Northstone NI is one of Northern Ireland’s leading suppliers of quarry products and construction materials, specialising in asphalt, concrete, aggregates, and road surfacing. A key part of CRH, a global leader in the building materials industry, Northstone NI stresses its commitment to innovation, safety and sustainable practices across all its operations.
For the development of their new state-of-the-art asphalt plant in Newtownards, Northern Ireland, Northstone NI required a reliable and cost-effective solution to maintain the dryness of raw materials. Zappshelter was chosen to deliver a custom project with multiple setups to meet this requirement.
Anyone in the asphalt industry knows that water is the enemy of efficiency. When raw materials like RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), dust, and sand become wet, vast amounts of energy are required to dry them during production.
This not only drives up costs and burns more fuel, but it can also slow down the entire production process. For its new asphalt plant, Northstone NI needed to solve this problem from day one, ensuring its operation would be as efficient and cost-effective as possible.
The solution was a set of three bespoke Zappshelters, customised to the site’s layout and requirements. All three were mounted onto precast concrete block bays, creating ideal segregated storage areas.
The installation included:
- One 17m x 30m Zappshelter
- One 14m x 18m Zappshelter
- One 8m x 18m Zappshelter
To cope with the notorious Northern Irish weather, a custom external PVC rainwater gutter system was installed between two of the shelters, providing an ideal solution for water management.
“Zappshelter has given us a cost-effective and easily set-up solution to keep our materials dry,” said Pierce Kirwan, Quarry Manager, Northstone NI.
The results are said to speak for themselves. With raw materials consistently kept dry, Northstone NI is already seeing the benefits of reduced production costs.
A successful project is about more than just the structure; it’s about the partnership. The feedback from the Northstone NI team highlights what we strive for on every project: great service, customised solutions and a professional, safety-focused approach from start to finish.
“We chose Zappshelter because their customer service was excellent and they gave us a customised solution that was cost-effective and efficient for us. We found Zappshelter professional and safety-focused,” said Kirwan.
For a testimonial video at Northstone NI, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f108wYblSU
