Live presentation at the new Kleemann plant

State-of-the-art machine technology and tomorrow’s construction methods were the focal points at the Wirtgen Group Technology Days 2010. More than 2600 visitors from over 80 countries – contractors from the road construction and processing industries – gathered at the new Kleemann plant where they not only toured the world’s most advanced production plant for crushing and screening equipment but also experienced the innovative technologies of the Wirtgen Group live and right up close. During the two-day event, the Wirtgen Group presented customers with a multi-faceted offer of expert information and a great variety of live demonstrations of machines from all divisions of the Wirtgen Group (Fig. 1). The programme was complemented by technical lectures, a comprehensive machine exhibition and a tour of Kleemann’s new main plant. As the third event of this kind, the Technology Days event has become established as an international meeting place for the industry.

Kleemann GmbH, the renowned manufacturer of crushing and screening plants, has been a member of the Wirtgen Group since 2006. This has enabled the group of companies to specifically broaden its product portfolio. Both as a clear commitment to Germany as a manufacturing base and a strong sign of confidence in its workforce, since 2008, the Wirtgen Group has been investing in the construction of a new main plant not far from the old production facilities. A state-of-the-art production plant came into being in Göppingen as the foundation for the expansion of the mineral technologies line of business which offers an extremely promising potential for growth on a global scale. The site, which extends across an area of 125 000 m², was open to customers for the duration of the Technology Days 2010, allowing visitors to gain an impression of the high level of vertical integration, short distances inside the plant and high precision applied in the production of the crushing and screening plants (Fig. 2).

The audience closely followed the live demonstrations of machines operating in a model limestone quarry and rehabilitating the surface layer of a road. Machine developers, product trainers and sales experts from the manufacturing companies explained the live operation of the Kleemann crushing and screening ma­-chines (Fig. 3), the Wirtgen 2500 SM surface miner, the latest generation of Wirtgen large milling machines, the world’s largest asphalt paver from Vögele as well as the entire range of new asphalt rollers from Hamm.

Processing concrete, milling concrete, producing cold mix, paving and compacting a hydraulically bound base layer, creating concrete profiles – the second demonstration focused on linking these ­technologies. From Kleemann’s brand-new Mobirex MR 110 Z EVO mobile impact crusher with metal separator, the crushed demolished concrete was directly fed into a Wirtgen KMA 220 cold recycling mixing plant which used it to produce material for a hydraulically bound base layer. Paving was carried out by the Vögele Super 3000-2 paver, and the paved layer was then compacted by the latest generation of Hamm tandem rollers and pneumatic tyred rollers. During the final stage of the demonstration, Wirtgen presented the new SP 15 slipform paver which paved a concrete profile in a live operation. After the end of the live demonstrations, the visitors streamed onto the site to have a closer look at the layers, milling cuts and construction materials produced by the various machines.

Three Kleemann specialists presented the latest products and projects in a series of technical lectures. They conveyed a clear message: Kleemann will prepare tailor-made and economical solutions for each project in close cooperation with the customer. Separate short presentations held in the outdoor area additionally enabled visitors to discover the outstanding features of the latest Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann machines.

The machine exhibition on the Kleemann company site in Göppingen was the ideal background for an in-depth exchange of ideas and industry talks that were held in between the various technical lectures and presentations. “Close to our customers” – everyone present in Göppingen during the two-day event sensed that this is part of the company culture and is the reality in day-to-day business at the Wirtgen Group. The managing director Dr. Gerhard Schumacher (Fig. 4) was very satisfied with the outcome of the event: “During the Technology Days customers were given the opportunity to discover both our high quality standards in manufacturing and the solutions and technologies that we offer. Our visitors will carry this message to their native countries in all parts of the world, and in the medium term it will certainly contribute significantly to increasing our market share.”

Wirtgen Group, Windhagen (D), Tel.: +49 2645 131-0,

www.wirtgen-group.com