TBA 4000 supplies asphalt for Moscow.

TBA 4000 supplies asphalt for Moscow.

Producing asphalt to a variety of formulas and delivering premium quality products is one thing, but designing asphalt mixing plants with maximum user-friendliness is a real challenge. In the case of BENNINGHOVEN plants, these two challenges are well and truly met, as proven by a new TBA 4000 plant.

Cold, salt and traffic jams: A non-stop stress test for Moscow’s roads

Since the Russian Federation was established in 1990, the number of motor vehicles on the roads has been rising steadily. And in the capital city of Moscow, this increase has led to daily holdups. The response in the 1990s was to build more and wider urban motorways, but now the amount of available land has been all but exhausted, and the city has turned to investing in expanding its public transportation system, dismantling traffic lights and improving transport connections.

The construction of new roads is still on the agenda, especially for relieving the situation on the 109km-long MKAD Outer Ring Road. A budget of RUB 4.4 trillion (EUR 91.15 billion) is available for expanding the roadway infrastructure up to 2020. The following facts and figures illustrate how crucial these investments are for the economy and the public sector: apart from heavy traffic volumes, wet, cold winters and road salt have such a devastating effect on the asphalt pavement that the 4-5cm-thick surface courses have to be renewed every two to three years – or even every year on roads frequented by tourists. On account of the heavy traffic, only individual sections of road are usually resurfaced and the work is done at night.

109km around Moscow: the MKAD Outer Ring Road is to be relieved of heavy traffic through the construction of additional city motorways (dashed lines). The location of the new TBA 4000 (blue dot) was chosen strategically.

New TBA 4000 puts up-and-coming construction company ahead of the game

Encouraged by this promising market situation, Moscow-based contractor Zentrodostroy decided to invest in a transportable asphalt mixing plant from BENNINGHOVEN. “With the TBA 4000, we are looking to arm ourselves to meet current challenges and prepare for the future at the same time,” explains Nikolai Konstantinovich, mixing plant director at Zentrodostroy. “We have long-term plans for our BENNINGHOVEN plant. One important argument in favour of the investment was the option of retrofitting modules at any time to keep pace with the state of the art,” says Konstantinovich, describing the advantages of the TBA line’s modular design.

Specifically, Zentrodostroy already has its eye on BENNINGHOVEN’s multivariable feed technology. The RAP cold feed system achieves RAP material rates of up to 40%, making asphalt production more cost-efficient and sustainable. “In Russia, there has been a strong focus on white mineral in the past, but attitudes in the industry are changing,” says Konstantinovich.

The reasons are obvious: instead of disposing of old asphalt, the BENNINGHOVEN RAP feed system turns it into a valuable raw material: first, the milled material entirely eliminates the cost of new white mineral, and second, less bitumen is required to process it into new mix in the TBA 4000.

320 t/h nominal mixing output of the TBA 4000

Viktor Muratov, mixing plant supervisor at Zentrodostroy and Nikolai Konstantinovich, mixing plant director at Zentrodostroy

Mr Muratov, you’ve had time now to familiarize yourself with your new TBA 4000. What’s your impression?

"I like my new workplace very much! Because it’s so advanced, I feel safe and my superior is very happy with the asphalt formulas I’ve been mixing. We can also use the plant to produce special mixes, such as Superpave, which is in very high demand here. The best aspect is the fact that even special products like Superpave are simple to mix with the BENNINGHOVEN control system. And the visual overviews play a key role, giving you the sense of reassurance that comes with always having everything under control."

Before getting to work, asphalt mixing plants have to be assembled. How were those few days for you, before the plant went into operation?

"The team from WIRTGEN INTERNATIONAL did a great job and we were surprised at how well we were able to help them with the assembly. The plug & work principle makes handling so easy; it all went very fast. You basically plug it in and you’re all set. It was impressive to see how such huge components can simply be plugged together. Now we won’t have to worry at all if we ever need to relocate the plant."

How do you rate the importance of the plant’smodular design?

"It’s a very important aspect. If requirements change, we can adapt our TBA 4000 to meet them at any time. Be it recycling, mixed material storage silos or feeding additives, there’s an interface for each additional technical component. And one thing is for sure: recycling is becoming a major topic in Moscow, which is why we’re already planning to upgrade to a multivariable feed system."

Then all you would have to do is check in with your WIRTGEN GROUP contact in Moscow and you would be able to cold feed up to 40% RAP with this recycling technology.

"Exactly. It works perfectly. We have a reliable partner in the WIRTGEN GROUP. They do their utmost to help us out. And that goes for the servicing, too. Although the BENNINGHOVEN lubrication schedule plays a role here, too, helping me keep track of all maintenance requirements."

You mean the intuitive lubrication schedule, which breaks maintenance down into intervals with its three colour codes. Is maintenance work also easy to perform now?

It used to be such a nightmare, but not any more! There are large service panels that are wonderfully accessible, and everything inside is perfectly illuminated by modern lighting equipment. The preinstalled electrical and compressed air connections for our tools are also very practical, because now we don’t have to run up any cords or cables. And anywhere I have to go on the plant, it’s safe. That shows that the team from BENNINGHOVEN knows how we work out there. Our managing director can also rest assured that the plant is being well-maintained. That’s important to all of us because we want to use our TBA 4000 for a long time to come, and make sure it keeps pace with the state-of-the-art at all times.

Transportable asphalt mixing plant from BENNINGHOVEN in Moscow

User advantage: Added safety

BENNINGHOVEN asphalt mixing plants feature a uniform safety system for service and maintenance situations: the intelligent and exclusively mechanical key transfer system.
When servicing is required, the operator can use a key to either release an element in the control cabinet of a plant component, or a guard locking device on one of the maintenance doors – but never both at the same time. Users can hence feel safe in the knowledge that only they can put a component they are currently working on back into operation.

User advantage: Added safety

User advantage: Lubrication made easy

The system behind the colour-coded lubrication points greatly simplifies maintenance. The plant operator knows right away when scheduled lubrication is required just by looking at the respective components. This simple and intuitive system effectively ensures that operators adhere to all lubrication schedules.
Consistent colour-coding, identical on all plant components: red stands for daily, yellow for weekly and blue for monthly.

User advantage: Lubrication made easy

User advantage: Exemplary accessibility

Very good accessibility to all areas thanks to large walkways and work platforms as well as generously dimensioned service openings – over a metre high and half a metre wide – which guarantee ergonomic access to all relevant plant components.
As a result, any servicing or maintenance work that needs to be done on the plant is as ergonomic as possible. What’s more, service and assembly aids, such as defined attachment points for electrical and compressed air tools, facilitate the work.

User advantage: Exemplary accessibility

WIRTGEN INTERNATIONAL
The WIRTGEN GROUP’s team in Russia

The WIRTGEN GROUP subsidiary – Moscow-based WIRTGEN International Service and its team – can attend to the needs of customers and users all over Russia, thanks to its many service technicians stationed at various decentralized locations to ensure rapid response times.
WIRTGEN INTERNATIONAL SERVICE sells products from all five WIRTGEN GROUP brands – WIRTGEN, VÖGELE, HAMM, KLEEMANN and BENNINGHOVEN – and operates a large spare parts store that is open 24/7.