The 800t buffer.

In 2017, Luxembourg-based contractor Julien Cajot S.e.c.s. invested a huge sum in the expansion of their BENNINGHOVEN mixing plant in Leudelange, close to the capital. One of the key elements of the project was the con-struction of a large long-term storage silo with a capacity of 800t of mix that can hold up to eight different types of asphalt. It was complemented by an entirely new cold feed system comprising 12 covered hoppers, each holding around 5,000t of aggregate and an underfloor extractor that transfers the material to the mixing plant. For both projects, Cajot relied on the know-how and support of BENNINGHOVEN.

Cajot have been operating a BENNINGHOVEN mixing plant of type BA 3000 with a mixing capacity of up to 240t/h in Leudelange since 2005. At this loca-tion, the company produces asphalt for roads of all categories, car parks, industrial estates, private premises and airports. The plant previously had one silo with a storage capacity of 300t of mix. That was no longer sufficient for Cajot, because “it’s not uncommon for us to get orders for volumes of 3,000–4,000t a day. The new silo now gives us a larger buffer for delivering 400t per hour all day long,” explains Managing Director Marco Claus. To en-sure that its 15-strong team could produce and supply the various mixes economically, Cajot had the mixed material storage silo designed and built by BENNINGHOVEN. Although no reference project had ever been imple-mented on this scale, that did not faze either Cajot or BENNINGHOVEN. Cajot can now produce mix in advance and store it in eight 100t bins from which four lorries can be loaded simultaneously. “That gives us greater latitude in planning and ensures greater process reliability in large construction pro-jects,” says Sales Manager Achim Keller from the sales and service company of the WIRTGEN GROUP in Windhagen, Germany, pinpointing two key bene-fits.

Despite its unprecedented scale, the project was executed at an impressive speed: BENNINGHOVEN were delivering the first components to Leudelange just six months after signing the contract. The deadline more or less emerged on its own, since Luxembourg has construction holidays: four weeks in the summer when nothing is built anywhere in the country, and no asphalt is produced either. “Everyone had this period and hence the comple-tion date in mind at all times,” explains Marco Claus, adding: “Our team, just like the people at BENNINGHOVEN, played their part in achieving the installa-tion and commissioning on schedule. It meant the plant was ready to start on time. And not only that: the professional work put in by BENNINGHOVEN ensured that no real problems arose during the planning, construction and assembly either.” He is also delighted that “everyone involved pulled togeth-er. That was essential, because a project of this magnitude can only be suc-cessful if people cooperate and everyone shows a little bit of flexibility.”