-6 from BFM Betonförderdienst in Munich, arrived at the Neufahrn motorway junction, north of the city. The junction, when viewed from above, looks like a flatly pressed four-leaf clover, and can no longer cope with traffic volumes. Two national motorways, the A 9 and the A 92, intersect at the

An innovative asphalt plant is allowing the use of recycled materials and achieving major cost benefits - Mike Woof reports. UK construction firm FM Conway is seeing the benefit of the €11.5 million (£10 million) it has invested in its asphalt production facilities at Erith in Kent, close to UK capital London, since buying the site in 2005. The biggest single investment in the facility has been a new Benninghoven asphalt plant, which was commissioned in June 2010 and is now the core of the Erith operation.

Developed in 1933 by the French engineer M Rouaze, the Atomix(r) mill is now used by many customers across five continents and is able to make all types of emulsions including SBR [styrene butadiene rubber] and SBS [styrene-butadiene-styrene].

GROUP FAYAT highlighted its Secmair Serviroute multipurpose bitumen sprayer with a new 5m telescopic spray bar at the SMOPYC show in Zaragoza, Spain. Traditionally fitted with a 4.5m bar, the primary function of a Serviroute machine is to fix a coating layer with a layer of binder with a tack-coat layer. The unit carries 3,000-6,000litres of binder; 1,000- 6,000litres of water and 450-900litres of fuel, according to the various options and type of truck retained. According to Secmair, the machine's

CASE CONSTRUCTION Equipment introduces three new F Series wheeled loaders to European customers. The 721F (operating weight 14,929kg), the 821F (17,633kg) and the 921F (19,857kg) are said to offer faster acceleration, reduced cycle times, higher travel speeds and increased productivity, yet boast up to a 10% reduction in fuel consumption. The F Series loaders are powered by Tier 4 interim diesel engines, with improved programmable power modes. An optional five-speed transmission further boosts fuel

Companies are coming up with innovative formwork solutions to overcome "challenging" designs for bridges. Patrick Smith reports

Work on a key link in the United Arab Emirates is benefiting from the use of equipment supplied by Sandvik Mining and Construction. The firm supplied key equipment for the Salalah bypass project, a 32km road link that will span the entire length of Salalah City as it runs from Raysut in the east, towards Ayn Razat in the west.