If you are a highway or roads contractor, you may have been purchasing your asphalt from a local supplier. Eventually, you should consider owning your own asphalt plant and producing what you need. You can always sell any extra to contractors like yourself. As you consider this possibility, there are factors you should weigh. What is a asphalt plant? It include types of asphalt plants such as portable asphalt mixing plant, stationary asphalt plant, different sizes, brands and styles of asphalt plant. Once you decide on these issues, then depending upon the type of plant you purchase, you will have other details to consider.
Types Of Plants
A batch plant produces asphalt mix in batches. Batch plants range in size from around 250 pounds up to 18,000 pounds. The amount of asphalt you get from the plant is based on their rating. For example, if a batch plant is rated at one batch per minute, it will produce 120 tons per hour. The primary benefit of a batch plant is they can be used to make hot asphalt from almost any type of aggregate, and customers can get good quality asphalt plant by checking this site: http://asphaltmixingplants.net/portable-asphalt-plants/.
Drum Mix Plant
A drum mix plant can realize almost the continuously producing of hot mix asphalt. The most common drum plants produce between 150 and 400 tons per hour. The portable drum mix asphalt plant for sale produces more asphalt with less money, making it a good choice among asphalt suppliers and contractors. The downside is that a drum plant can only produce one type of asphalt at a time. If a contractor requires several types of asphalt-aggregate mix at one time, this may not be the best choice.
Styles
There are two types of plant styles, portable and stationary. How you use your plant will generally determine which type will be best for your project. If you are going to be moving the plant from site to site, then a portable asphalt plant is the right choice. Portable plants are more expensive than stationary plants, but if you are doing projects over a wide area, it may not be feasible to truck each load of asphalt from a stationary plant to the site. The initial investment in a portable plant will be recovered through saved transport costs. If you are going to be moving your plant several times a year, consider investing in a self-erect system. Otherwise, you may need to rent a crane to move your plant and that cost can quickly add up.
Sizes
The size of the plant is determined by the production required. While it may be tempting to try and size your plant to your highest production, it is a better option to use an average. Take your company’s busiest month and then average the production and use that number to determine the correct size of asphalt plant to purchase.
It is also important to check and ensure you can get an air quality permit before spending money on an stationary asphalt mixing plant or mobile asphalt plant. Start this process early because the approval may take several months. Meanwhile, you can be looking for the right asphalt plant to purchase.