From the Initial Idea to the Technology’s Breakthrough
WIRTGEN had already developed a method of cost-effectively rehabilitating damaged surfaces of bituminous roads in the mid-1970s. Based on the revolutionary idea of replastifying these roads with heat, the company developed the first hot recycler in 1976. Since that time, WIRTGEN has been active as a successful service provider with its own fleet of hot recyclers. WIRTGEN perfected the high-temperature process with tremendous inventiveness and enthusiasm – new, effective ideas were the constant driving force behind this innovative technology. And today, when environmentally friendly and cost-effective construction methods are in particularly high demand, the company’s efforts back then are truly paying off.
The first repaver rolled off the production line in 1976 and led WIRTGEN’s future fleet as a hot recycling service provider. The development of the Remix process in 1979 marked a quantum leap in the quality of the surface layer of hot-recycled asphalt roads.