The US company says that the plant - provided by Northern Ireland-based concrete mixing and batching plant specialist Rapid - enhances its capabilities in roller compacted concrete (RCC), cement treated base (CTB) and stabilised soils.
Complete General Construction, established in 1928 in Columbus, has been a long-standing key player in the construction industry, providing a wide range of services such as paving, underground work, bridges, electric services, earthmoving and roller compacted concrete (RCC). As the company expanded its involvement in mass paving projects, its interest in RCC grew significantly. To explore the options, it conducted extensive research, seeking advice from industry experts and clients and visiting other facilities.
Its research led it to the Rapidmix mobile continuous mixing plant, recognised for its widespread use in RCC projects across the USA and beyond.
According to Jeff Thompson – VP of paving operations at Complete General: “Our research kept coming up with the Rapidmix plants being very well-known and utilised in RCC projects throughout the US and around the world. Basically, the Rapidmix is the RCC industry standard.”
Complete General Construction subsequently engaged with Gulf-Atlantic Industrial Equipment, a long-standing Florida-based sales representative of Rapidmix plants, to gather further insights and observe the plants in operation during site visits. Convinced by the evidence, it decided to purchase a Rapidmix plant for an upcoming project, anticipating it would enhance its RCC operations. “After the above research and working with Gulf-Atlantic, we decided the Rapidmix would be a great asset to our RCC business," Thompson said.
Complete General identified several applications for its Rapidmix plant. Its adaptability and efficiency made it suitable for various applications, including producing RCC, cement treated base (CTB) and stabilised soils. The plant's capability to deliver high-quality output at a reasonable cost appealed to Complete General's specific needs and objectives.
The plant's reliable performance and consistent output enabled them to “…meet and exceed…” customer expectations. Rigorous testing of the mixes produced by the Rapidmix plant consistently demonstrated superior performance, bolstering Complete General's reputation as an experienced and reliable contractor. Jeff Thompson remarked, “The performance of the mixes put out by the Rapidmix plants have been tested countless times and proven to outperform.”
Thompson added: “Rapid, along with Gulf-Atlantic, provide the best mixing plants with the best support for our RCC needs. I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the market.”
Rapidmix and RCC
The production process for RCC involves the Rapidmix receiving aggregates from the plant’s aggregate hopper via the weighed conveyor belt, along with a specified weighed amount of cement from the onboard silo. This is subsequently mixed in the onboard twin-shaft mixer and loaded into trucks via the machine’s outloading conveyor. The cement treated aggregates are finally loaded into compaction pavers and laid at 94% compaction. Compacting rollers are finally used to further compact the material to 98%.
Shortly after it is laid, the RCC is sufficiently strong enough to support traffic and further operations all the way to the edge of the step.
The Rapidmix 400/600 is a mobile continuous mixing plant/ pugmill offering full weighing of all materials and is specifically designed for semi-dry mixing applications.
Fully mobile and self-contained, the Rapidmix is a complete plant powered by its own power source, with on-board compressor and generator. Fitted with a self-erecting system, using hydraulics, the plant can change from travel mode to fully operational within a few hours. Available with outputs of up to 600 tonnes per hour, the Rapidmix provides feed rates that are fully adjustable for the aggregate, cement and water systems.
The Rapidmix plant produces controlled mixtures for utilisation in a range of applications, including RCC, CTB, soil stabilisation, lime stabilisation, soil cement, bentonite, marine dredging, mine backfill and many more. The mobile nature of the plant combined with the technically advanced design, is advantageous in meeting the supply and demand requirements on projects. Rapidmix provides a cost-effective solution for on-site projects where high specification compliance coupled with a high-volume fast throughput are essential.
