Steelfields units ... engaged on
airport and paving jobs
Steelfields flies high with its mobile plants
01 July 2009
STEELFIELDS, a leading manufacturer and exporter of concrete batching plant, has seen many of its plants been used in airport construction with notable success in both the domestic and overseas markets.
Its mobile plant have been installed during the construction of most of the UK’s international airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, East Midlands International and Manchester, to complete work on a wide range of applications for terminal buildings, airside parking areas and runways.
Work overseas also includes the new airport in Hong Kong, Ashabat airport in Turkmenistan, Antigua airport in the Caribbean, and the construction of a new airport on the Falkland Islands during the 1980s.
The UK-based company’s sales director Prentis Polhill comments: “Steelfields plant concept ideally suits the needs of airport construction, in that the equipment must produce high quantities of high-performance concrete without sacrificing accuracy in weighing and metering.”
A prime feature of Steelfields concrete plants is their robust and uncomplicated design, along with simple, low-cost foundation pads. Most component parts are simply bolted together and the installation completed with simple plug-and-socket electrical connections.
All Steelfields mobile plants are pre-wired and pre-hosed in their UK factory and then tested prior to despatch. Customers can inspect the plant at any time during production, pre-assembly or testing stages, Polhill points out.
Steelfields successfully supplied and commissioned in India a new SM 60 concrete plant fitted with high-capacity batch feed belt and one of its largest 6 cu m twin-shaft paddle mixers to meet the requirements of high-capacity production of pavement quality concrete.
“Deliveries were made via a convoy of 18 cu m capacity open-bodied dumptrucks to the paving machine. With Steelfields plant, the high paving demand, requiring an hourly output of more than 200 cu m from a concrete paving train, has been met,” he says.
Further mobile plants were purchased by a major Turkish contractor for a variety of concreting works including highways and bridge abutments.
“The preferred mixer of choice is normally a twin-shaft paddle mixer capable of combining a large batch volume with high production and a fully homogeneous mix,” he says.
The company can supply these mixers with alternative discharge doors to suit a fast discharge into waiting vehicles. Standard doors can be specified to suit a controlled feed into conventional truckmixers or ‘spinners’.
All weigh scales conform to international standards. “Components quality has not been undermined by using cheaper or poor standard sources. The plants are matched with some of the latest ‘state-of-the-art’ batch control systems,” the spokesman says.
Whatever the application, all plants can be fitted with an extensive range of features and options to suit the customer’s demands, including ice systems, aggregate cooling systems, moisture control, plant monitoring systems with planned maintenance and electrical display history, steam injection, dust extraction, to name a few.
Steelfields was established as a family company in 1956 and is the UK’s leading manufacturer and exporter of concrete batching plant, with strong export sales to the Middle East since the early 1970s.
Commenting on the company’s role as a trendsetter in the industry, Polhill says: “Since its early beginnings, the company’s product range has continued to display technical innovation alongside a no-nonsense design concept, leading to several patents granted in recognition of an early thinking ‘outside the box’, long before this became a ‘modern’ buzzword for a seemly non-conventional idea.
“Many of Steelfields’ original design ideas have been attempted and imitated by some competitors, but the sheer number of its plant in operation even after 30 years operation, is a clear tribute to the company’s ongoing success across the Middle East and beyond.”
The company, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, has more than 1,800 concrete batching plants operating in over 50 countries.
Steelfields will be participating in the SaudiBuild show to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from October 4 to 7.
