CONWAY ASPHALT PLANT

Conway Wharf

OUR VISION IN ASPHALT

Many years ago, Michael Conway

dreamt of developing FM Conway

into one of the UK s leading

integrated service providers. Product

research, development and supply

were all central to that vision. Here,

Michael explains how the company

turned vision into reality.

When I was a young man, I remembersitting down with my father dreamingabout where the business could go ifwe were successful.

We thought if we could buy a quarry,we could have a crusher, screeningplant, make our own aggregates,and be able to produce MOT Type 1and deliver it using our lorries to ourown sites.

Then we thought that if we wereproducing aggregates, we couldscreen them into single sizes andmanufacture concrete from our ownbatching plant and deliver that in ourown lorries to our own sites.

If we were producing single sizedaggregates we could manufacturecoated Macadams from our ownAsphalt plant and deliver that in ourown lorries to our own sites.

Well dreams rarely happen unlessyou make them.

Our industry was about to change.The larger manufacturing companieswere becoming larger and thesmaller companies were beingbought out. The independentcontractors were dying out and the

future looked difficult, so the onlyway we could take them on was toface up to the challenge bybecoming a manufacturer. We setabout changing our thinking of howwe were going to get into quarrying.

We first got involved in crushing andscreening many years ago but thefuture was uncertain as clients werenot ready to accept recycledmaterials and at that time we shut theoperation down.

By the late 90s things looked betterand we realised that the footwaysand carriageways that we werewalking and driving on could be ourlinear quarry.

All we wanted was a site with goodaccess within the M25 to set up acrushing and screening plant. In1999 we bought and moved intoRochester Way. In 2000 we set upand started crushing and screeningour own aggregate from our ownquarry and delivering MOT Type 1 inour own lorries to our own sites. Nowthe dream looked more possible.

Now that we were producing our ownaggregate and it was acceptable inthis changing market place, why

couldn’t we produce aggregate ofsingle sizes? So in 2004, we put up awashing plant that cleaned theaggregate and produced sand andaggregate. We could now manufactureconcrete and deliver this in our ownvolumetric mixer lorries to our ownsites - the dream was getting closer.

You may be wondering what I amgoing to say next? Well the only thingmissing now is the Asphalt plant. Iwas determined to fulfil the dreamthat my father and I shared that daymany years ago. I’m sure if he wasalive he would be equally as pleasedas I am, in what I am about to tell you.

In 2010, we purchased a four acrefreehold site with an Asphalt plant andwharf in Erith, from Cemex. Today thisis our very own Asphalt plant. Thiscould not have been achieved withoutthe help and commitment from theentire FM Conway team. If I didn’t thinkI had the people that could deliver andcommit to this long term project then Iwouldn’t have done it. Well done toyou all. Let’s look forward to anotherchapter in this company’s future.

If we can dream it, we can do it!

The brief

To design and build an Asphalt plantcomplete with office and in and out weighbridge, on a tight footprintwith a large tonne per hour mixingcapacity, and a parallel recycling drum.

The solution

With designs finalised in October2009, the site clearance, foundationsand piling got underway on theformer Cemex site next to the Thamesat Erith.

After a wintery and challengingDecember, Peter McAnany and histeam prepared the site to take the firstsections of the plant from Germanasphalt manufacturer Benninghoven.Benninghoven were selected due totheir advancment in recyclingtechnology coupled with energyefficiency and quality product.

The project team headed by TimMetcalf worked hand in hand withBenninghoven optimisi ng the Erithfootprint, delivering the final design capable of matching supplywith demand.

The first items to be installed werehoppers, which store aggregateready for processing, quickly followedby the aggregate drying drum. Theplant grew quickly in preparation forJune production.

In March 2010, the office andweighbridge bases were laid.Trenches criss-crossed the sitemaking every move a challenge interms of safe working and progress.

The plant

It’s now a year since we producedour first tonne of asphalt at the plantand the progress on site has beenrelentless. The site is fully paved andwhite lined, and with the new jettyapproaching completion, it willfurther enhance the site, bringinggreater CO2 reductions and more efficient movement of raw feed stocks.

To ensure we can deliver and providean excellent service, we have

recruited and trained a team which iscommitted to giving our customersexcellent service.

The team has already beenresponsible for successfully deliveringConway asphalt to prestigiousprojects such as the cyclesuperhighway, Dover docks and nowthe Olympic site.

The Jetty

It is widely recognised that thewaterways are under-utilised as aneffective means of transportingessential materials in the UK.Through the new Conway Wharf, ourinvestment in both the environmentand local economy will take 15,000truck movements off the road everyyear, saving 1,025 tonnes of CO2.

Conway Wharf has been designed toberth ships of up to 6,000 tonnes.The new £1.9 million jetty reaches130 metres out into the Thames andfeatures a bespoke conveyor systemwhich can operate at 500 tonnes per hour.

Planned and constructed for minimal environmental impact, thespecially developed unloadingoperation is controlled via wirelesstechnology at the finger tips of thedock crane operator.

Products

Conway's material testing laboratorybased at Mulberry Way, close to theasphalt plant, manages all qualityand product development.

One of the most recent additions tothe Conway Asphalt and Aggregateproduct portfolio is SurePave, asurfacing range designed to meet allperformance requirements. Therange includes:

SurePave FR, a fuel resistantmaterial widely used in bus stopsand lay-bys

SurePave HD PMB, a heavy dutybinder course suited tochannelised, slow moving areassuch as bus lanes and lorry parks.

The Conway Research andDevelopment team are currentlyworking to develop products that candeliver both improved performanceand reduced carbon footprints. Thenew Conway EnviroBinder rangeachieves both objectives as theproduction process reduces CO2

by 25%.

It’s no surprise then that the Envirorange is fast becoming our mostpopular product, giving clients anenvironmentally consciousspecification option.

Conway Asphalt PlantChurch Manor WayErith, Kent DA8 1DFTel: 0208 636 8822www.fmconway.co.uk