Rapids bespoke mixing technology facilitates Collier Group’s entrance into concrete industry
Rapid International Ltd based in County Armagh, Northern Ireland has supplied Collier Group of Fife, Scotland with its first bespoke concrete batching plant, which signified the Group’s entrance into the readymix and precast concrete industry. The batching plant was installed at the company’s Goathill Quarry in Fife, Scotland.
Established in 2000, Collier Group is comprised of Collier Haulage and Collier Quarrying and Recycling. The Group occupies an enviable location in Fife, Scotland, with excellent motorway links to Edinburgh and the central belt via the M90, M8 & M9. The company’s business activities include, the processing of inert rubble, muck and soil from building sites, transportation of ash from local power stations, production of type 1 sub base, rock armour, single size aggregates (including high PSV) and manufactured concrete sand from the washing plant. In 2015, the Group began to explore the option of adding value to their existing aggregates offering by entering the concrete industry and later the decision was reached to begin production of ready mixed concrete, blocks and agricultural wall panels.
To facilitate this transition into the concrete industry, Collier Group reached out to mixing technology experts, Rapid International Ltd, for a bespoke concrete batching plant solution. Mr Duncan Collier, Managing Director- Collier Group, justified the Group’s rationale for selecting Rapid, “Our key reasons for selecting Rapid International Ltd for a static concrete plant were their willingness to be involved with our vision of a one-off bespoke plant and their ability to fabricate the bins, silos and mixer in-house and to our specifications.”
Collier Group’s bespoke concrete batching plant is built on a slope, five 4 metre wide 80 tonne capacity aggregate bins, and three 160 tonne capacity silos, (two of which are divided in two) are accessed from the upper ground level, along with filler hoses to fill the four 2,500 litre admixture tanks, which are located in the mixer building.
The aggregates fall onto a 23 metre long horizontal weigh-belt, which feeds directly into the Rapid planetary mixer, producing outputs of 80m³ of concrete per hour. This is the only conveyor belt used in the entire plant as the bins can be filled directly by loading shovel, dump truck or tipper.
The batch control cabin with computer controls from Pneutrol Ltd, truck mixer loading point and wet hopper are all located on the lower yard level of the plant. This is where the blocks and precast are made, inside or outside depending on weather conditions. This makes vehicle management and material supply easier to control.
Duncan Collier commented on the success of the Rapid bespoke concrete batching plant “It has been two years since the first concrete has been produced at Goathill, and the response, production, support and spare parts have all been ‘Rapid’!”
Rapid’s design and production engineers provide a full-service concrete batching plant design and manufacture package, completely undertaken in-house. This service is entirely bespoke to meet the requirements of the customer, with a wide range of concrete batching plant and continuous mixing plant solutions available, featuring outputs from 20m³ to 200m³ per hour. Each bespoke concrete batching plant features a Rapid pan, planetary or twin-shaft mixer. Rapid concrete mixers are robust and hard-wearing, feature high capacities, have easy access for maintenance and cleaning and boast a unique mixing action, ensuring fully-homogenised concrete.
Rapid provide bespoke concrete batching plants for a wide variety of specialist applications, including, but not limited to: ready-mixed, concrete, precast concrete products, soil or aggregate recycling, bulk material handling, glass production, RCC, CTB, mine backfill, paving quality concrete, coldmix – foamed bitumen emulsion and bentonite landfill sealing.
Rapid’s design team use the latest 3D modelling software to develop a bespoke plant to suit the customer’s site, budget and application. At every stage of the process, the customer’s feedback carefully shapes and is central to the plant design. Rapid ensure that feedback is heard and acted upon at all times.
Rapid has delivered and commissioned bespoke concrete batching plants and continuous concrete mixing plants in a wide range of locations throughout the world including, but not limited to, the UK, Ireland, Russia, Belgium and West Africa. Rapid’s aftersales support is available via a network of international dealer partners and includes fast-track in-house manufactured spare parts.
