Skip to main content

Benninghoven’s modern masterpiece

In 2012 Benninghoven were commissioned by Kostmann, an Austria-based consortium of companies involved in the production and refinement of raw materials, to build an asphalt mixing plant that included a stone tower silo system. The plant - TBA-3000-U –was to be sited at Weitendorf, a location offering good access to the motorway, the Styria regional capital, Graz, and the Austria-Slovenia border. However, the close proximity of agricultural land and private residential areas called for an adherence to strict
April 4, 2013 Read time: 4 mins
Kostmann’s new Benninghoven asphalt mixing plant, which includes a stone tower silo system, is said to be among the most modern in Europe
In 2012 167 Benninghoven were commissioned by Kostmann, an Austria-based consortium of companies involved in the production and refinement of raw materials, to build an asphalt mixing plant that included a stone tower silo system. The plant - TBA-3000-U –was to be sited at Weitendorf, a location offering good access to the motorway, the Styria regional capital, Graz, and the Austria-Slovenia border.

However, the close proximity of agricultural land and private residential areas called for an adherence to strict emissions requirements.

Kostmann were said to have recognised the value of investing in a long-term site in the Styria region, and in using modern technology to produce asphalt in an efficient and environmentally-friendly way.

Benninghoven said a high level of commitment to the project by all stakeholders including Kostmann made it possible to produce saleable asphalt within the agreed deadline.

The final version of the plant is a complete tailor-made asphalt production system that matches the customer’s vision. At the same time, the characteristics of the finished plant are said to make it one of the most modern in Europe.

Onsite plant supply logistics are described by Benninghoven as remarkable. The bulk material is not delivered via loaders and belt feeders as it is usually in many other systems. The delivering trucks tip the material into a underground bunker system. From this starting point, the material is conveyed to the top of the silo by 40kW-plus powered elevators manufactured by 6933 FAF Falkensee. From there, the material is delivered to individual silos according to the aggregate size.

Overall the high silo system stores 2400m³ of material, this provides a solid base for current and future asphalt production requirements.

Benninghoven claims that due to the dry storage of the aggregates, fuel costs can be drastically reduced and the CO2 emissions greatly minimised through the use of the TBA-3000-U. This contribution to the environment is said by Benninghoven to be rarely seen in Europe, and again demonstrates the pioneering investment undertaken by Kostmann.

With up to 800mm-wide conveyor belts, the material is fed to the dryer drum, which, in turn, benefits from environmentally-friendly natural gas-powered combustion technology and appropriate Benninghoven filtration systems.

A six-deck-screen grading process is said to ensure precise aggregate sizes and a perfect mixing operation.
The hot mineral hoppers are filled via the built in diverter chute and contain the material for subsequent dosing into the mineral weigh hopper of the plant. Highest material quality is produced in the twin shaft paddle mixer. All kinds of special asphalts can be manufactured by the modern plant.

The Benninghoven control station BLS 3000 is another feature of the Kostmann-commissioned plant, and is said to prove that extreme performance and high operating comfort are not mutually exclusive.

The TBA-3000-U’s production system allows the admission of over 40% recycled asphalt to be added to the asphalt mix, observed by Benninghoven to make it just one of five asphalt plants in Europe able to achieve this ratio.

In addition, cellulose pellets can be added to the production for special asphalts such as Split Mastic.

The plant’s high efficiency bitumen storage tanks incorporate the latest technology, offering potentially enormous electrical energy savings.

All the TBA-3000-U’s drives from 15kW are fitted with soft starters to ensure efficient electrical operation of the plant, while the larger motors are equipped with a frequency converter. Benninghoven says both installations will effectively save energy because only the required amount is consumed.

In order to get a perfect production plan and transparent cost structure for the plant, the TBA-3000-U is equipped with an advanced control system. This meets the needs of clients for investment management, planning and construction assignments.

It is also said to further fulfil the most stringent customer-requested requirements concerning WBK (factory operational control) and BDE (data collection).

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Widest cold planer attachment range in the world
    October 1, 2024
    For more than 30 years, Simex has been at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of road maintenance equipment. From the first planers for compact loaders, created in 1991, to the most recent patents, Simex is the technological partner of thousands of companies, with a distribution network covering over 80 countries and the widest range of cold planers in the world, capable of satisfying any need application.
  • Austrian 'first' for Hazemag
    February 6, 2012
    Hazemag has supplied what it claims is the first semi-mobile impact roll crusher plant in Austria to Zementwerk Leube, one of the country's leading companies in the building materials industry. The compact, semi-mobile design 600-800tonnes/hour limestone crushing plant includes the integration of a feeder grate as a primary screen. "Even with high throughput and the large feed size of up to 1.2m the end product had to have a final crush size of 0-250mm with a minimal amount of fines production in the final
  • The Path to Climate-Neutral Road Construction
    October 1, 2023
    Machine manufacturers and construction companies around the globe are currently searching for ways to achieve the goal of climate-neutral construction. The challenge here is to successively reduce emissions of CO2 and other harmful gases (summarized to CO2 equivalents: CO2e) around the world to zero over the coming decades. In the road construction sector, this transformation is inextricably linked to the improvement and further development of production and working processes. In the future, machines and construction materials will also be assessed based on the climate-harmful emissions arising from their production and use. However, the focus should not be on individual machines, but on the entire process leading up to the finished product – a road. Ultimately, the decisive factor is the emissions generated per kilometer of newly built or rehabilitated road – the “CO2e per work done”.
  • Asphalt paving innovations are being unveiled
    June 11, 2019
    Asphalt paving technology has moved forward another step