Better Roads

April 2014

Better Roads Digital Magazine

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Better Roads April 2014 21 Fernando Marroquin, international regional manager for Astec Aggregate and Mining Group, Huertas purchased three GT165DF screen plants to clean the raw material, as well as two FT4240CC impact crushers, a 2500 vertical shaft impactor, ProSizer and a PTSC 2618 high-frequency screen to make asphalt aggregate. MHC also invested in a new Astec Double Barrel Green warm-mix asphalt system. Obtaining the land to house the asphalt plant and ag- gregate processing equipment for this project was a major challenge, Huertas says. The company ultimately selected a limestone quarry at Surata near Bucaramanga, which reduced travel and allowed all of the crushing and screening equipment to be located in the same place. Unlike many other quarries, every piece of material is used, eliminating waste from the company's operation. "We use any raw material that comes out of this quarry," Huertas says. "Our materials are being completely used; the materials are clean, combined or reused, but there is no waste, because we have always believed that any material that is obtained or crushed must be placed in the place where it is required, either for making concrete, fi llers, pavement structures, sub-bases or bases." According to Huertas, the success of the asphalt plant is directly linked to the success of the crushing and screening of the aggregate, making the selection of quality equipment prior to the start of the job one of the most crucial steps in the process. "The GT165DF track-mounted screens make it possible to classify the raw aggregates and remove the fi nes, which can af- fect the crushing of the aggregates," Huertas says. "This feature has greatly helped us be more effective and arrive at a much more real crushing tonnage, thus preventing the fi nes from wearing out parts or components of the machines used." The mobility of the track-mounted equipment also played a crucial role in this project, with the equipment's portability giving versatility and effi ciently to the project, Huertas says. "Because the equipment is mounted on tracks, we were able to rapidly transport these machines during the process- ing of aggregates," he says. "We could bring the machines directly to the aggregate deposits where the raw materials are being obtained so we could classify them, which saved us time and money." No room for error Given the highly competitive construction market in Colom- bia and the tight margins for profi t, Huertas says there is no room for error when it comes to investing in equipment. This reality makes the customer-dealer partnership a vital aspect of the purchasing process. "We cannot afford equipment with lower-than-expected performance or quality of the products," he says. "It was important that we could visit the factories and have a dealer who was constantly available whenever there was a problem. Rodríguez y Loñdono's methodology is to solve the prob- lem, fi nd an immediate solution for it and then start think- ing about the causes. I think this methodology has tightened bonds and made KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens' products more and more popular within the Colombian market." This article and photos were contributed by KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens. For more photos of this project, see the gallery at betterroads.com. Developing infrastructure in a country riddled with mountains and jungles is no easy task. When it won the bid, Mario Huertas Corporation was tasked with designing and building the country's fi rst four-lane road – as well as all of the bridges and tunnels – located in a mountain range. HighwayContractor

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