Delcor Equipment and fibo intercon have developed a mobile concrete batch plant specifically for the North American market.

Delcor Equipment, located in Kingston, Ontario, is the first dealer in North America to carry fibo intercon plants. The Denmark-based company has about 600 mobile batching plants throughout Europe and Africa.

“We look at the possibilities for our batching plants in all areas, and Canada seems really interesting to us because there are some really remote areas where there is a need to produce concrete,” said Henrik Jeppesen, managing director of fibo intercon.

Using the fibo intercon B1200 mobile batching plant as a base, the machine was tweaked to meet the demands in North America, creating the B1200CC.

“We worked with fibo intercon and a consultant that knew the Concrete Foundations Association, American Concrete Institute and Concrete Ontario standards,” said Joanne Bell, who owns and operates Delcor alongside her husband Les.

One of the requirements for North America was the addition of a secondary preweight for concrete powder on the equipment.

“Instead of just having load cells in the pan mixer, we had to add a second hopper that the powder is first loaded into and is weighed by load cells. It is then put into the pan mixer, and is weighed at that point as well,” Joanne said.

After making the necessary modifications to create the B1200CC, the plant was inspected and approved by Concrete Ontario as a producer of certified concrete.

“We had one of the auditors come and audit the equipment and say it can pass Concrete Ontario’s requirements for certified concrete,” Joanne said. “Every plant that wants to produce certified concrete in Ontario has to go through a certification process.”

The B1200CC (certified concrete) produces concrete at a rate of 12 to 18 cubic metres per hour on-site. The computerized operating system allows the operator to program specific recipes, and automatically adjust all phases of production to ensure accuracy and quality control. The frequency control of the pan mixer motor provides the ability to select optimal batching speed for any concrete type, as well as the option to choose a lower speed, in order to standardize batching over a longer period of time. As well, the batching plant is assembled on a joint twin-axle bogie trailer.

The plant is ideal for remote locations that are far from ready-mix plants.

“Instead of travelling a lot with the concrete, you can produce it locally and actually on the spot. You reduce your transportation cost,” Jeppesen said.

As well, the mobile plant is able to eliminate wait times in congested urban areas where traffic creates delivery problems.

“In big cities, when you have trucks coming in and out, this can be calmer, because you can produce your concrete on the spot,” Jeppesen said. “When you look at it from a contractor point of view, if he’s waiting for concrete, he might have five, 10 or 15 people waiting, as well. This is insuring you have concrete all the time for your staff.”

While the B1200CC has arrived in Canada, the fibo intercon FI1800 winter batching plant has also caught the attention of Delcor Equipment. The winter plant is able to produce concrete in temperatures as low as -40 C.

“I think the winter plant is really a great opportunity here in Canada for companies that traditionally are doing work in northern communities,” Joanne said. “It extends their ability beyond what is traditionally the season.”

The semi-mobile concrete batching plant has a capacity of 20 to 30 cubic metres per hour and is assembled on a common steel frame.

As well, the winter plant is designed for frequent transport over large distances and on poor roads.

“It’s kind of like a contained facility, everything is insulated,” Les said.

“All the heat it generates itself from operating stays in there.”

While the plant is capable of producing cold weather concrete, where it is placed is another hurdle. On northern Canada construction sites, concrete must float on permafrost without causing a thaw.

To avoid thawing, Styrofoam forms are used.

“The stuff in the north has complete insulation underneath and on the sides,” Les said.

“Then it’s just a matter of getting a cover over it as you pour it and level it.”