To meet the asphalt needs of a newly-awarded road rehabilitation project in the Mpumalanga area, asphalt specialist, Actop Asphalt has invested in a new Ciber continuous mobile asphalt plant that sets new standards with its range of innovative technologies and, more importantly, its ‘super mobility’.

When recently contracted to supply 38 000 tonnes of hot mix asphalt for the Bambi-Lydenburg road in Mpumalanga, Actop Asphalt, part of the Actophambili Group, went straight into the market for a new asphalt plant and purchased a new Inova 2000 continuous mobile asphalt plant, manufactured by Brazil-based original equipment manufacturer, Ciber, part of global road technologies leader, Wirtgen Group. The unit is the first of the new Ciber range to arrive in South Africa.

The new plant, which can produce up to 200 tonnes of asphalt per hour, is a contract-specific investment to service the Bambi-Lydenburg road rehabilitation project over an 18-month period. Actop Asphalt will supply asphalt to its sister company, Actophambili Roads, a specialist road surfacing contractor that has been subcontracted by the main contractor on the project, Klus Civils.

Growing capacity

The new Ciber plant brings to four the total number of asphalt plants in Actop Asphalt’s stable in the three years of its inception, which is testimony to the company’s strong growth trajectory in a very short period of time, in the face of a constrained construction market in South Africa. The company’s sturdy growth over the past three years has hinged on its relentless focus on quality asphalt production, according to managing director, Francois Kemp.

“As a result, we have done extremely well in the three years of our existence. Our early success has, to a large extent, hinged on our affiliation to the larger Actophambili Group, a key player in the road construction sector in South Africa,” says Kemp.

While almost 90% of Actop Asphalt’s work stream has come from Actophambili Roads in the past three years, the pattern has started to change in recent months with a sturdy flow of external contracts. Kemp reiterates that the quality of the product is the company’s major competitive edge.  

Quality is the mantra at Actop Asphalt, the figure of merit – and is a core parameter that is sought in every aspect of the company’s business. And that also extends to its equipment needs; Actop Asphalt never compromises quality of its machinery, which is key to both reliability and quality of its asphalt supply. The very same core principle informed the decision to invest in a new, technologically-advanced Ciber Inova 2000.  

Key drivers

A key driving factor in the buying decision was the plant’s “super mobility”. “We were looking for an asphalt plant that we could install in a very short space of time,” says Kemp. The Ciber 2000 fit the bill due to its high production capacity – 200 tonnes per hour – and its compact build; it comes in just two units. This is in stark contrast to some of the existing plants in the stable, which come in six units, but only producing 120 tonnes per hour.  

“The compact nature of the plant translates into lower cost of transport when moving from one site to the other, as well as the lower area and cost of installation,” says Kemp.

According to Waylon Kukard, sales manager at Wirtgen Group South Africa, the Ciber 2000 is about 60% below the average of other asphalt plants of its class size when it comes to cost of transportation. “This is complemented by less time for mobilisation and assembly on site,” says Kukard. “The plant’s mobility is its key strength. It can simply be hauled to site on two trailers, get plugged in, start production and easily decommissioned and commissioned again onto the next site.”

Rudi du Toit, operations manager at Actop Asphalt, has already experienced the benefits of the new plant. While full production is yet to start, the commissioning of the plant only took seven days. “With some of the competitor plants, you are looking at up to a month to put it up. The Innova 2000 takes only seven days to mobilise and commission, which translates into three weeks of extra production when compared to other plants,” says Du Toit.

Du Toit, who was recently part of a South African contingent that made the trip to Brazil to witness Ciber’s innovations first hand, also makes special mention of the EasyControl system, an intuitive software which affords total control of all the production processes. “It allows for automated control – without operator interference – of the burner flame and other components,” concludes Du Toit.