Liebherr TA 230 Litronic - Manual (Page 12)

22 // Quarrying Quarrying // 23
Feature: a+b
“Even in ancient Rome, asphalt was used for road building,”
explains David Gütler, managing director of a+b Asphalt- und
Betonmischwerke. “Asphalt is versatile in its use and can be
adapted to meet different requirements. Depending on the
purpose, load profile and climatic conditions, we can configure
the right asphalt for any customer requirement, prepare the initial
tests, select the most suitable raw materials and manufacture
our product entirely according to generally accepted technical
standards. Asphalt production is monitored in our laboratory. In
addition, an independent institution also conducts checks.
We bunker the asphalt in different silos, each holding about economic benefits. In the asphalt machine operated by a+b,
reclaimed asphalt is input in the form of milled material or fault
blocks. Besides the possibilities provided by classic asphalt
recycling, tarred asphalt milled material is also used. a+b prepares
this in a mixing plant to form hydraulically bonded base layers
for use in approved construction activities.
And concrete production? “Sand, gravel, water, cement from
limestone, clay and sand, mother nature supplies all the
ingredients needed for concrete. What we make of these depends
on the exact mix,” explains Gütler. “We produce ready-mixed
concrete with different physical characteristics, but always the
right recipe for the appropriate application and environmental
conditions. Our range includes: standard and heavy-duty
concrete, concrete for bored piles, fibre concrete with steel and
plastic fibres, coloured concrete, drainage concrete, single-grain
and road construction concrete, easy-use concrete, and
hydraulically bonded base layers.
We rely entirely on Liebherr machines in this field. Our four
concrete mixing machines are all supplied by Liebherr, as are our
32 truck mixers – articulated mixers, demountable mixer systems
and interchangeable mixer systems. This is partly because we
are absolutely convinced of the quality. But the closeness to the
manufacturer is also, of course, highly beneficial. Liebherr-
Mischtechnik GmbH is based here in Bad Schussenried, just
five kilometres away.”
a+b
The L 580 wheel loader extracts more than 1,000 m³ of material every day.
the most powerful machine. Every day, the wheel loader has to
extract and load more than 1,000 m³ of material. The machine it
replaces goes to the top for piling, loading lorries and feeding the
asphalt machine with grit. The drivers are all highly satisfied with
the Liebherr machines. One of them said the new L 580 machine
is the best machine he’s ever driven. And he’s been driving wheel
loaders for more than 20 years.”
The driver fills the shovel with several tonnes of gravel at the face,
apparently effortlessly. “Yes, the L 580 certainly does have power,”
says Gütler, adding with a twinkle in his eye, “but we’re lucky.
The good thing about Oberschwaben is the wonderfully loose
moraine gravel, which is easy for the wheel loader to pick up off
the face. We extract the gravel over several layers. On the lower
levels we have finer grain, while the coarser grains are higher up.
The finer layers are taken to the concrete plant, the coarser ones
to the grit plant. We produce grit for our asphalt with three crushers
and different sieves with grain sizes 0/2, 2/5, 5/8, 8/11, 11/16.
The charging hopper for grit production is located directly below
in the pit. Ultimately, the grit comes out next to the asphalt plant,
so we only have to cover short distances with the wheel loader.
The dumpers take the finer gravel for the concrete plant up to a
second charging hopper.”
After operations have finished, the area is reclaimed and the pit
recultivated. Gütler explains, “We don’t refill, but rather take the
spoil that we have taken away back to the pit bed and then add
a layer of topsoil. Effectively, everything is then as it used to be,
just 17 or 18 metres deeper. Some of the areas are used for
agriculture, but biotopes are also created where nature can evolve
freely. For example, storks are often seen on this meadow before
they migrate to Africa.”
“The drivers are all highly satisfied with the
Liebherr machines. One of them said the new
L 580 machine is the best machine he’s ever
driven. And he’s been driving wheel loaders for
more than 20 years.”
David Gütler, managing director
120 tonnes. We can store up to six different types there. The
ready-to-use asphalt is loaded onto the customers’ lorries at
temperatures of about 180 °C. When we have real power days,
we start work at about 3.00 a.m. so that we have about 600
tonnes ready by the time operations start in the morning. The
types depend directly on what the customers have ordered. If
needed, we can fill all the silos with a single type. That sometimes
happens when a customer is working on a major construction
site.”
Asphalt has another benefit; the construction material is 100 %
reusable, which reduces environmental impact and offers good
Moraine gravel for asphalt and cement
a+b Asphalt- und Betonmischwerke is a medium-sized company that produces and sells ready-mixed concrete,
asphalt, gravel and grit. The company was founded 43 years ago and now has 65 employees. In the Oberschwaben
region of Germany, a+b operates four ready-mixed concrete works, plus an asphalt, gravel and grit plant. Its range of
services is rounded off with concrete pumps, asphalt milling and materials recycling. Its customers include companies
working in the field of gardening and landscaping and major road building and structural engineering companies.
Quarrying operations take place over 70 hectares. “The premises
here are larger than the centre of the village of Ingoldingen,” Gütler
tells us. At the bottom of a steep slope, directly in the gravel pit,
Liebherr equipment is hard at work – a Liebherr L 580 wheel
loader and a TA 230 Litronic dumper. Gütler explains, “The newest
wheel loader is always sent to the face. That is where we need
Sector:
Size of company:
Founded:
Location:
Managing Director:
Website:
Liebherr machines
in operation:
Company profile
Asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, gravel, sand
65 employees
1970
Biberach, Ingoldingen, Ochsenhausen, Aulendorf,
Otterwisch / Germany
David Gütler
www.asphalt-und-beton.de
30 Liebherr truck mixers, 3 with conveyor
belt, L 580 and L 576 wheel loaders,
TA 230 Litronic dumper truck, R 932 excavator
L 576 wheel loader loading a stationary mixing plant.