STEELFIELDS continues its ongoing success in the Middle East with the accomplishment of two new concrete batching plants for Premco Readymix in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Both plants are modelled on the SM 60 series, each featuring a 3-cu-m high-speed ‘turbo’ pan mixer, twin truckmixer loading points, ice weighing and liquid admixture dispensers.
A total of 1,600 tonnes of cement storage were provided as part of the supply package. The silos and elevated support frames were manufactured and delivered by Steelfields’ new partner in Saudi Arabia from its fabrication facility based in Riyadh.
All silos were fabricated to the best UK and European standards including current legislation relating to safety hand-railing, access ladders and silo monitoring systems, according to the company. The silo components were supplied by Steelfields for local fitting during the installation phase.

“Premco Readymix expected the same exacting standards to be applied to the concrete plants. Thus each SM 60 concrete plant included full safety compliance and guarding,” says a company spokesman. “This is sometimes a feature that is overlooked by local fabricators and plant suppliers to save initial costs, but increases the risk of a serious accident for plant operatives and maintenance staff.”
All Steelfields mixers are designed to produce a fully-homogenised mix in accordance with European DIN standard 419. These mixers are available with a choice of abrasion-resistant liners, mixing blades and drop-arm protectors to suit almost any customer’s requirements.
Options for mixing blades include Ni-Hard, polyurethane, rubber and a choice of tungsten-carbide tipped/faced, while mixer drop-arms can be supplied with wear-resistant polyurethane sleeves or complete tungsten-carbide assemblies for extreme protection.

High standards
Steelfields has been supplying batching plant for site use in the Middle East for many years, where regulations governing mix accuracy are much stricter than in the UK.
“Rules in the region stipulate that all materials have to be weighed to within plus-one per cent. So plant such as the SM 60 incorporate high accuracy load cells in all the weigh operations as well as moisture meters and computerised control, all essential for a plant to maintain this degree of accuracy and still be capable of producing up to 120 cu m of concrete per hour from a 3-cu-m pan mixer,” says the spokesman.
All SM 60 concrete plant can be specified as a ‘dry’ batch plant or a ‘wet’ mix plant. The flexible, modular design concept allows the SM 60 to be equipped with a high-speed ‘turbo’ pan mixer (12 models ranging from 500 litres up to 4 cu m compacted concrete output), single or twin-shaft paddle mixer (13 models up to 6 cu m compacted concrete output), or the latest counter-flow mixer (seven capacities available including the new SFP 4500/3000).
In addition to the conventional ‘wet/dry’ batch plant, customers are also offered its latest ‘half-wet’ batching option. This system allows a standard ‘turbo’ pan mixer to produce a ‘double-batch’ within the same compact design, while also increasing mixer wear life and keeping dust emissions down to a minimum, the spokesman explains.
For on-site work, Steelfields suggests considering the use of ultra-hard carbide mixer wear plates.
“They may well prove to be more cost-effective than standard wear plates,” the spokesman says. “Although more expensive, they can provide up to 600 per cent longer life, sometimes even more.”
Furthermore, as part of Steelfields’ ongoing development, the company is able to offer its concrete plant with ‘Wear-Flex’ sheeting that can be easily fitted and formed into ‘wet’ concrete chutes, aggregate weigh hoppers, conveyor head chutes together with truck-mixer loading chutes, dramatically increasing service life and making the cleaning routine both simpler and quicker, he says.
“Keeping the mixer clean and free from a build up of concrete residue will also help significantly,” he continues. “This can be achieved by regular mixer washouts and some of the latest mixers incorporate an automatic high-pressure water washout facility. The use of chemicals such as Zetolan-MEK, a 95-per-cent biodegradable mineral oil, is also a recent improvement to help keep mixers clean. This is sprayed into the mixer and will help prevent the adhesion of the concrete. It is reported that continuous use can soften existing residues and reduce any existing build-up.”
Steelfields is currently in discussions with several leading readymix concrete suppliers in the Gulf to incorporate the facility of fibre dispensers into their concrete batching plant.
“Past on-site experience in several European construction projects has allowed Steelfields to develop specialist equipment to meet this demand in conjunction with some of the leading steel and poly-fibre material producers in the industry,” the spokesman explains.
Summing up the reasons for the SM 60’s success, the spokesman says: “Site requirements can be extremely varied, but what all customers and specifiers want is a batching plant that is easy to install, easy to maintain, gives a consistent high quality mix and is easy to relocate or has a high resale value. It is for perhaps these reasons that the SM 60 has proved to be so popular.”