New burner suspended from a crane in front of the KWS asphalt mixing plant.

State-of-the-art upgrade in Eindhoven

Precision planning and a collaborative rollout

Benninghoven and KWS Infra have taken their teamwork up a notch, and completed their first major joint Retrofit in years. Upgrading the dryer drum and burner with the latest technology from Benninghoven has put the asphalt mixing plant in Eindhoven at the forefront once again, delivering high productivity and a demonstrable improvement in resource efficiency.

KWS Infra is part of VolkerWessels Infrastructure, the Netherlands’ leading infrastructure specialist. Located on the outskirts of Eindhoven, the asphalt mixing plant has been in operation since 1990, supplying both public construction projects and the company’s own paving crews with a wide range of asphalt mixtures. Given the age of the plant and the already advanced signs of wear on the burner and the dryer drum, the company opted for a Retrofit of both components and contacted Benninghoven – the specialists in burner technology and drying sections.

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Focus on productivity and functional reliability

By replacing the dryer drum and burner, KWS Infra pursued two key objectives: firstly, increasing the dryer drum volume to optimise production and drying performance and, secondly, assuring a long service life and functional reliability of the burner. The company also calculated that the retrofit project would improve product quality and bring economic benefits along with measurable savings on fuel consumption and an attendant reduction in emissions.

Dryer drum is transported to its new location.

Perfectly coordinated components plus clearly defined interfaces

The Benninghoven dryer drum and burner form a perfectly coordinated system of machinery that maximizes efficiency gains. Benninghoven’s engineers developed a tailor-made overall strategy for the Eindhoven plant that accurately reflected customer requirements and took all of the necessary interfaces into account.

Larger dryer drum to boost thermal process efficiency

With a length of 10 m (previously 9 m) and a diameter of 2.4 m, the new Benninghoven dryer drum offers a significantly greater volume. A modern frequency converter control system enables precise fine adjustment of the setting range during the drying phase. This ensures optimal control of heat transmission from the burner flame to the virgin material. The setpoint in the drying process must be carefully selected, as it directly influences process optimisation and fuel consumption. This fine adjustment brings benefits in the production of low-temperature/warm mix asphalt. The temperature for the drying process of the virgin material in the drum can be lowered by up to 30 °C, thus contributing to a reduction in energy requirements. In addition, a newly integrated louvre damper regulates the airflow inside the drum.

Dryer drum in front of the asphalt mixing plant on a sunny day.

Onsite delivery of the complete dryer drum, including base frame and feed/discharge endwall.

Onsite delivery of the dryer drum

Onsite delivery of the complete dryer drum.

Man in construction site gear works on the dryer drum.

Preparatory work on the dryer drum.

A crane is used to move the dryer drum into place.

Dryer drum positioning prior to installation work.

Using a crane to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant emissions enclosure.

Using a special jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant’s emissions enclosure. (1/5)

Using a specialized jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant emissions enclosure.

Using a special jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant’s emissions enclosure. (2/5)

Using a specialized jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant emissions enclosure.

Using a special jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant’s emissions enclosure. (3/5)

Using a specialized jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant emissions enclosure.

Using a special jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant’s emissions enclosure. (4/5)

Using a specialized jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant emissions enclosure.

Using a special jig to slide the dryer drum into the mixing plant’s emissions enclosure. (5/5)

Benninghoven dryer drums

  • Various drum sizes available (virgin material and/or RAP dryer drums), from 8 to 12 m in length
  • Diameter: 2 to 3 m in various increments
  • VFD control system (continuously variable drive)
  • Very easy maintenance, thanks to optimized access
  • Can be used for a wide range of cold feed recipes
  • Economical and efficient virgin material drying

Functionally reliable burner

The new burner features a compact design The burner can be operated with up to four fuels, including hydrogen – in this case, with natural gas, the fuel most commonly used in the Netherlands.

One real benefit for the customer is the new burner control with remote access, which enables user-friendly online diagnostics via remote maintenance. Experts from the main Benninghoven factory can access the burner itself to identify and locate any faults. This allows the factory team to provide direct support, eliminating the need for local service callouts – significantly boosting plant availability and rapid response times.

Burner – also available as a Retrofit

  • Modular setup
  • Multi-fuel option (4 fuels)
  • Compact design
  • Easy maintenance
  • Long service life, low wear
  • Frequency control for high fuel efficiency
  • Advanced control technology for reduced emissions
  • Good accessibility
  • Control system with remote management

Learn more about Retrofits

Additional work packages

A number of additional work packages were also completed at the customer’s request – some by Benninghoven and some by the customer. The precise coordination of the transfer of responsibilities at the appropriate points was extremely important for ensuring the perfect fit of all components – and the KWS-Benninghoven team achieved this with ease.

  • Natural gas safety route up to handover point to existing gas grid
  • New raw gas duct, plus separate feed nozzle for reduced-emission aggregates.
  • Side staircase with platform and railings leading to the maintenance door of the dryer drum, to facilitate maintenance tasks

“Coordination with the customer was smooth and efficient throughout. All in all – this was truly a textbook project!”

Sebastian Heil, Regional Sales Manager Benninghoven

Many interfaces – perfectly coordinated

Ensuring the precise definition of all interfaces was critical to the project’s success. For a Retrofit in particular, the various interfaces present within the components of an asphalt mixing plant need to be properly taken into account. Multiple trades are involved here, from industrial building construction to machine leasing, or, for example, specialized contractors for the adaptation of belt conveyors or dismantling the emissions enclosure of the asphalt mixing plant. Thanks to the extremely close, smooth, and seamless coordination with KWS Infra, Benninghoven and its customer worked together like a perfectly meshing gear train throughout every phase of the project. Both teams knew exactly what needed doing, provided mutual support, and ensured a polished result.

Emissions enclosure – flawless dismantling and assembly

In the Netherlands, plants are generally housed in an enclosure to reduce dust emissions, noise, and the spread of dirt in the area around the facility. For the installation of the dryer drum and burner, it was therefore necessary to dismantle and later reinstall large parts of the enclosure. KWS Infra decided to employ an external specialist contractor to carry out this phase of the project. This solution was practical and economical, as dismantling and reinstalling the enclosure requires a high level of professional expertise. To ensure that all of the interface handovers ran like clockwork, Benninghoven’s site supervisor monitored the process and provided support when required.

Dismantling of the emissions enclosure by a specialist firm.

The burner unit is already installed in the mixing plant.

The side staircase and the raw gas duct are prepared for the installation of the new dryer drum.

Direct sales team keeps things simple

No intermediaries or branch offices, only direct communication between Benninghoven’s main factory and the customer. The initial project inquiry, negotiation, project planning, and implementation proceeded quickly and on schedule. At this level of interface complexity, this direct approach has proven to be the simplest and most efficient solution. The project was officially awarded only a few weeks after the initial inquiry. This enabled swift and efficient decision-making – to the customer’s complete satisfaction.

Summary: this was a retrofit project that delivered on all counts, elevating the Eindhoven plant to state-of-the-art technical standards and ensuring its future viability.

Media & Press

You can download a ZIP file containing the press release in the available languages in Microsoft Word format and the images in 300 dpi resolution.

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