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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
FEBRUARY 2017
4
A
ssociated Asphalt Equipment
(AAE), a South African supplier
of asphalt equipment, bitumen
handling and earthmoving
equipment in sub-Saharan Africa, has
delivered and commissioned the first
Leeboy-Ticel CF120 mobile asphalt plant in
South Africa. Supplied to a road contractor,
Loge Construction, in Steelpoort, Limpopo,
the plant will service the contractor’s
asphalt needs, as well as other road
contractors working in Steelpoort and
surrounding areas within a radius of 80 km,
such as Burgersfort.
According to Zaahid Sader, General
Manager at AAE, Loge Construction and
several other contractors in the area
previously had to source asphalt to service
their road contracts from commercial
suppliers in Polokwane, some 160 km away.
This had a significant impact on costs and
would very quickly erode the available
budgets to undertake road maintenance
and rehabilitation projects.
It is a known fact that hauling asphalt
over such long distances is detrimental
to the hot asphalt due to the contribution
to short-term aging. This is compounded
by the fact that when the asphalt arrives
on site ready to be used, the temperature
would have dropped to the lower part of
the compaction envelope and in some
instances will be well below that and
very cold. These factors all contribute to
premature failure of the asphalt on the
roads.
With the new Leeboy-Ticel mobile
asphalt plant set up in the Steelpoort area,
these problems are now being addressed
and will hopefully also provide the local
municipality and other project owners
with the means to undertake much needed
maintenance and rehabilitation projects in
the area.
Reyan Fortune, Technical Advisor at AAE,
says setting up and commissioning of the
first LeeBoy-Ticel asphalt plant in South
Africa has been an exciting time. He argues
that the plant’s simplicity and practical
design definitely sets a new standard, and
this was a key factor in AAE’s decision to
distribute this range locally. Fortune is also
certain that the plant will be of immense
benefit to local customers.
Fortune has noted what he terms “rapid
changes” in the asphalt industry in South
Africa over the past six years, and believes
migration towards mobile asphalt plants
was inevitable. Already, AAE reports
increased enquiries for its LeeBoy-Ticel
mobile asphalt plants, and following the
commissioning of the first unit, envisages
two additional units being delivered into
the region within the first half of this year.
Key benefits
The introduction of hypermobile units
provides both contractors and their road
project owners with the flexibility to
BRIDGING
THE ASPHALT
PRODUCTION GAP
Associated Asphalt Equipment has commissioned the first Leeboy-Ticel
mobile asphalt plant in South Africa. The plant will bridge the asphalt supply
gap in Steelpoort, Limpopo, where road contractors previously had to source
asphalt from a static commercial plant located some 160 km away, writes
Munesu Shoko
.
Loge Construction has taken delivery
of the first Leeboy-Ticel CF120 mobile
asphalt plant in South Africa.
“The introduction of hypermobile units provides both
contractors and their road project owners with the flexibility to
use hot mix asphalt in their upgrade and rehabilitation projects
that are located a long way from static commercial plants. ”