The Wirtgen China Technology Days

Wirtgen China sent out an invitation – and the response was amazing! From September 18–22, 2023, around 2,500 customers from across the country visited the China Technology Days at the Wirtgen factory in Langfang, Hebei Province – and were fascinated by what they found. The Wirtgen Group impressively confirmed its powers of innovation and ability to create market-relevant solutions with the presentation of over 40 machines certified in line with the CN NR Stage 4 (CHINA IV) exhaust emission standards and a multitude of smart and sustainable technologies.

The Wirtgen China Technology Days offered not only a complete understanding of the products and technologies of the Wirtgen Group, but also provided an exciting preview of the future of road construction.

Highlight 1: Industry 4.0 Concept – Efficient Production Systems

A showpiece in itself: The new factory in Langfang is one of the Wirtgen Group’s biggest foreign investment projects. A state-of-the-art, entirely new Industry 4.0 concept with a smart production system that maximizes the efficiency of the entire workflow has been realized here on a site with a total area of almost 50 acres / 200,000 m².

Digital Work Center System

The new system is employed at all points along the assembly line and enables a high degree of standardization in the production processes. Parts stores and logistics systems are digitally integrated into the assembly process and the management system features a real-time connection with incoming orders. This interaction optimizes production processes from end to end by reducing response times and assuring the efficient utilization of resources.

Highlight 2: Sustainable Production System with Low CO₂ Emissions

The Wirtgen Group plays a decisive role as one of the industry’s most prominent pioneers when it comes to the realization of innovative and sustainable products and technologies for the road construction process chain. In fact, the world’s first cold recycler – a milestone on the way to environmentally friendly road rehabilitation – was actually developed by Wirtgen way back in the 1980s. Cold recycling technology was introduced in China in 1998 and very soon became an established method. Today, Wirtgen Group road pavement recycling solutions are employed in all Chinese provinces. Since 2019, these include the W 380 CR, the world’s most advanced and most efficient cold recycler.

Highlight 3: Smart and Digital Solutions

The Wirtgen Group is one of the industry’s leading promoters of digitalization in road construction and a decisive driver when it comes to increasing sustainability and precision in the road construction process chain.

Typical examples of this are the 3D control systems for road pavers from Vögele. They cover the entire spectrum of 3D machine control – from simple grade control with 3D sensors (Niveltronic Plus 3D) to fully automated control of the screed position (Navitronic Basic), and paver steering (Navitronic Plus).

These smart solutions enable the use of a virtual reference datum (virtual stringline) that eliminates the laborious and costly setup of a physical stringline before paving can begin. This also reduces the overall costs and effort otherwise incurred by surveying.

An Impressive Tour de Force of Cutting-Edge Technologies

There were plenty of highlights to be discovered on the technology presentation area: for instance the SUPER 1800-3i SprayJet spray paver from Vögele. The road paver takes care of the spraying of the bitumen emulsion and paving the asphalt surface course in a single pass.

The visitors were also able to find detailed information about the smart solutions for ensuring process reliability offered by Kleemann. In addition, visitors benefited from interactive animations and personal advice on digital and sustainable technical solutions from specialists from the Wirtgen Group.

Highlight 4: A Complete Range of Models Certified in Line with the CN NR Stage 4 (CHINA IV) Exhaust Emission Standards

With over 40 exhibits from four brands, Wirtgen China presented a cross section of its extensive portfolio of equipment for a wide range of applications such as the construction of main roads, municipal roads, and major highways. Wirtgen China also showed mobile crushers and screens from Kleemann for materials processing and recycling.

Wirtgen

In the case of Wirtgen, the focus was set on products and technologies for cost-effective and resource-friendly road rehabilitation – among them the high-performance cold recycler W 380 CR(i) for the rehabilitation of extremely wide roadways. A further focus was set on the new and extremely agile front-loading Compact Class models with reduced fuel consumption. These offer cost-efficient and effective solutions in particular for medium-scale construction sites, the proportion of which is continually increasing in China’s road construction sector.

Vögele

The latest machine technology for efficient, high-quality paving: Vögele presented road pavers for all applications from the Mini Class to the Highway Class. The highlights here included the high-performance SUPER 2180-3 Li with pioneering drive system technology and the SUPER 1800-3i SprayJet spray paver.

Hamm

High-efficiency compaction for asphalt construction and earthworks: Hamm showed visitors the latest generation of the HC compactors and HD tandem rollers. The new models are ideal for projects that require high compaction quality and shorter turnaround times. All machines are equipped with the HAMMTRONIC machine management system, which ensures high efficiency and compaction quality with simultaneously reduced fuel consumption.

E-Power

The battery-electric HD 12e VV tandem roller has already been successfully deployed on numerous construction sites around the globe. This model celebrated its Chinese market premiere at the Technology Days. Although offering zero local emissions and low noise, this roller model nevertheless delivers the same compaction performance as its diesel-engined counterpart.

Kleemann

Smart Solutions for Mobile Crushers and Screens At Kleemann, the focus was on the innovative control and overload systems that assure high process reliability while increasing both productivity and plant utilization rates. The intuitive SPECTIVE operating concept and its add-on, SPECTIVE CONNECT, enable simple digitalization of the work site and conveniently show the operator all relevant process information and reports on a smartphone.

Machines Certified in Line with the CN NR Stage 4 (CHINA IV) Exhaust Emission Standards Impress with Outstanding Sustainability

The extensive portfolio of models certified in line with the CN NR Stage 4 (CHINA IV) exhaust emission standards offers customers an ideal selection of machines with high efficiency, low fuel consumption, and low emissions for construction applications with a wide range of requirements. The sustainable solutions from Wirtgen China already help Chinese customers not only in their efforts to quickly and cost-effectively satisfy the growing demand for transport infrastructure, but also with the fulfillment of today’s increasingly stringent standards for the protection of the environment, nature, and humanity.