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Categories: Asphalt Plants

One of the most cutting-edge asphalt mixing plants starts operation

The Makadamwerk Schwaben GmbH & Co. KG pursued very particular objectives when renovating one of its plants. For its main site in southwestern Germany, the asphalt producer decided on a plant that would combine maximum performance and high quality with advanced ecological features. The Ammann ABP HRT asphalt mixing plant, one of the most modern facilities in Europe, has now gone into operation.

Makadamwerk Schwaben GmbH & Co. KG owns five asphalt mixing plants spread across the greater Stuttgart area, the Hohenlohe district and Aalen, Germany. The partners of Makadamwerk Schwaben GmbH are Eurovia and Wolff & Müller. All locations are equipped with Ammann’s compact solutions, which include the delivery of high-quality asphalt to the region’s many road construction projects. When in 2019, the company began to look at options for upgrading its site in Sindelfingen, Germany, it became clear who to contact: The close cooperation between Ammann and Makadamwerk should again lead to the best result.

 

Setting goals

For Managing Director Volker Schneider and his team, the main focus this time was on sustainability: Reduced emissions and increased use of recycled materials were at the top of the priority list for the new plant. The solution was found in the Ammann ABP HRT. HRT stands for “High Recycling Technology” and represents the latest developments in environmental protection without sacrificing production output and the quality of the asphalt mixture. Plants of this particular design process up to 100 per cent recycled asphalt. Using a hot gas generator, the temperature of the recycled material is carefully raised inside the counterflow recycling dryer RAH100. A generously dimensioned steam disposal system offers the possibility of combining hot and cold recycling.

 

Achieving goals

By using the technically advanced Ammann HRT concept, Makadamwerk Schwaben secured a high level of technology and innovation for itself: A unique feature of the entire ABP HRT recycling system is its vertical design, placed “directly above the mixer”. Only gravity is used to move the material, thus saving costs and maintenance-intensive conveying technology. Using gravity reduces the energy input, minimises wear and optimises the conveying of the hot recycling material. Moreover, dust and noise emissions are significantly reduced compared to regular mixing plants. When producing low-temperature asphalt, the plant has been equipped with an innovative bitumen foam additive. Even special mixes, such as mastic asphalt, can be produced without any special requirements. The two-row mixing tower facilitates the highly flexible process of the mix by using different minerals and aggregates.

 

Defining benchmarks

“Right from the early planning stage, we made sure to link the entire plant periphery with the existing infrastructure”, explains Volker Behrens, Sales Manager at Ammann Asphalt GmbH. This careful preparation in advance meant that the subsequent installation process went seamlessly and without delay. Just seven months after the dismantling of the old plant began, the new Ammann ABP HRT started production in a grand opening ceremony on September 25, 2021. Since then, the company’s production capacity has reached 320 t/h and has made the asphalt mixing plant synonymous with flexible and economical solutions at its site in Sindelfingen. At the same time, it is the state-of-the-art plant in terms of exhaust gas, dust and noise reduction currently available on the market: “A beacon of Makadamwerk Schwaben GmbH & Co. KG”, proclaims Behrens.