Materials

Gomaco has just added an optional hydraulically-folding rear conveyor belt to its versatile 9500 material handling machine. The company says the new feature on the machine, which can take on work as a trimmer, concrete and asphalt placer, and a shoulder trimmer, makes it easier to transport. It allows the conveyor to remain attached to the 9500 during shipping. The 9500’s shipping length with the new folding rear conveyor is just 12.7metres. Shipping height is 3.5metres. The new conveyor belt is said by Gom

A Colombian contractor tackles specifications for asphalt road work with Astec equipment.Award-winning Colombian contractor MHC has upgraded its Astec Portable Double Barrel plant to handle highway and other projects. The plant, installed in Bucaramanga, equipped with two RAP [recycled asphalt pavement] bins, a Double Barrel Green System, and one New Generation silo was bought by MHC in 2009. It has now received a second silo and a truck scale extension.

A variety of systems are available for quickly and efficiently removing water from roads as Patrick Smith reports. The presence of water in a highway layer reduces the bearing capacity of the road, and in doing so it also reduces the structure's lifetime. Indeed, the recent extremely cold winter in many parts of Europe has shown that in colder climates there is a risk of frost damage when water is present resulting in costly potholes, so drainage systems performing properly are important in road design.

UK firm Instarmac is aiming to expand its customer base for its innovative pothole patching systems. The firm now offers a broad range of repair products to suit asphalt and concrete road surfaces. These can be used to repair general pavement problems such as potholes or for repairing the areas around manhole covers and drains. The proven Instant Road Repair product is now said to offer better workability. This cold lay asphalt concrete product is approved in the UK for first time permanent repairs in class

Astec Industries is setting up Astec Mobile Machinery, which will be based at Hameln in Germany. The new facility will help the firm's international growth, particularly in Eastern Europe and Russia where the firm already has a strong sales presence and where road construction is strong at present.

Demand for asphalt in the US construction sector is expected to grow 7.4%/year to 31.6 million tonnes in 2015, according to research by the Freedonia Group. This growth will show a rebound from the 2005-2010 period, when consumption declined sharply due to the recession. The Cleveland-based industry market research firm has produced its new study, Asphalt, which shows that paving products accounted for 80% of asphalt consumption in 2010. The report continues that demand for asphalt paving products will bene

Strong interest is being shown in the coming Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress. Pavement durability and reduced temperature asphalt technologies are key topics of the Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress 2012, to be held this June in Istanbul from 13th-15th June 2012. This fifth Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress (E&E 2012) already has a strong line-up of speakers and delegates, with the programme being fine-tuned to meet expectations. Over 800 delegates are expected to attend the event, which will provide detaile

Global consumption of asphalt is forecast to rise 4.1% annually from a 2010 base to 119.5million tonnes in 2015, according to a new leading market research firm study. The volume predicted in World Asphalt, a new study from The Freedonia Group based in Cleveland, the United States, is equivalent to 725million barrels of primary asphalt. High petroleum prices combined with economic weakness and declining construction activity is said by Freedonia to have resulted in a significant drop in consumption in

Rising bitumen prices should be factored in more consistently when awarding highways contract tenders, according to Tarmac National Constructing (TNC). The near 60% bitumen price hike of the last two years, driven by a major decrease in European refinery production, is said by TNC to be making it “extremely difficult” for highways contractors to tender for work, as current price fluctuation mechanisms do not fairly compensate for significant extra input costs. TNC says that while the Highways Agency’s

A Norwegian sand producer has improved material quality since it began using a new washing plant from CDE. Reddal Sand's new plant has resulted in a significant improvement in the quality of the product from its site in the South of Norway. Reddal Sand is located in Grimstad, Aust-Agder and has supplied a variety of construction materials to major projects in the area since 1989, including materials for use in concrete, road construction and various types of groundworks.