Terex King of the Road

A 275-ton portable asphalt plant and a slipform paving kit that facilitates more efficient width changes were key components of the Terex Roadbuilding King of the Road Demonstration Day. Held in November at the Terex Roadbuilding Oklahoma City headquarters, contractors were treated to factory tours, product demonstrations and a lunch presentation by ARTBA President and CEO Pete Ruane.

Dale Jones, vice president and general manager of Terex Roadbuilding, kicked the event off, making note of the recent growth in asphalt and concrete plants. Jones said asphalt plant growth was up 78 percent, and that concrete plant growth was in triple digits. Many new product innovations were one display, including the new Series 6 slipform paving kit.

The Terex Series 6 slipform paving kit eliminates nut and bolt connections found on conventional kits and uses a simple and proprietary wedge and pin locking system to minimize width change time to just a few hours. The vibrator manifolds mount directly to the kit, and the design requires only eight hose connections between the kit and tractor with reduced hose lengths.

The paving kit offers paving widths ranging from 12 feet to 38 feet and is available for the Terex SF3500B and Terex SF6004 Series of slipform pavers.

The new SF3500B Series pavers are equipped to accept the ProVibe system, a new Terex paving innovation to be introduced this year. The ProVibe system will offer precise electronic control of each vibrator for better control of concrete flow. It will feature a master on/off control of all vibrators and an alarm range setting to alert operators of faulty vibrator performance. Once released, the ProVibe system will come standard on the SF3500B Series pavers and Series 6 slipform kits.

Super portable asphalt plants are a solution to the rising fuel costs that make hauling materials to the job site expensive. The new plants can be mobilized and assembled in less than a day.

The Terex E275P counterflow drum mix plant features 275-ton-per-hour production capabilities, the largest of the Terex line. The plant can be transported to the site in five loads: counterflow drum mixer, baghouse, self-erect silo, cold feed bins with scalping screen, and liquid AC tank/control house/fuel tank. The plant has fewer connections than traditional portable plants and no cranes are required for set up.

The E275P is part of a line of Terex portable plants that includes the E100P, the E150P, and the E225P.

The Terex CR662RM RoadMix material transfer vehicle and paver, also on display, featured a new pitch spacing — 10 inches in the front to 11 inches then to 12 inches in the rear — channeling material to the rear of the machine for faster unloading. The auger design helps boost production to over 500 tons per hour. When equipped as a paver, the CR662RM incorporates two 5-foot-long spread auger sections to efficiently deliver material to the left- and right-hand sides of the screed. The new auger design employs two outboard drive motors. Mounted to the tractor's rear bulkhead, they eliminate the center gearbox drive. The left- and right-hand auger sections back up to each other.

The PR330 was demonstrated on tires instead of tracks. The cold planer is available with either a four track or four wheel drive system to fit the needs of the contractor. The multiwidth cutter offers milling widths of 24, 36 and 48 inches. Widths can be changed in about an hour.

The Bid-Well 4800 paver was also on display. At 201 feet long, it is the longest ever built. The Bid-Well 4800 was designed to pave the increasingly widening bridge decks.

Pete Ruane discussed the funding battles the transportation industry is currently facing. He encouraged contractors and dealers to take part in grass roots efforts launched by ARTBA.