Page 8 - HUB-4 Magazine Issue 99

News
During the press conference, attendees heard Jaco Van Der
Merwe highlight that Astec, a major U.S.-headquartered off-
highway equipment manufacturer with a 4,500-strong global
workforce, is actively pursuing growth in Europe through
organic development and strategic acquisitions, leveraging a
strong balance sheet. Astec’s CEO said the company's
acquisitions will focus on areas within its core business, such
as crushing, asphalt, and concrete equipment, to bolster its
European platform.
Jaco Van Der Merwe and Stephen White explained how
customer needs are evolving towards lower cost per tonne,
driven by challenges such as labour shortages and rising fuel
and energy costs. Astec is responding with more efficient
equipment, digital telematics-based platforms for remote
monitoring and predictive maintenance, and a focus on
energy efficiency. The Signal connectivity suite from Astec
Digital delivers seamless communication and monitoring
across all customer plant and mobile assets, generating
actionable insights to boost efficiency, productivity and
profitability.
“If you look at our Signal platform, you can compare it to the
Apple environment, with your MacBook, your iPad and your
iPhone, which are all working in the same connectivity suite. A
lot of our customers work across the aggregates, asphalt,
concrete, and paving spaces, and we can provide them with a
digital resource to drive their businesses,” explained Michael
Norris.
At the Hillhead 2026 press conference, attendees heard how
Astec is integrating AI and automation across its operations,
from product development (predictive maintenance,
As well as Hillhead 2026, marking the European launch of the
new Frontier tracked mobile crushing and screening range,
built for flexibility, fast setup, and high-performance
production in demanding hard rock environments, Astec
staged the global launch of the Kolberg Washing brand and
featured the Eco-Scrub modular washing solution, delivering
wet processing with a design especially suited for semi-mobile
locations. The exhibition launch of Astec’s Modex brand,
displaying the patented Vari-Frequency Technology, which
minimises binding and maximises output, was showcased on
Astec Modex’s Pioneer 6203LPV horizontal screen. Proven for
over two decades on tough materials and unveiled in Europe
at Hillhead 2026, Astec’s Multi-Frequency Screen is available
on tracks, wheels or static, and notably reduces blinding even
with sticky materials. In certain applications the product can
produce manufactured sand from CRF (Crushed Rock Fines)
without washing and turn quarry scalpings into saleable
products. It is also well-suited for RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt
Pavement), topsoil, compost, and skip waste fines.
autonomous breakers) to business processes (energy efficiency
calculators, AI-driven vision systems for asphalt plants). Jaco
Van Der Merwe highlighted Astec DropZone, an intelligent, AI-
powered load-out safety system designed to streamline
asphalt delivery and prevent costly misloads. It replaces
manual silo loading by utilising computer vision to precisely
verify truck positioning beneath the silo, safeguarding both
drivers and equipment. The press conference heard how Astec
is also investing in training its leadership in AI.
As Astec’s senior management team emphasised, the
company’s Hillhead 2026 showcase focused on solving real
operational challenges by reducing downtime, improving
throughput, and lowering cost per tonne.
Celebrating 25 years Astec’s Telestack
brand was also well represented at
Hillhead 2026, with the worldwide
launch of the LF527 low feed hopper,
which reduces double handling and
ensures smooth, controlled material
flow, and the TCL 1031 Zero, a heavy-
duty stacker engineered to handle
high tonnage reliably and efficiently.
Furthermore, ‘Crusher Alley’ attendees
watched Astec’s Frontier JA45 Mobile
Jaw delivering consistent, high-output
crushed aggregate to the Frontier SDF16 Mobile Scalper,
resulting in multiple products with peerless flexibility.
Astec recently appointed Red Knight 6 (England and Wales)
and O’Kane Equipment Solutions (Scotland and Northern
England) as its official GB distributors for the new Frontier
tracked crushing and screening brand. The press conference
heard how both distributors bring deep industry knowledge
and strong customer relationships, making them ideal
partners for Astec and its globally recognised engineering and
UK-manufactured equipment.
Commenting on Astec’s approach to growing its European
distributor network, Malachy Gribben said, “You walk around
this quarry [at Hillhead 2026] and see line after line of
crushing and screening plant. We invested a lot of time and
effort talking to the European market and industry
stakeholders, including end users and potential dealers, and
asking, ‘What’s going on in your world and where do you see
things going?’ One very consistent message was that those
stakeholders were seeing less and less differentiation in the
| p8 | www.hub-4.com July/August - Issue 99