Euroblend goes from strength to strength

Euroblend now offers the full range of INTRAME asphalt plants.

Hungerford-based Euroblend introduced the INTRAME asphalt plants to the market place in June at the UK’s Hillhead show. As the authorised sole UK and Ireland distributor for INTRAME, Euroblend feel it is a perfect complement to their NESBAU and EUROMECC concrete plants.

Euroblend with INTRAME can now offer both batch and continuous plants. Designs range from fully mobile plants with fast on-site set up, modular designs that require no foundations, and traditional standalone plant.

INTRAME’s three models of batch plants - the UM (ultra-mobile), RM (stationary) and M (modular) - are aimed at customers requiring a finished product with a tightly-controlled mixture. Maximum production from the seven-model UM, RM and M series is from 80 to 400 tonnes per hour (t/h).

“The reaction to these plants has been fantastic. Interest across the UK has been excellent, with attention from both small and large contractors alike,” says Euroblend managing director Eamonn Ryan.

INTRAME RAP Systems have four types of recycling systems that can be added to all of their plants, all of them successfully developed by INTRAME itself.

The first system is based on the introduction of the milled material directly on the drum of the continuous-type drum-mix plants. With this system it is possible to recycle up to 40-50%.

The second system is based on the introduction of the continuously recycled material, previously weighted, in the burner’s end of the dryer or in the base of the hot elevator of a batch-type plant. With this system the amount of recycled material to be incorporated to the mix is limited to approximately 15%.

The third system is based on the introduction of the milled material previously weighted into the mixer of a batch plant. With this system is possible to recycle up to 25-30%.

The fourth system involves the milled material being heated in a separate low-level dryer and then introduced in the mixer of the batch asphalt plant. With this system it is possible to recycle up to 40-50%.

“All four systems are proving popular,” says Ryan. “There’s more and more interest in recycling, especially from established small and medium-sized contractors looking to give their business the edge when it comes to being environmentally friendly.”

INTRAME’s Continuous Plants include the five-model DM (Drum-Mix), with a dryer-mixer drum, and the Flow-Mix, which features a counter-flow dryer with twin-shaft paddle mixer. The DM series features maximum production rates from 80 to 300 t/h while the Flow-Mix series features maximum production rates of 100 to 300 t/h.

INTRAME's continuous mixer, which is used in all its batching plants, is designed to produce a homogeneous mixture, with the aggregate, bitumen and filler for each batch weighed separately beforehand. Using the continuous method, the aggregate is transferred directly from the cold bins to the drying and mixing process. As it is a continuous process, the mixture is usually highly homogeneous.

The cold feeding bins are equipped with a continuous aggregate weighing system, while a massic flow meter continuously weighs the asphalt. All continuous plants are equipped with silos to store the finished product, while INTRAME’s speed skip or a slat conveyor transfers the finished product to the silo.

A key feature of Spanish manufacturer INTRAME’s plants is an automation system in the control cabin that allows production to be controlled automatically, semi-automatically or manually, while the plant’s drying system can use almost any fuel, including diesel-oil, fuel-oil, gas, recycled oils and coal dust, while meeting European environmental and safety regulations.

“We deliver and install the plants on a full, turnkey basis including all civils, if needed,” said Ryan. “After-sales service is provided by one of our four service teams who are all INTRAME-trained engineers and who each operate from a fully-equipped van. There is also an in-house engineer who looks after the INTRAME control system, so in the unlikely event of a system failure, we can be with the customer in no time at all.”