BENNINGHOVEN BA 5000
in Northern Italy
BENNINGHOVEN BA 5000
Quality pays off – and ready for the future
Allowing for high production outputs and varied recipes were important criteria from the customer Bitux S.p.A. for the new asphalt mixing plant in Foglizzo, outside Turin in the Piedmont region.
One reason for deciding on BENNINGHOVEN was that the BA 5000 plant type can be retrofitted with an additional recycling drum with hot-gas generator. This will allow Bitux to implement asphaltic mixtures with a recycling content of 90 + x % in the future. Multi-variable feed, where used asphalt is added cold, is sufficient under current legislation. What proved even more important to the customer than the technological advantages, however, were the user-friendly service and maintenance concept and the high quality “made in Germany”.
“When you invest in an asphalt mixing plant that has to run for several decades, you have to look at all the details,” says Luigino Valle, mixing plant manager and owner of Bitux. “Several suppliers offer high system performance. It was therefore particularly interesting for me and my team how well the plant control works and how comfortable maintenance is. The more intelligent these solutions are, the earlier we can go home at the end of the day.” One of the crucial factors for Valle was therefore the high technical level of the BENNINGHOVEN plant with its well thought-out ergonomics, work and maintenance concept.
Easy operation and maintenance equally important as performance figures
“Once the plant is up and running, the work for us as the users really starts. This is when we find out how well the maintenance works, and how efficiently it can be completed. And of course we also look at plant availability, so whether it is producing or standing still,” explains the mixing plant manager. “And this is where the BENNINGHOVEN technology convinced us. That was very important for us, because we are planning to work with this equipment for many decades.”
The user benefits from BENNINGHOVEN are not coincidental, but rather the result of a consistent focus on the simplest possible operation and servicing of asphalt mixing plants. The product brand from the WIRTGEN GROUP attaches great importance to user convenience and a high level of health and safety and functional reliability. The comprehensive and well thought-out concept offers the ideal prerequisites for reliable performance.
“The high demands BENNINGHOVEN places on its technology during development and production are evident in every single component. We are convinced that the quality ‘made in Germany’ will pay off for us in the medium and long term,” says Valle, whose company also wants to use this investment to distinguish itself from the competition.
Perfectly thought-out for users
One example is that very good accessibility to all container sections is ensured. In addition, these are weather-protected and create ideal preconditions for completing service and maintenance work comfortably and quickly.
The mixer cabinet is particularly relevant for maintenance. On BENNINGHOVEN type BA plants, users can comfortably reach all check and maintenance points through an inspection access. An inspection opening allows easy visual checks, while work on the mixer is made safe by a key transfer system. The actual maintenance is simplified thanks to an intuitive lubrication plan. Points which require daily, weekly or monthly lubrication are colour coded. The numerous electrical and compressed air connections are a perfect practical feature, allowing tools to be used quickly when necessary.
“Maintenance was very important for us, because we are planning to work with this equipment for many decades.”
Luigino Valle, mixing plant manager Bitux S. p. A.
Modern control technology increases operating comfort and efficiency
Of course, the main task of the Bitux team is not maintenance, but asphalt production. That is why Luigino Valle was particularly impressed with the high level of automation of the BENNINGHOVEN plant. “We can control all components from the control station.” The BLS 3000 control system supports the mixing foreman with its clearly structured user interface. All system settings are visualised in real time and can be viewed at a glance – plant as well as process data.
Ready for today, planned ahead for tomorrow
The entire plant technology of the BA 5000 features many intelligent solutions. Modern control technology makes operation of the dryer drum and burner highly efficient. All components are dimensioned to achieve a high level of quality and productivity. With its 5 t mixer, the plant can produce up to 400 t of asphalt per hour. Naturally the BENNINGHOVEN plant also handles complicated mixtures such as stone mastic asphalt or low temperature asphalts.
In addition to all this, the plant in Northern Italy is already engineered for the future. This is ensured by the preparation for integrating a recycling drum with hot-gas generator. By retrofitting the leading hot feed system from BENNINGHOVEN, Bitux can produce asphaltic mixtures with a recycling content of up to 90 + X % – and save a lot of raw material costs.
As Italian legislation currently only allows 30 % used asphalt, however, the multivariable feed integrated into the mixing tower for virgin mineral is sufficient for now. The cold feed system allows addition rates up to 40 %. “With the recycling recipe generator and the many feed options, for example for adhesive and granulate, we can produce any type of asphaltic mixture flexibly and quickly – and change between recipes in a flash,” continues Valle.
Separate recycling drum greatly improves energy balance
Bitux still aims to install and commission the separate recycling mixing tower soon, in order to increase the recycling content as much as possible. Adding the extracted and processed asphalt to the mixing process while hot offers many benefits with a recycling content as low as 30 %. The additional recycling drum with hot-gas generator prevents that virgin mineral has to be used overheated in order to compensate for the heat difference to the material added cold. This can save fuel and the overall energy balance of the plant increases significantly. What is more: as soon as the permissible used asphalt content increases, Bitux can immediately react to the changed market conditions – benefit from them.
Asphalt mixing plant type BA 5000: The leading BENNINGHOVEN hot feed system, consisting of a recycling drum with hot-gas generator, can be retrofitted – for 90 + X % recycling content. A multi-variable feed for up to 40 % recycling content and the three recycling feed units are already fitted.
Daily production of 2,000 t for motorway works
Whatever the future may bring, Bitux is ready with the new BENNINGHOVEN plant. The BA 5000 will provide a valuable contribution to maintaining and expanding the highway network in Northern Italy. The road construction company has been tasked with a large project, for example. For this, the BA 5000 delivers more than 2,000 t of asphaltic mixture every day – without breaking a sweat. Once at the construction site, road pavers from VÖGELE in combination with rollers from HAMM turn the asphaltic mixture into a first rate road surface.
Maximum performance and highest investment security– those were two important criteria which Bitux had for its new asphalt mixing plant. The BENNINGHOVEN plant also impressed with its user-friendly technology – and high quality “made in Germany”.
BENNINGHOVEN plant specifications
BA 5000 in Foglizzo, Northern Italy
