New tower batching plant for Termat Factory in Poland
Approx. 30 kilometer from Wrocław, the richest Polish city after Warsaw, in the central part of the Lower Silesia region, we find Sroda Slaska which represents the connection point between Eastern and Western Europe. It is in this context that Termat sp. zoo., one of the most active leading companies in the sector of prefabricated elements and building materials, offers an extremely wide range of products in expanded clay and prefabricated floors by Teriva and Filigree ceilings.
The company was founded in 1989 and since then it has been constantly developing, expanding the offer and adapting it to the most rigorous requirements of final customers. “Technical and Testing Institute for Construction, Praha” (Technický a zakušební Ústav stavební Praha, S.P.) supervises and certifies the concrete production that takes place in Termat Factory production Control System.
Expanded clay is the most commonly used raw material: It is a lightweight ceramic inert obtained by firing clays. LECA is the material with excellent thermal insulation, low water absorption and high resistance to chemical, biological and atmospheric factors. Moreover, it is a non-flammable and frost-resistant product. In the concrete production they normally use only natural and ecological raw materials that are subject to constant quality control.
Termat, in addition to offer building materials, stairs, balconies, ceilings, ceiling ring fittings and concrete blocks, also provides assistance in the field of erection, training and professional consultation. Termat decides to take advantage of favorable economic conditions, investing in a new concrete production plant. The purchase of the new precast factory is the proof that business believe investments will result in a better and more lucrative future.
The new facility allows Termat to maintain and increase its presence in the marketplace, becoming one of the most important suppliers of precast elements in Lower Silesia. The principles of quality concrete production and efficient manufacturing processes form Termat’s business philosophy, leading them to Ciepiela Technology Promotion, Polish representative of MCT Italy, the Italian precast plant manufacturer and solution supplier. Sharing the same visions as the client, MCT Italy customized the complete plant solution for the new factory, located 30 minutes from Wrocław.
Tailor-made solution
The MCT Italy team worked closely with Termat to design the entire plant, following the customer‘s initial idea concerning the concrete distribution system that will be installed in the near future.
Customer‘s request has been successfully satisfied by MCT‘s technical department: a fully customized solution has been developed in order to meet Termat‘s expectations in terms of very small footprint, precision in the distribution of concrete and final products of high quality. The plant also meets the constraints and restrictions imposed by the local authorities and this was the main challenge: despite the maximum height limit, the plant engineered by MCT Italy guarantees a large aggregates storage capacity.
The project has been followed by a dedicated team of MCT technicians in true partnership with the Termat team. MCT was involved in the whole process, including the complete pre-installation of the system at the MCT headquarters before shipment, delivery to the site, installation and final commissioning / start-up of the plant.
The general set-up, in full compliance with all EU rules and regulations, provides the customer with optimal aggregates loading, preventing contamination between the various material types and, during the winter period, avoiding any variation in the internal temperature in order to guarantee the quality of produced concrete.
All metal structures are hot-dip galvanized to ensure maximum quality and resistance over time, considering the severe weather conditions experienced in the Lower Silesian area. The integrated cladding system has been developed to cope with the low temperatures of this region: MCT is now an expert in coping with and overcoming the extreme weather conditions around the world where it is used to carry out similar projects.
In addition to the insulated building, MCT supplied all lighting, receptacles, motor controls, and incorporated 1-ton hoist on beam above station where motors, pulleys, gear boxes and equipment will need to be accessed for maintenance.
The main technical features of the plant are:
underground receiving hopper to be fed by aggregates truck;
bucket elevator to feed the aggregates storage tower;
rotating feeding conveyor belt to distribute the material to all 5 aggregate bins of the plant;
over 600 ton aggregate storage in a tower layout, subdivided into 5 compartments;
150 tons total of storage for cement, silica and white cement;
one planetary 1.500/1.000 mixer;
one planetary 750/500 mixer;
four powder color dosing systems to produce colored concrete
preparation for flying buckets serving the indoor and outdoor production facilities.
Modular tower aggregate storage
Aggregate tower storage is one of MCT‘s main solutions, which boasts 50 years of experience. To date, in fact, MCT has designed and installed more than 200 tower systems in all 5 continents, including seismically active areas, such as Central Italy (one of the tower systems is located exactly in the epicenter of the great earthquake of 2009 in L’Aquila and it has not reported any damage despite being exposed to strong stress).
MCT’s modular system design optimizes the efficient shipping of the plant and assures the fast and safe installation on site. This feature also enables pre-wiring and testing in the factory prior to shipping. The aggregate loading system uses a drive-over primary hopper with a bucket elevator system to automatically fill the aggregates storage compartments of the tower. The MCT special distribution system uses a rotating conveyor on the dispensing platform on the top of the tower, optimizing the overall height of the plant.
Four cement silos are included in the layout of the tower, but are not covered by the cladding that, on the other side, involves the complete batching section from the aggregate storage compartments to the mixers. The aggregate weighing system is equipped with a weigh batcher gravity feeding two holding hoppers, one for every mixer, in order to guarantee the production capacity requested and avoid any time loss in the production cycle.
The plant is equipped with a high intensity planetary mixer of 1,000 and 500 liters output: the production capacity of the plant can reach 50 m3/h, representing the future target Termat would like to produce as the demand for precast elements increases. The mixing section includes dedicated cement scales for each type of material used and a water dosing system.
Long-lasting cooperation
„We looked at a lot of sketches and CAD drawings until we got a perfect, efficient and flexible layout,“ says Marek Lubicki, owner of Termat. „We have invested in this new plant looking for a reliable partner and we are confident that our choice will create a lasting collaboration between our two companies, making MCT Italy our partner and not just a machine supplier“.
For MCT Italy, Falchetti Gabriele, Project Manager for Poland, says: „We are very proud of the relationship established with Termat; we had the opportunity to share our thoughts and solutions with a highly esteemed customer, making the most of our keyword: customization“.
He continues: „Our goal is to propose completely customized solutions and deliver solutions that our customers can be proud of. With our experience and technical know-how gained over 50 years of experience, we can offer products that will allow our customers to develop their business to the highest level: efficient production, better quality of construction and a faster return on investment“.
Mr. Andrzej Ciepiela, MCT Italy distributor in Poland, adds: „Thanks to our extensive experience as suppliers of solutions and equipment for prefabrication in the Polish market, we are able to realize this type of projects in complete partnership and collaboration with our customers. I sincerely want to thank the entire Termat team for the trust and trust placed in MCT, which has worked hard to achieve a great result and meet all the deadlines agreed with the customer“.
