Family-owned contractor Stadsbader, headquartered in Harelbeke and with 13 branches in Belgium and France, officially opened its new high-end asphalt plant in Grobbendonk on Sunday. A first in Belgium, the plant uses the most innovative and environmentally friendly techniques and allows up to 100% recycling of raw materials.
In August 2020, Stadsbader started the demolition of the existing asphalt plant and the new plant was officially opened on 3 October 2021 by Minister Lydia Peeters, Mayor Marianne Verhaert, Secretary General of AWV Tom Roelants, Managing Director of De Waterweg Chris Danckaerts and CEO of Stadsbader Dominique Valcke and presented to the public during the Open Day for Businesses. Stadsbader was entirely responsible for the site redesign, concrete structures, buildings and technologies. Wirtgen Group (BENNINGHOVEN), international pioneer and specialist in the field, provided the construction of the new state of the art machine. This is the third generation of the BA-RPP type which, after the prototype and an initial update, is now fully operational. Worldwide, there are currently barely a dozen of these high-quality machines in operation.
Environmental friendliness and energy efficiency are key. This enables the production of low-temperature asphalt where a hot air generator is used for indirect heating of milling material. This leads to minimal CO2 emissions, and dust and odour pollution are also extremely low. Additional insulation was also added to reduce temperature loss. Full encapsulation reduces cooling and increases sound attenuation, benefiting the environment. The plant is also strongly committed to clean performance: it focuses on recycling rather than creating new materials. Indirect heating of so-called "recovery materials" allows up to 100% recycling. In full production, a maximum capacity of 200 tons of asphalt/hour can be achieved. Also, given its optimal location, as many supplies of raw materials as possible are brought in by water.
So this first-class asset is now operational. With the new plant in Grobbendonk, Stadsbader is putting Belgium on the map for high quality and ecological asphalt production.
