Dear customers, dear staff and friendsThanks to the Wirtgen Group’s persistent growth, we have not only been able to strengthen our group once again this year by investing in the individual plants and subsidiaries, but have also improved our performance in the foreign markets for our local customers there.

Growth also means change Change has remained a healthy and dy-namic constant factor ever since our Group was established. It provides a healthy bal-ance for the continuous, strong values of our corporate culture with its family ori-entation.

Purposeful change ensures permanent progress and an incentive to achieve top performance for us all. In this way, growth has become a motor that drives us to re-consider business processes of every kind and either to adapt them in line with the sometimes drastically higher volume of business or to change them completely.

Professional approach more important than ever Growth is both an opportunity and a pre-requisite for making all parts of the com-pany more professional and consistently focusing them on customer satisfaction.

In addition to future-oriented personnel development, the introduction of complex and efficient systems is another major ele-ment on the road to our success. – The introduction of uniform systems in

the specialized development depart-ments creates synergistic effects.

– State-of-the-art production technologies and effective methods for production planning and control are uniformly im-plemented in all our headquarters.

– Materials flows are optimized by use of the SAP information system.

– Customers throughout the world benefit from service systems embracing all brands.

– Our informative “Wirtgen Group World” in the Internet and our internal Wirtgen Group Network are based on powerful content management systems.

These are typical examples of such inte-grating systems and new methods based on our own know-how within the Wirtgen Group.

Change also means an opportunity for everyoneThese few examples show that growth of-fers our employees outstanding opportu-nities to realize demanding projects in our

plants and companies and at the same time help to shape the Group’s future at a high level. Individual areas of responsibility can be redefined as different contents re-quire greater concentration on special ar-eas, while others can be made more gen-eral and acquire a more international char-acter through globalization.

Every day we can see afresh how these tasks are tackled with great motivation not only by our long-standing workforce, but also hand-in-hand by the new employ-ees who have joined our company. In this way, they all make a valuable contribution to the company’s strategic orientation which ultimately serves to convince our customers of the quality of our products and services.

Our sincerest best wishes

HIGHLIGHTS

2

Our life focuses on construction: four German headquarters in the midst of change

12

Spectacular job in London: pavers, compactors and road milling machines on an English lawn

11

Four crushers in a quarry: more gravel for Ireland

N E W S PA P E R F O R C U S TO M E R S , S TA F F A N D F R I E N D S O F T H E W I RT G E N G R O U P | N o . 3 5 / J u n e 2 0 0 8

Stefan Wirtgen Jürgen Wirtgen

IN THIS ISSUE

02 600,000 square metres: the plants expand

04 Service: whenever you need us!

06 Flourishing: dealers in North America

07 The market is booming and so is Ciber

08 WIDRIVE: intelligent networking

09 Noah’s Ark in the Arctic – with Vögele!

10 Porous asphalt and Hamm: silent road pavements

11 Kleemann mobilizes Ireland

12 Race of Champions: Group wins, Schumi loses

13 Express recycling: Brno racing track

14 Streumaster and Wirtgen: two partners with one solution

15 Wanted and found: young talent for the Wirtgen Group

16 “Children in Need”: 11 million for this jubilee

FORUMROAD AND MINERAL TECHNOLOGIES

2

PUBLISHER’S DETAILSFORUM – The newspaper for customers, staff and friends of the Wirtgen Group

Published by: Wirtgen Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH · Reinhard-Wirtgen-Straße 2 · D-53578 Windhagen E-Mail: forum@wirtgen.de · Internet: www.wirtgen-group.com Official registration: Commercial Register Montabaur HRB 10492 VAT No.: DE 149 525 751 Board of management: Jürgen Wirtgen, Stefan Wirtgen, Rainer Otto

Responsible for content: Claudia Fernus · Tel.: +49 2645-131 744 · Fax: +49 2645-131 499 E-Mail: presse@wirtgen.de

Editorial staff: Michaela Adams · Annabell Noll

All rights reserved. Reproduction only with written permission by the editorial staff. This applies especially to duplication via copying or CD-ROM and storage in electronic databases.

Agency: unlimited communications marketing gmbh, Berlin

Translation: Übersetzungsbüro Ulrike Krämer, Erpel interteam Übersetzungsbüro, Grünwald

Print: Gebrüder Kopp, Köln

OUR HEADQUARTERS

More than ever before, 2008 will be a

year of growth for the Wirtgen Group: in

addition to their normal operations, all

the German headquarters are in the midst

of projects ranging from factory enlarge-

ments to building a completely new facil-

ity. If all these construction sites are add-

ed together, the result is a gigantic area of

over 600,000 m².

Wirtgen GmbH invests in construction of special machines Construction work has almost become com-

monplace in Windhagen. Only two years

have passed since production started in the

new final assembly plant, yet the dozers are

already working on the next major construc-

tion pro ject. Prompted by the growing de-

mand for special machines, a separate final

assembly hall is therefore to be built at the

northern end of the company site, complete

with a large social wing for the staff.

The timetable for this work is certainly

ambitious: production in the new plant for

slipform pavers, surface miners and recyclers

is scheduled to start in January 2009. Plant

Manager Norbert Dinspel never loses sight of

that timetable: he and his team are currently

taking care of all the various coordination

processes. “It’s just like a good gear mecha-

nism: everything has to be synchronized pre-

cisely,” says Dinspel in a fitting comparison.

Thomas Buchholz, Final Assembly Man-

ager for the slipform pavers, knows that “it

was high time to separate the series produc-

tion lines from the construction of special

machines with their high level of customiza-

tion”. The new capacities are designed to en-

sure more rapid and more efficient assembly.

With a height of 9.5 m, the new hall is spe-

cially designed to accommodate the “giants”

in the special machinery line. Even the larg-

est surface miner model of type 4200 SM

with a height of 8.2 m can then be complete-

ly assembled indoors: at present, the opera-

tor’s platform can only be installed outside

the hall doors. The crane capacities are also

specially dimensioned to handle machine

parts weighing up to 80 t.

At present, the special machines are as-

sembled in three different halls. In future, fi-

nal assembly will be concentrated in one

place for all areas, much to the benefit of the

workforce in particular. “With job rotation,

we can assign our highly qualified staff very

much more flexibly to the assembly points

for all divisions. This will make their work

very much more varied,” says Günter Gasser,

Final Assembly Manager for surface miners.

The logistics, too, is specially adapted to the

machines concerned: “Order-picking of the

individual parts will be optimized through a

central and particularly variable store inside

the hall,” explains Dieter Kröll, Head of In-

Plant Logistics.

Customers will also benefit considerably

from the new hall for special machines. Its

multi-functional design will make it possible

to react promptly to trends in the market. The

assembly stations in the hall sections can be

flexibly adapted to the required machine

model. For instance, if a particularly large

number of surface miners have been ordered,

assembly stations normally used for slipform

pavers or recyclers can simply be converted

to assembly stations of surface miners – or

vice versa – in a few swift moves. “We have

deliberately avoided any technical limitation

so that we can respond to customers’ wishes

more quickly,” explains Plant Manager

Dinspel.

Vögele builds the most modern plant in the industryPlanning for the new Vögele plant is also well

under way. The company’s traditional plant

in Mannheim has reached the limits of its ca-

pacity and simply does not offer the space

needed for further growth. Vögele has been a

member of the Wirtgen Group since 1996 and

has grown at positively breath-taking speed

since then, due above all to outstanding syn-

ergistic effects in the group. Instead of build-

ing 250 machines a year as in those days, the

paver specialist now builds well over 2,000

in Mannheim, for delivery to customers

throughout the world.

After carefully weighing up all the factors

of decisive importance for a location, the new

site in Rheingönheim, a district of Ludwigs-

hafen, was found to offer the best basic con-

ditions for Vögele’s ambitious team. “One of

the most important factors underlying our

choice of a new site was its proximity to the

present location in Mannheim. We want all

our employees to come with us when we

move to the new site. We don’t want to lose

anyone because he or she would have to trav-

el too far to work,” explains Dr. Christian

Pawlik, Member of the Board, responsible

for the technical sector.

Wirtgen Group says “yes” to Germany as its locationExpansion of headquarters requires continuous planning and strategic farsightedness

<Large construction projects are an every-day matter at Wirtgen GmbH. They are su-pervised by Wirtgen’s experienced experts Ewald von Schöne-beck, Site Supervisor (left), and Dieter Kick, member of Plant Man-age ment department.

Freut sich auf die optimierten Prozesse im zukünftigen Werk: Vögele-Produktionsleiter Franz Welsch.

Looking forward to optimized processes in the future plant – Vögele’s Plant Manager Franz Welsch.

<They pool their know-how and carry the major project for the new multi-functional hall on their shoulders: the experts for special machine construction at Wirtgen, Thomas Buchholz (center), Günter Gasser (right) and logistics expert Dieter Kröll.

Vögele’s Dr. Christian Pawlik, Member of the Board and responsible for the technical sector, is pursuing an ambitious goal: to build the most modern plant in the industry.

<Vögele’s Final Assembly Manager Christoph Niehaus (left) is the Project Manager responsible for construction of the new plant, together with a team of architects.

The Wirtgen site has been enlarged by 80,000 m². Production of special machines will start in the new hall on 1 January 2009.

3

The new site in Rhineland-Palatinate cov-

ers an area of 380,000 m² – four times the

area of today’s site in Neckarauer Strasse. Dr.

Pawlik continues: “Our goal when planning

the new plant is to build the most modern

paver plant in the world. That means exten-

sive flexibility in the layout and optimally co-

ordinated logistics and manufacturing proc-

esses. These form the basis for the high qual-

ity of our products, the stability of our proc-

esses and last but not least for further

increases in productivity. The new plant will

allow us to become even more competitive in

the world’s markets.”

Plant Manager Franz Welsch is equally

enthusiastic about the new building project,

for the ultramodern production halls will en-

sure that all production steps are perfectly

synchronized. “Material flows in the plant

are of paramount importance for an optimum

process. We have therefore spared no effort

in the planning process to ensure that trans-

port distances for the material are kept as

short as possible. That is essential in order to

achieve our high production targets,” says

Welsch.

Production is not the only department to

benefit from more space. The generously di-

mensioned new training centre also offers

every convenience for in-plant and customer

training. Instead of the roughly 3,000 partici-

pants in training courses each year to date,

their number is expected to reach over 6,000

in the medium term. Attention will continue

to focus on applications technology and ma-

chine technology. Three spacious training

halls will be available for this purpose in fu-

ture. With this new training centre, Vögele

can offer both its own trainees and partici-

pants from around the world the best possible

conditions for learning – with the most mod-

ern didactic equipment.

Project Manager Christoph Niehaus’ job

is both demanding and exciting. At the mo-

ment, he is responsible for three tasks: in ad-

dition to his labour-intensive job as Final

Assembly Manager, he is also responsible for

planning the assembly processes for the new

plant. But that is not all: as Project Manager

for construction of the new plant, he also

holds all the strings for coordinating the in-

ternal team as well as controlling the external

service providers. According to the project’s

timetable, the first areas are to be relocated in

the summer of 2010. The world’s most mod-

ern production plant for pavers will be fully

operational by the end of 2010.

Hamm: new roller drum plant increases flexibilityRecovering a core component in roller con-

struction and bringing it back into the com-

pany – that is Hamm’s objective in building

its own roller drum plant. As Dr. Oliver Krill,

Member of the Board of Hamm AG, respon-

sible for the technical sector, emphasizes,

“we intend to safeguard our supply of roller

drums in the long-term without being de-

pendent on the market”. Until now, the com-

pany in Tirschenreuth received its drums

from suppliers. In future, these central ele-

ments of the Hamm rollers will be produced

in-house again – “although production peaks

will continue to be covered by external sup-

pliers in the future, too,” explains Dr. Krill.

Building up the know-how for drum pro-

duction is a challenge to be mastered by the

staff in future. In the Board’s view, however,

this is a task that yields nothing but advantag-

es: “Our engineering design department can

now exert a more pinpointed influence on the

quality of our drums,” according to Dr. Krill.

“We also hope to benefit from opportunities to

boost efficiency and cut costs in this way.”

Producing the customary high quality of drums

for earthworks and asphalt paving remains the

primary objective. To ensure that this is the

case, the drum factory’s future workforce is

currently undergoing intensive training, and

additional skilled personnel are also being re-

cruited. Five master craftsmen have already

been taken on for the new sector.

The manufacturing departments in partic-

ular will profit most from the additional space.

“The space created by the project is urgently

needed for optimization,” explains the man-

ager of the future roller drum plant, Günter

Kolberg.

New challenges also await the in-plant lo-

gistics. “We are introducing a central goods

distribution warehouse, as the new roller

drum plant is also to have its own spare parts

store,” explains Harald Prölss, IT and logis-

tics manager.

The enlargement will produce tangible,

positive effects for the customers. “All core

competences will be located right here in fu-

ture, with the result that we can respond more

flexibly to changes in the market. We will be

able to respond to short-term requests from

our production and produce the required type

of drum within 24 hours,” says Dr. Krill.

Long-term security for Kleemann GmbH“Everything in one place” is also Kleemann’s

motto. The specialist for mobile and station-

ary crushing and screening plant will move

into a new production facility to the southeast

of Göppingen in late 2009. Supporting the

present sequence of operations and at the

same time coordinating the major project of

a completely new location – that is the chal-

lenge currently faced by Plant Manager

Berthold Griesshaber. Team work is the most

important aspect in the facility’s concept: as

Griesshaber explains, “the planning for the

administration building is being assisted by a

competent team from several departments”.

The result is to be a high-tech plant with

short distances. The size of the site was a key

factor when choosing a location for the

growth-oriented company. “At the same time,

however, it was also important to remain near

our present site in order not to lose our quali-

fied staff,” says Griesshaber. The new pro-

duction facility offers distinct advantages,

with its generous capacities. The machine as-

sembly stations will be optimized for the gi-

gantic dimensions of the crushers, such as the

28 metre long MR 130 ZH impact crusher

with downstream secondary screening unit

and recirculation.

Concentrating the entire production in a

single location will be a decisive step towards

optimizing processes and the flow of materi-

als for pre-production and final assembly.

“Until now, I was looking after three assembly

plants in different locations. With its very

much shorter distances, the new plant prom-

ises to yield a more effective, coordinated as-

sembly process,” says Assembly Manager

Michael German explaining the planning

concept.

Kleemann has also set clear strategic

goals for the new location. “Turnaround

times will be significantly reduced in produc-

tion, and manufacturing costs will also be

lower,” says Griesshaber. Customer satisfac-

tion is the focal aspect in the forthcoming re-

location process: the entire sequence is being

specially planned to ensure compliance with

delivery schedules. “The move will take

place in successive stages. We will some-

times be producing simultaneously at both

locations in order to ensure that production

schedules are definitely maintained,” says

Griesshaber highlighting the project’s vast di-

mensions.

Plants ready for the future: state-of-the-art technology and highly qualified employees With these continuous investments in its

headquarters, the Wirtgen Group is sending a

clear message: our location in Germany com-

bined with the vast know-how of our employ-

ees is a constant factor guaranteeing the high

quality of machines built by the Wirtgen

Group now and in the future. Customers and

employees can rely on this in the long term.

OUR HEADQUARTERS

>Strategic farsighted-

ness instead of short-term answers:

that is the philosophy behind the expansion

at Hamm and the focal issue pursued

by Marketing Manager Gottfried Beer, Board

Member Dr. Oliver Krill and the future Roller Drum Plant Manager

Günter Kolberg.

Hamm AG will produce its roller drums in its own factory in future: as a permanent investment in the Tirschenreuth location, the expansion reflects the company’s confidence in its employees. As many as 50 new members of staff will be taken on when production starts.

<Planning the relocation of a complete factory is a masterpiece of logis-tics: Kleemann’s Plant Manager Berthold Griesshaber and his planning team make sure that the move pro-ceeds smoothly.

4

WIRTGEN GROUP SERVICE

“All work together”Wirtgen Group systems help the customer with effective customer service

When a machine is handed over to the

customer, this marks the beginning of a

long service partnership lasting many

years between the customer and the

Wirtgen Group. The range of services of-

fered is extremely varied, from practical

advice to maintenance and more. Attention

is increasingly focusing on training and

instruction on applications technology.

Whether ErgoPlus, oscillation, WIDRIVE

or mobile crushing and screening technol-

ogy, specific know-how on operation of the

machines and practical advice when pre-

paring a job site help customers to com-

plete the construction work to high quality

standards and to systematically cut both

costs and the amount of work input.

Proximity to the customer is maximized

in the Wirtgen Group’s service philosophy:

service experts are on the spot to answer cus-

tomers’ questions on everything associated

with the machines. A total of 55 own subsidi-

aries and more than 100 contractual dealers

not only ensure physical proximity in the mar-

kets. “Close to our customers” also means

a high level of professional proximity. Service

specialists in the Wirtgen Group, such as the

Area Service Managers from the respective

headquarters, have first-hand experience of

the customers’ practical requirements and find

solutions to service problems every single

day.

Headquarters and subsidiaries work hand-in-handSubsidiaries and dealers can rely on the ad-

vice and support of the headquarters’ service

departments, whose job not only includes

such routine service aspects as warranty cases,

but also the deployment of specialist techni-

cians to deal with special situations on site.

Area Service Managers provide the direct

link between the respective headquarters and

the subsidiaries and dealers. “Our Area

Service Managers are very experienced spe-

cialists who not only have a theoretical com-

mand of the technology involved, but who

have also spent many years on the job as ser-

vice technicians and are consequently fully

familiar with both the machines and the

challenges encountered on site,” explains

Helgo Koch, Wirtgen GmbH’s Area Service

Manager for Northern and Western Europe.

His colleague Markus Strunk, Area

Service Manager for Eastern and Southern

Europe, adds: “We make sure that the Wirtgen

Group agents are able to meet their service

obligations within their regions, supply infor-

mation, provide support of every kind for

their service activities, help in service con-

tracts with the customers, set standards for

stocks to be maintained and workshop equip-

ment, also train the customer if necessary. All

the various links in our service chain work

together here so that we can always help the

customer on site through headquarters and the

Wirtgen Group’s local partners.”

The Wirtgen Group’s international service

meetings have become a regular institution

for the exchange of information between the

service people in the subsidiaries and dealers’

firms and the service departments at the re-

spective headquarters. Held at each of the

main plants in succession, these service meet-

ings focus on the latest topics relating to ser-

vice by the Wirtgen Group.

Internal and external training: know-how for everyoneQualified Wirtgen Group training systems are

a key instrument in the transfer of know-how

and information on applications technology.

These systems keep both the Group’s own

service specialists and its customers up-to-

date with the latest state of the art.

Service teams from the subsidiaries and

dealers’ firms are regularly trained by the re-

spective Wirtgen Group companies so that

they can offer customers high-quality service

encompassing the entire range of services in

the markets. This has given rise to a dynamic

training system that is constantly adapted to

meet with current developments. No time is

lost when a new member joins the Wirtgen

Group, as in the case of Kleemann GmbH:

“The service technicians from subsidiaries and

dealers who sell Kleemann crushers were all

trained accordingly and now carry out any re-

pairs themselves, regardless of whether the

crushers are mobile or stationary,” explains

Peter Wittmann, After Sales Service Manager

at Kleemann. “At the moment, we are work-

ing on an extension of the service training

system, for second-hand machines are always

in demand and may land in the service terri-

tory of a subsidiary whose technicians have

not yet been trained. This is where we want to

remain one step ahead at all times so that we

can always offer our customers the best pos-

sible service.”

All four headquarters naturally also organ-

ize training programmes for customers in col-

laboration with local subsidiaries or directly

in their plants. Here too, the agenda is headed

by everyday practical situations: “We offer

our customers tailormade training focusing on

applications technology. After all, the most

important thing is for the machine operators

to exploit the machines’ full potential on site,

avoiding errors from the outset and producing

an optimum result in the end,” says Axel

Training by Otto Mayer, Hamm AG, focuses on practical advantages of oscillation technology. Since these advantages are not always fully exploited on site, customers benefit greatly from his training.

Hamm Service Technician Janko Weiss (middle) and Applications Adviser Ralf Schröder (right) provide further details on the Compact Line for Ulrich Städele, Technical Manager at Wirtgen Augsburg.

Service Down Under: The Wirtgen Group’s service meeting in 2008 was attended by 91 people from 57 countries, including Steve Coppack and Chris Anderson from Wirtgen Australia.

Applications technology is always a focal is-sue: André Felchner (right), Head of Applica-tions Technology at Vögele, shows Wirtgen Belgium’s Service Manager Luc Kempenaers how to operate the Niveltronic Plus.

One large customer of Wirtgen International GmbH is currently working on the construc-tion of a roughly 300 km stretch of new mo-torway in Azerbaijan. The customer is rely-ing entirely on the proficiency of various Wirtgen Group machines for this project. These include two slipform pavers of type SP 1600, four SP 1500 L models, two SP 250 machines and various curing units. Around 20 single drum vibrating compactors of type 3516 from Hamm are also on site for the earthworks. Specialist technicians from Wirtgen GmbH will be on site here for three months to set up the large slipform pavers for the custom-er, provide professional instruction for the machine operators and monitor the first jobs. Spare and wear parts for the first 1,500 hours of operation have also been supplied for each machine.

“At the moment, we are setting up another SP 1600 machine. Everything is proceeding according to schedule so far. The challenge is to ensure that the machines are set up speedily here on site and at the same time train the operators on those pavers that are already operational. Everything must go smoothly so that the project gets off

to a good start; we cannot waste any time on such a major project, for a great deal depends on the performance of the slipform pavers,” reports Service Technician Marc Döring.

Mobile service teams on the job worldwide – full steam for a perfect start in the least possible time

A model SP 1600 is set up on the first construction stretch near Baku: the service specialists for slipform pavers Mario Weber, Marc Döring and Klaus Hoffmann pass on their know-how to the paving crew so that nothing can prevent the project‘s continu-ous progress.

As the Wirtgen Group grows, so do the service requirements: Peter Wittmann, After Sales Service Manager at Kleemann, shares his know-how with service specialists in the sub-sidiaries and dealers’ firms.

5

WIRTGEN GROUP SERVICE

Fischer, After Sales Service Manager at

Joseph Vögele AG, describing the advantages

of providing specific advice. Customer train-

ing is also being extended in conjunction with

construction of Vögele’s new plant: more than

6,000 people are to attend courses in the

Vögele training centre every year in future.

Well informed customers: WITRAIN and WIDOSPractical everyday aids in the Wirtgen Group

service world also include comprehensive

customer information systems. Each cus tom-

er receives the machine training system

WITRAIN whenever a machine is purchased.

WITRAIN provides specific information on

the product concerned, complete with product

training, special equipment and practical case

examples. “WITRAIN is ideal for training

machine operators and workshop,” ex plains

Dr. Frank Jenne, Spare Parts Manager at

Wirtgen GmbH.

WIDOS is the Wirtgen Group’s documen-

tation system on CD or DVD providing in-

stant access to extremely detailed information

on the 118 lines – from complete spare parts

catalogues through operating manuals and

hydraulic, electrical and pneumatic circuit

diagrams to the safety manual. The complete

WIDOS version would cover 180,000 single

A4 sheets if printed out in full. As Dr. Jenne

explains, “the way in which the informative

content has been linked is unique in our in-

dustry. As soon as you click a gasket in the

electrical circuit diagram, its position is im-

mediately also shown in the machine layout

drawing. This clearly distinguishes us from

our competitors.”

WIDOS is updated four times each year,

and each of the 2,500 licence holders receives

a copy of the updated version. Kleemann’s

Mobiscreen series is being integrated into the

next edition. “Every customer whose fleet in-

cludes a Wirtgen Group machine should have

WIDOS, for it is more than just a work of ref-

erence and self-help tool. WIDOS is also a

useful ordering aid – and will soon also in-

clude an online link,” explains Dr. Jenne.

Parts and More: high-quality spare and wear parts from stockFurther development of user-friendly systems

which have proved their value in practice and

make life easier for customers as well as for

service experts in the subsidiaries and dealers’

firms – that is a never-ending task for the

respective headquarters. With its 500 pages,

the Parts and More catalogue is not only com-

prehensive, but also easy to use thanks to

straightforward navigation with icons rep-

resenting spare parts groups. Benjamin

Grüber, Trainer for Original Parts at Wirtgen

GmbH, explains: “The catalogue is updated

every year, firstly in order to include new ma-

chine models, such as the W 150 or the

VISION series, and secondly to incorporate

such machine-specific supplementary tools

as WIDRIVE or NIVELTRONIC Plus. In ad-

dition to updating the catalogue, however, we

also make sure that the knowledge of our

spare parts advisers at headquarters and in the

subsidiaries is also always right up-to-date

through regular communication.”

The members of staff also improve their

knowledge of machine technology in special-

ly organized workshops for the spare parts ad-

visers so that they can advise the customer

even more effectively and are also introduced

to new developments in everyday use. These

workshops are not limited to particular re-

gions. Grüber explains: “All the European

spare parts advisers were invited to the last

workshop at the Wirtgen headquarters. Theory

was not the only item on the agenda. It also

included practical on-the-job training on ma-

chines from Vögele, Hamm and Wirtgen.”

Partnership with the customer – worldwide and systematicAll the companies in the Wirtgen Group share a passion for future-oriented road building technologies. Service teams from the respective headquarters, subsidiaries and dealers’ firms serve customers 365 days of the year in places ranging from Svalbard in the Norwegian Sea to the south-ern tip of Chile and from the American west coast to the east coast of Australia. Dr. Günter Hähn summarizes the Wirtgen Group’s service philosophy: “We see our-selves as an innovative partner of the con-struction industry worldwide. Our service-

oriented approach wins the customer’s confidence time and time again.”

The professional Wirtgen Group service

systems encompassing the entire range of cus-

tomer services help customers and service ex-

perts to meet this challenge every single day.

More than 67,000 genuine parts can be called from stock: Helgo Koch, Area Service Manager, and Dr. Frank Jenne, Spare Parts Manager, recommend Parts and More as a daily reference tool for customers, dealers and subsidiaries.

Packed with useful tips for optimum set-tings of paver and screed, answers to numerous questions associated with asphalt paving and many details on materials theory, Joseph Vögele AG’s

Paving Guide is a handy booklet for its cus-tomers and also ideal for home study. According to Axel Fischer, After Sales Service Manager, every road construction professional should read the Guide: “The Guide is a very useful everyday aid for eve-ryone involved in paving. Practical on-the-job examples that also cover all interfaces, such as the screed or transport of mixture, make the Guide a useful tool to help the customer on the job site. The new edition is clearly organized with an attractive layout and numerous diagrams and illustrations.”

The new “Paving Guide” from Vögele – a work of reference for newcomers and professionals

Axel Fischer, After Sales Service Manager at Joseph Vögele AG in Mannheim.

Dr. Günter Hähn (left) during a workshop at the service meeting: this station was dedicated to intensifying know-how on ErgoPlus and level control systems under realistic conditions.

Showing customers the machines’ full potential is the focal aspect of practical training by Vögele. The photograph shows a customer training course devoted to ErgoPlus.

Benjamin Grüber, Trainer for Original Parts at Wirtgen, supplies know-how on spare and wear parts throughout the world.

6

The strong dealer network of Wirtgen

America is strategically spread all over the

vast country: 34 dealers sell mostly the Wirt-

gen Road Technologies product line of Wirt-

gen, Vögele and Hamm in 50 US states and

9 provinces of Canada. 10 dealers recently

joined the network. This network of dealers

all over the country guarantees high spare

parts availability and a first class service in-

frastructure for Wirtgen Group customers. A

new training center and an innovative Parts

ordering system will offer more useful sup-

port to dealers and customers.

New focus on customer and dealer trainingWirtgen America offers a comprehensive

training system including classroom and

hands-on training based at the headquarter

location in Nashville, TN and the paver facil-

ity in Chambersburg, PA. In addition, on-site

application and hardware training sessions

for dealers and end users either at their facil-

ities or on their jobsites are part of the pro-

gram. A mobile classroom/training trailer is

available for both dealers and customers. This

training capacity will be significantly expand-

ed by a new training center located in Nash-

ville. The idea is to offer even more attractive

and in-depth training concepts across the en-

tire Wirtgen Group product line.

Know-how for long-term success and for all target groupsThe new training center will allow Wirtgen

America to expand its training season and al-

so offer differentiated training levels. Spe cial-

ized product trainers communicate the unique

application concepts to dealer personnel and

to customers. Dealer training is provided in

various programs for parts and service man-

agement, parts counter personnel and field

technicians.

Jan Schmidt and his Product Support and

Training team are looking forward to seeing

the training center completed: “We really

want to focus more on teaching the applica-

tion side, i.e. how to best utilize our machines.

In the past this had to be done in the field, as

we simply did not have the opportunity to

perform that type of training in house. With

our 7 acre test track as part of our new train-

ing facility, we will be able to teach the ap-

plications live here in Nashville!”

THE WIRTGEN GROUP IN AMERICA

Wirtgen America expands sales and service territory for Wirtgen Group products

Dealer network grows more and more

• Total area: 21,000 ft ² including a 4 bay training shop with overhead crane

• Multiple training labs and auditoriums with full multimedia/AV capabilities

• Hands-on testing and training grounds on 7 acres

• Presentation hub facility• Start of training session: January 2009

Highlights new training facility:

The site for the training center where con-struction works are in full swing, in addition the warehouse will be expanded and a test track for live machine application training will be built.

What makes the Wirtgen Group product portfolio so attractive for your dealers?

“Our portfolio is so attractive due to a full range of products suited for customers fo-cused on infrastructure building and repair. Each of our product offerings in the compa-nies of Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann represent the highest quality and most technologically advanced range in the world. Our customers and distributors are continuously impressed by the innovative designs specifically suited to contractors’ requirements.”

What is your recipe for success regarding the dealer network expansion?

“Our success can be attributed to the strength of each individual factory and prod-uct line. Each of the companies within the Wirtgen Group has a legacy of innovation and success. When combined, these com-

panies have a dynamic collective potential to feed one to the other within the customer base. The existing and potential dealer part-ners see the true strength of this dynamic group. They are convinced that investment of these assets and resources will provide the valuable return of satisfied customers. Wirtgen America represents itself as a sub-sidiary of the Wirtgen Group clearly focused on providing the best products and product support available in our industry segments. We expect our dealers to be the supporting connection that provide solutions to our cus-tomers’ production requirements. The coop-erative effort of our companies and local dealer support results in the acquisition of new customers and the retention of existing customers.”

How do you organize an efficient support for this large network of dealers?

“High quality support is provided by an or-ganization staffed with the best personnel in our industry. Every employee at Wirtgen America has a role in supporting our devel-opment. Directly or indirectly, every individu-al here is supportive of our product support and sales on a daily basis. Our 34 dealers have over 180 locations and hundreds of people requiring information from Wirtgen

America on a daily basis. With the under-standing that the customer is the center of our business, all department managers and staff are driven to provide answers and solu-tions in a professional and timely manner.”

How do you motivate your dealers?“We have acquired our existing dealer net-work over many years. The current dealer network has a mix of dealers with varied years of experience in our industry and specifically with our products. With recent additions of several new dealers, we will be transitioning our focus from ‘acquiring’ new dealers to ‘development’ of all dealers. With the addition of only a few more dealers, our coverage of the market area will be near-ly complete. Training, training, and more training is the ‘near term’ objective. By fo-cusing our resources on training, developing, and measuring our dealers, we will continu-ously increase our ability to grow market share. Over the long term, we expect our dealers to grow with us. Many of them remain family owned companies like the Wirtgen Group. We share the common goal of continued growth and development with all of our dealers.”

The dealer appreciation event during Conexpo 2008 on the Wirtgen Group stand: a strong dealer network for high-quality customer support.

What are the benefits of the system?“The obvious benefits are the extended availability and convenience for our end users and dealers in identifying and order-ing parts. Increased order accuracy, en-hanced parts visibility and a first class parts cataloging system available to every Wirtgen Group customer are some of the other benefits. The system will use high quality 3D parts illustrations to allow cus-tomers browsing through the machine models and visual identification of the correct part. It offers online orderings and selecting shipping methods, shows stock levels, and identifies their local dis-tributor if they are unknown.”

How many parts are available in your new system?

“Our dealers and customers have access to over 20,000 different line items in stock in Nashville, TN made up of 11,600 Wirtgen items, 7,800 Hamm items, 1,000 Kleemann items and 500 Rhino Parts items. All the parts for our Vögele paver lines are stocked in Chambersburg, PA where we currently carry about 7,300 line items.”

Jan H. Schmidt, Vice President Product Support

Parts and More NET: 24 hour-a-day parts ordering and browsing

Q and A: the new system

Interview Jim McEvoy, the “driving force” behind the dealer network expansion

Wirtgen America is introducing the new Parts and More NET system to its dealers. The system offers the same amount of line items as the Wirtgen Group machine docu-mentation system WIDOS. The parts func-tionality is based on the brands and mod-els of Wirtgen, Vögele and Hamm currently available in WIDOS, and includes some of the mobile crushers manufactured by Kleemann. After the initial roll out of Parts and More NET, 29 dealers with 174 loca-tions will be registered and trained for the new system. By that time, well over 1,000 users from the dealer network will have ac-cess to the system. The next step is then to sign up their customers to the system.

Jim McEvoy,President of Wirtgen America, Inc. headquartered in Nashville, TN

7

OUR HEADQUARTERS

Ciber invests in innovation and qualityNew products, better spare parts availability, more training

service. Ciber has recently invested six-digit

sums in research and quality assurance to im-

prove the company’s competitiveness and fur-

ther develop such leading technologies as the

hot mixing plants. The premises for spare

parts in the after-sales service area have been

enlarged, so that customers now profit not on-

ly from the better spare parts logistics, but al-

so from their improved availability.

The Ciber success story is continuing

not only in Brazil: sales are still rising in

the booming Latin American market.

The introduction of flow manufacturing

ensured higher productivity at exactly the

right time and takes account of the dy-

namic economic conditions.

The team headed by Managing Director

Walter Rauen is now investing in new stand-

ards in product development and customer

All product lines undergo exhaustive testing on a new test site with 2,300 m². From vibratory compactors through pavers, milling machines and asphalt mixing plants to heating tanks, all products go through quality assurance test programmes lasting up to two days here. The complete test cycle with six phases for the hot mixing plant UACF 17 P takes more than 21 hours. With this intensive form of quality assurance for the plants, Ciber has assured its competitive edge in the long term.

Quality assurance with large test site

Where does this new series fit into the product range?

“The new Compact Series comes after the Advanced Series. It is an alternative for those customers who are looking for high mixing quality combined with a compact layout for the job site, a simple design con-cept and low investment costs.”

What characterizes the new Compact Series?

“Its most interesting feature is the attractive investment cost in relation to operating costs and production output. The operator’s complete overview of the processes, rapid installation of the plant and automatic me-

tering, as well as the optimized transport dimensions are further advantages of the new plant concept. Easy handling of the production processes means that less man-power is needed. The operator is located near the truck, from where he can monitor the supply of mixture and its discharge.”

Which markets and customers is Ciber serving with these products?

“There is a growing market of small and medium-sized construction contractors serving infrastructure projects in Brazil, Latin America and Africa where smaller produc-tion volumes are required. With their com-pact design and clear cost advantages, the new plants meet with exactly these require-ments.”

Just how compact are the new plants?“With transport dimensions of 14 m x 2.6 m x 4 m (L x W x H), they can be transported without requiring a special permit. The plant components have been optimized to take up as little space as possible. In this way, we have been able to realize our concept of introducing the smallest plants on the market.”

Bernardo Ronchetti, Head of Research and Development

<New on the market: Bernardo Ronchetti introduced dealers and representatives from the Wirtgen Group headquarters to the new plant concept of the Compact 500.

Rauen has also invested a great deal in research, with the result that Ciber’s engineers have developed a new series of hot asphalt mixing plants known as the Compact Series. The capacity of this innovative series lies between 50 and 80 t/h.

New series of mobile mixing plants: the ultimate in compact size

2008 is a jubilee year for Ciber. The company has been in business for half a century, ever since the pioneering days of Brazil’s economic upswing with its dramatic expansion in infra-structure. For the past 12 years, Ciber has represented the Wirtgen Group and its core brands in Latin America. Milestones in the company’s history:

1958: The first manufacturer of asphalt mixing plants in Brazil is founded.1967: Marketing is extended to include the Latin American markets.1987: Wirtgen participates in Ciber: the first cold milling machines are built

under licence locally.1996: Ciber joins the Wirtgen Group.2003: Modular counterflow hot mixing plants are introduced on the market.2005: Ciber builds Hamm vibratory compactors under licence.2006: Introduction of the Advanced Series of counterflow mixing plants.

50 years of Ciber machines for road construction in Latin America

<Inauguration of

“Reinhard Wirtgen Avenue” on the rede-signed factory site during the Marketing Meeting Latin Ameri-ca: Jürgen Wirtgen and Managing Director Walter Rauen.

cians. They also show them how to service

their machines properly and provide useful

tips for productive and economical operation

of the machines so that the machines’ life

cycle is extended overall. Derli Macagnam,

Ciber Service Manager, is proud of the new

facilities: “The new training centre offers cus-

tomers and dealers specific further training

for the entire Wirtgen Group range. We pro-

vide a good infrastructure with audiovisual

media and test facilities on which all func -

tions can be simulated. Our goal is to multiply

know-how on the Wirtgen Group products

and highlight the Group’s technological com-

petence. The ultimate goal is to strengthen cus-

tomers’ confidence in the brands and boost

their loyalty.”

monitoring the process control and electron-

ics, as well as a simulator for the driver’s cab

of a Hamm vibratory compactor and ErgoPlus

operator panels from Vögele. Four specialized

instructors pass their concentrated know-how

on to the machine operators or service techni-

Ciber has opened its own training centre on

the factory site: seminar rooms and a techni-

cal centre with Wirtgen Group machine simu-

lators have been installed on an area of rough-

ly 300 m². Among other things, these include

the operator panels of the mixing plants for

Enthusiastic: Ciber dealers from Brazil and Latin America during their first tour of the new training centre.

Derli Macagnam, Ciber Service Manager

New training centre for more success on site

www

For further details on training courses go to: www.ciber.com.br

8

the milling operation, practical memory func-

tions, two control loops, and a robust and

clearly structured display that indicates up to

three different sensor values.

In combination with the WIDRIVE ma-

chine control system, the advantages offered

by the automatic levelling system from

Wirtgen have an even more positive effect: If

the machine operator sets the LEVEL PRO

system to automatic mode when lowering the

milling drum into position, communication

with the central WIDRIVE machine control

system is established, and the relevant proc-

esses for milling are initiated without the op-

erator having to regulate additional functions

like, for instance, the diesel engine speed or

water system.

OUR HEADQUARTERS

Smart co-pilot in the passenger seat Intelligent WIDRIVE machine control system makes milling an easy job

With the innovative WIDRIVE system,

Wirtgen has launched an entirely coherent

machine control system for any working sit-

uation in day-to-day operation on site. The

scope of performance that WIDRIVE offers

has been fully implemented for the first time

in the new W 150 large milling machine.

Previously independent machine control

functions are now intelligently linked by the

WI DRIVE system, which significantly sim-

plifies the operation of the machine.

“As part of extensive field trials, numerous

requirements and requests from experienced

milling machine operators have been incorpo-

rated in the development of the system. That

was the only way for us to create a control

tool that would be in line with practical re-

quirements and a real revolution in terms of

user friendliness,” explains Chris tian Berning,

Applications Engineer in charge at Wirtgen.

The engineering tasks right from the start

were to support the machine operator in his

everyday work while achieving maximum

performance at the same time. Both goals have

been achieved. “The control software per-

forms absolutely reliably, and we’ve been able

to automate a great deal of functions so that

the driver can now achieve optimum work re-

sults with considerably less manual interven-

tion,” adds Harald Kröll, the programmer in

charge of the WIDRIVE system. WIDRIVE

links and centrally controls the machine’s ma-

jor functions – diesel engine, travel drive, mill-

ing drum drive, conveyor drive, water system,

4-fold full-floating height adjustment system,

as well as the LEVEL PRO levelling system.

Numerous manual interventions by the ma-

chine operator that were previously necessary

for controlling the machine and for coordinat-

ing the individual work steps during milling

are now no longer required.

Benefit the environment, save fuelAs soon as the machine driver operates the

W 150’s drive lever, WIDRIVE is activated

and automatically controls both the diesel en-

gine speed and the travel drive. When com-

mencing milling and lowering the milling

drum, WIDRIVE automatically increases the

engine speed to maximum without the opera-

tor needing to initiate the command manually.

At the end of the milled cut, WIDRIVE reduc-

es the engine speed again independently. The

result is a considerable reduction of noise lev-

els, so that WIDRIVE also permits conven-

ient, automated driving of the machine in

transport mode.

Adjustment of the engine speed to any

given situation benefits the environment and

saves resources, while reducing fuel con-

sumption at the same time.

In addition to that, WIDRIVE engages the

load limit control of the machine control sys-

tem automatically during milling to always

keep the engine speed within the optimal

range. “Manual adjustment of the engine

speed via the relevant switch is, of course, al-

ways possible in case the engine needs to be

set to a certain speed for carrying out service

diagnostics,” explains Christian Berning.

Less manual intervention – focus on what’s really importantWIDRIVE also governs the milling drum drive

entirely independently: When engaging the

milling drum, the control system briefly re duces

the engine speed, engages the clutch and then

in creases the engine speed again to commence

the milling process at full power. The WI-

DRIVE system autonomously links the proc-

esses involved that the machine operator previ-

ously needed to initiate via the relevant switch-

es to ensure a smooth sequence of the various

work steps. “We are operating a W 150 with

WIDRIVE. Everyday operation on site has

shown that about half of the manual interven-

tions that were previously necessary are now no

longer required – so I can now turn my full at-

tention to the quality of my work,” says Jürgen

Dielefeld from German contractor GMS.

Useful automation prevents material lossesSwitching off the conveyor drive automatical-

ly during reverse travel of the milling machine

in transport mode is an exceptionally practical

feature in particular when moving from one

milled track to the next. The operator reverses

the machine, and the conveyor drive is stopped

immediately. WIDRIVE governs this function

fully automatically. In that way, the cold mill-

ing machine will not spill any milled material

that would need to be removed from the

milled cut later.

Reduced water consumptionIn order to improve logistics on site and save

costs at the same time, an economically effi-

cient water management is a “must” today in

all cold milling projects. When in milling

mode, the water system is automatically

switched on by the WIDRIVE system, and is

also switched off again automatically as

soon as milling stops. Positive effect: Water

consumption is reduced, and the operator has

saved two manual commands once again.

Fully balanced – thanks to the 4-fold full-floating systemThe new W 150 is supplied with an innovation

as a standard feature – the 4-fold full-floating

and height adjustment system. The 4-fold full-

floating system makes sure automatically that

the machine always aligns parallel to the sur-

face of the road pavement – both during the

milling operation and in transport mode.

“The novel WIDRIVE system combined

with the 4-fold full-floating and height adjust-

ment system is a genuine revolution in the

large milling machine class,” says Wirt gen

Product Manager Bernd Holl. In practical ap-

plication, it means that levelling of the ma-

chine no longer needs to be initiated manually

by the machine driver. The WIDRIVE system

registers independently that an adjustment of,

for instance, the rear track units is necessary to

align the machine parallel to the road surface.

This feature makes operation of the machine

even more convenient.

Matchless combination: LEVEL PRO and WIDRIVEThe W 150 large milling machine can op-

tionally also be equipped with the proprietary

LEVEL PRO levelling system developed by

Wirtgen. Its advantages are well-known: sen-

sors that can be selected individually during

“We from Sales would like to say thank you to our colleagues in Engineering who, with the WIDRIVE system, have succeeded in presenting a truly practice-based and cus-tomer-oriented innovation. WIDRIVE has greatly simplified operation of the machine: Operators working with the machines sup-plied with the WIDRIVE system so far had nothing but praise for the new control tool. For customers, the WIDRIVE system is an asset because it permits environmentally friendly diesel consumption rates and im-proved daily production.”

Customer-oriented innovation

Christian Berning (r.), Applications Engineer at Wirtgen, and Harald Kröll, the programmer in charge, have developed the WIDRIVE system from an idea to production maturity within just one year.

Flexible for a variety of applications – the W 150 offers three different working widths: Users can choose between milling drum units of 1.20 m, 1.30 m and 1.50 m working width. Asphalt packages can be removed at depths of up to 32 cm.

As a test operator, Jürgen Dielefeld from Ger-man contractor GMS played a part in the de-velopment of the WIDRIVE system. He places great confidence in the advantages offered by the intelligent machine control system also in everyday operation on site.

>The W 150 painted in the colours of the US

national flag was an at-traction with the public

at ConExpo in Las Vegas and was sold to

a customer from Montana straight from

the exhibition stand. Bernd Holl, Product

Manager Cold Milling, presented customers the new large milling

machine with the intel-ligent WIDRIVE ma-

chine control system.

Bernd Holl, Product Manager Cold Milling at Wirtgen GmbH

9

A Super 1803-2 paver played a key role

in the construction of present-day “Noah’s

Ark” on the Norwegian island of Spits-

bergen. The “Svalbard Global Seed Vault”

has been built over the past few months in

the permanently frozen soil of the Arctic

archipelago – the project instigated by the

Global Crop Diversity Trust is a seedbank

for plant seeds serving to preserve the bio-

diversity on the planet.

As part of the project, Scandinavian con-

tractor Lemminkäinen paved a special soft as-

phalt material on an area covering 1,600 m².

The job posed a particular challenge, as the

soft asphalt was to retain its material proper-

ties in spite of a steady temperature of minus

18°C.

120 m tunnel in permafrost soilConstruction machines dominated the scene

in Spitsbergen, which is part of the Svalbard

Archipelago, in summer 2007. Just 800 kilo-

metres from the North Pole and close to the

small town of Longyearbyen, a 120 m long

tunnel was constructed underneath layers of

ice and sandstone several metres thick. The

tunnel leads to three vaults in which plant

seeds from all parts of the world are stored

since February 2008.

Soft asphalt for tough conditionsLemminkäinen, the Norwegian based subsid-

iary of one of Scandinavia’s largest building

contractors, paved asphalt in the access tunnel

to the seedbank and in the storage vaults them-

selves. The floor in the access tunnel and stor-

age vaults consists of a 4 cm layer of soft as-

phalt type MA 11. This special asphalt mix is

perfectly suited to the arctic climate. At the

time of paving, the ambient temperature was

around six degrees – which is a typical mid-

summer temperature for the Svalbard region.

Paving of the 6 m wide path in the tunnel was

carried out in permafrost conditions and in

two adjacent passes of 3 m width each using

an extending screed AB 500 TV. Logistic con-

straints had necessitated the small paving

width: The paver was fed via a wheel loader,

for insufficient headroom inside the tunnel

would not allow trucks to tip the material into

the paver’s receiving hopper. Even though the

resulting paving performance was lower than

usual, continuous paving was ensured.

Manoeuvrability is an assetManoeuvring in the tunnel tube and in the

vaults of 300 m² size each required both oper-

ator skills and an exceptionally manoeuvrable

machine. Here, the Super 1803-2 paver ena-

bled the Lemminkäinen crew to make full use

of its application benefits. “The small outside

turning radius of just 6.5 m and the paver’s de-

sign with no protruding elements, as well as

the good view over all corners of the machine

from the operator’s platform made work a lot

easier for the paving crew,” explains Gunnar

Unstad, head of the 7 strong paving crew.

Levelling made simple Levelling was taken care of by the Niveltronic

Plus system in combination with a sonic grade

sensor. The previously produced subgrade

level served as a reference for the paving

thickness. Non-contact measuring and the

sonic grade sensor’s flexible installation at the

telescoping arm enabled it to remain installed

when repositioning the paver, and made sure

that it would not impede the paver’s move-

ments during manoeuvring.

Due to the highly unusual logistic condi-

tions, fast operational availability was a key

factor of success in the entire project.

This was ensured not least by the practical

quick-setup feature, which enables the actual

value to be defined as target value and saved.

The machine was thus ready for operation

again immediately after repositioning or ma-

noeuvring inside the tunnel.

Operation made easy by ErgoPlusOperation of the paver was additionally sim-

plified by the ErgoPlus control panels with

self-explanatory symbols and logically struc-

tured user prompting. A good view of the but-

tons and displays despite the problematical

lighting conditions inside the tunnel was of

particular importance – and was no problem

at all owing to the backlit display of the

ErgoPlus panels.

Effective soundproofing Scandinavian countries have placed particular

importance on low noise emissions for a long

time. The Super 1803-2 scored top marks in

this regard when paving in the tunnel, for

Vögele’s engineers have significantly reduced

the operator’s exposure to noise by means of

an excellent soundproofing and a low-noise

engine. The development of noise is reduced

even further when operating the paver in ECO

mode, so that the paving gang was not ex-

posed to excessive noise during the paving

operation.

Paving gang is delighted with the Super paver Gunnar Unstad was highly satisfied with the

reliability of the Super 1803-2: “We’re happy

that all went extremely well. A breakdown of

the machine would have incurred tremendous

consequential costs because of the effort in lo-

gistics involved. But we fully rely on the qual-

ity of the Vögele pavers and have never been

disappointed yet.”

Wheeled Vögele paver stands the test at the North PoleSuper 1803-2 paves the way for modern “Noah’s Ark”

TECHNOLOGY IN OPERATION

Logistics – a challengeIn spite of the difficult conditions with re-gard to feeding, Lemminkäinen needed no more than 12 hours for paving the 190 tons of mix. Preparation of the entire operation, on the other hand, had been much more time-consuming. As there are neither con-struction machines nor construction materi-als or mixing plants on the island of Spits-bergen, which lies approximately 1,200 km off the European mainland, all machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, spare parts and wearing parts needed to be shipped from the mainland in advance – from the Norwegian port of Tromsø to Spits-bergen by ship. Modern cargo ships cover the distance in about 60 to 65 hours. The soft asphalt mix was transported to the job site by the same route, crossing the Norwe-gian Sea in special containers. Their excel-lent insulation made sure that the mix, which had been 130 °C hot when leaving the mixing plant, arrived in Spitsbergen at a temperature of between 100 °C and 110 °C. After unloading from the ship, the mix was loaded on trucks and, once on the job site, fed to the paver via a wheel loader.

Seedbank for plant seeds in SvalbardThe intention of the Global Crop Diversity Trust in establishing the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is to store the seeds of as many domesticated plants as possible. It aims at preserving those

species which might otherwise be in danger of becoming extinct due to natural disasters (such as pest contamination or climate change) or other incidents.

<The futuristically designed entry is the only part of the Global Seed Vault for plant seeds that rises above the Arctic ice.

Come a long way to the job site: After a journey of 1,200 km by ship, the Super 1803-2 wheeled paver has been driven from the port to the job location and is now waiting for clearance to drive into the tunnel.

Despite the low headroom inside the tunnel, the Super 1803-2’s GRP canopy didn’t have to be removed but was folded down to half its size during paving without impeding the all-round view of the paver operator.

Fitted with Xenon working lights, the Super 1803-2 ensured optimum illumination of the job site inside the tunnel.

Sorted and labelled with meticulous care, and stored in special sealed containers, the seeds can retain their capacity of germination for sev-eral decades.

Since February 2008, the tunnel and the storage vaults are at a temperature of minus 18°C – just the right climate for their special soft asphalt flooring.

wwwFor detailed information, visit www.seedvault.no

10

Traffic volumes on motorways around

the globe have been increasing steadily

over the years – and so have noise emis-

sions. At the same time, new residential ar-

e as are built ever closer to arterial roads

and motorways. It is therefore not surpris-

ing that there is an increasing interest in

“quiet” road pavements that minimize roll-

ing noises even at high driving speeds.

Porous asphalt is one approach to reducing

the noise levels caused by traffic. In a refer-

ence project on the German A61 motorway, as

many as five tandem rollers from Hamm’s DV

series ensured the correct compaction of these

special asphalt mixes.

Comparing four types of asphaltStraßen.NRW is a state-owned enterprise

which is responsible for planning, building

and operating the motorways in North Rhine-

Westphalia, the most heavily populated

German state. Under the direction of this au-

thority, four types of porous asphalt in differ-

ent compositions were chosen for the six-kil-

ometre long trial section: a reference mix was

paved on the first stretch of 1,500 m in length.

On the following two sections of 1.5 km each,

two different types of asphalt with new, rub-

ber-modified binding agents were applied us-

ing granulated rubber material from scrap

tyres. The pavement on the remaining 1.5 kil-

ometres of the test section was produced from

porous asphalt with an adhesion additive.

Whilst the paving gang didn’t notice any dif-

ferences when paving the four mixes using a

Vögele Super 2100-2 paver, they became quite

obvious during compaction. For one type of

asphalt, for instance, the number of roller

passes needed to be increased.

Incidentally, the surface course was paved

at a layer thickness of 4.5 cm for all four types

of asphalt mix, which is one centimetre more

than is typical of porous asphalt surfaces.

Research had shown that thicker layers are ca-

pable of reducing noise levels even better.

Material properties require more rollersPorous asphalt design involves a number of

important requirements in terms of compac-

tion. For one, the void content – 22 percent af-

ter final compaction had been specified for the

test section – needs to be adhered to with max-

imum accuracy, because it is a material prop-

erty that is vital for the reduction of noise lev-

els. That is why excess compaction needs to

be avoided at all costs. The rollers therefore

applied static compaction, and the screed in

the Vögele paver was operated at the lowest

possible vibrating power.

Temperature is yet another important as-

pect: porous asphalt cools down very quickly

after paving due to its high void content. In

addition, road markings were rolled into the

warm asphalt on the A61 test section immedi-

ately after paving, which required additional

machine capacity. Static compaction, faster

cooling of the asphalt and the simultaneous

application of road markings all led to a larg-

er number of rollers being needed than with

the paving of other types of asphalt.

DV series guarantees safety When many rollers are operating in confined

conditions, as was the case on the A61, DV

rollers offer a tremendous increase in safety.

Their driving and steering system “HI-DRIVE”

makes sure that the driver’s seat rotates auto-

matically when reversing the roller in auto-

matic mode, thus ensuring that the driver is

always seated in the direction of travel. This

feature is gentle on the driver’s back, extreme-

ly comfortable – and extremely safe!

First-class service The paving gang from contractor Matthäi –

headquartered in the town of Verden in north-

ern Germany – was highly satisfied with the

Vögele and Hamm machines. The asphalt sur-

face is of excellent quality, paved by superior

machinery, and the service offered is first-

class. Foreman Jörg Gattkowski puts it like

that: “Our contact partners at Wirtgen Ham-

burg know their products and field require-

ments from the inside out. With their exten-

sive know-how, they have supported us quick-

ly, in a friendly way and with much expertise.

That enables my asphalting gang to operate

the paver from Vögele and the rollers from

Hamm with economic efficiency.”

Annual check measurements Traffic is moving again on the A61 motorway.

It is expected that all four asphalt mixes will

reduce the noise emissions to a much greater

extent than other types of porous asphalt: ex-

perts estimate the initial reduction to be be-

tween eight to ten decibels, which equals a de-

crease by fifty percent of the felt noise volume

when compared to the previous pavement.

Straßen.NRW will carry out regular checks

over the next 10 to 15 years to assess the pave-

ments’ noise levels and functional properties.

These analyses will show which one of the

mixes will achieve the best results in the long

term, and will make a valuable contribution

towards making heavily trafficked motorways

less noisy and therefore more environmental-

ly compatible.

TECHNOLOGY IN OPERATION

Quiet as a whisper thanks to porous asphalt DV rollers from Hamm compact trial section of porous asphalt

<An impressive fleet of DV 90 rollers from Hamm ensured perfect compaction of the porous asphalt mix. The fully glazed pano-ramic cabin of the DV rollers can be moved to either side, offering the roller drivers an excellent view of the roller drums and drum edge.

“As an applications adviser, I’ve been told time and again by roller drivers on countless job sites how happy they are with the advan-tages offered by the automatic seat turning feature when reversing with the DV rollers. They realize the tremendous benefits offered by this user-friendly system and don’t want to do without it any more. This was especially important in terms of job site safety when compacting the porous asphalt on the A61 motorway. For in addition to the many com-paction machines, the gang placing the road markings was working on the pavement at the same time.”

Ralf Schröder, Applications Adviser at Hamm AG

Ergonomic and safe: seat rotation with HI-DRIVE

A quick glance at the drivers’ seating position in the two cabs shows that each of the rollers is driving in a different direction. Neverthe-less, both drivers are sitting in a relaxed and comfortable posture. With the automatically rotating driver’s seat, Hamm offers roller driv-ers an ergonomically optimized and comfort-able workplace. In addition, this feature sig-nificantly increases the safety on any job site.

At the request of Straßen.NRW, the Super 2100-2 paver from Vögele was operated with a 12 m wide paving screed. The technical properties of porous asphalt require the material to be paved seamlessly across the full carriageway width to ensure optimum water drainage.

The SB 250 paving screed was set up to a fixed working width of 10.50 m for this operation. The 0.75 m wide extension elements on both sides give the paver the flexibility it needs for paving tapered junctions or tie-ins to other road pavements.

Maximum screed width for maximum quality

Porous asphalts reduce the rolling noise and ensure good drainage of the road pavement. They have a very high percentage of coarse aggregate that is bound by highly viscous bitumen with long molecular chains. Large voids are thus produced which absorb the noise generated by the tyres when rolling on the road surface. These voids ensure improved drainage of water, and largely reduce aquaplaning, reflections on the pavement surface when wet, and wheel spray.Unfortunately, abrasion from tyres and the pavement, as well as other contaminations also accumulate in the large void structures, so that the pavement will lose part of its noise-reduc-ing properties over the course of its lifespan.

<All types of porous asphalt used in this reference project have a particle size of 0/8. The void con-tent after final compaction is specified to be at least 22 percent at the drill core.

What is porous asphalt?

www

For additional information on porous asphalt, visit www.strassen.nrw.de/plan_bau/bautechnik/opa.html

11

In the southwest of Ireland, the most

powerful track-mounted mobile crushing

and processing plant in all of Europe was

put into service in November 2007. Mobile

crushing and screening equipment made

by Kleemann are producing a large varie-

ty of different final aggregate fractions at

a total feed capacity of more than 500 tons

per hour.

Latteragh Quarry is located in County

Tipperary and was reopened by Kelly’s of

Fantane in 2007, after the company obtained

an approval to expand that will now permit a

remaining lifespan for the quarry of around

40 years.

Complex designChoosing the equipment for and determi n ing

the configuration of a mobile gravel plant is

an extremely complex process that takes time.

“We have worked very closely with the spe-

cialists from Kleemann and experienced rep-

resentatives from Kleemann dealer McHale,

and have profited tremendously from their

know-how,” explains Martin Flynn, Opera-

tions Manager at Kelly’s of Fantane.

“Within a period of just eight months af-

ter receiving the order, we built the large

units in our Kleemann plant in Göppingen,

shipped them to Ireland, set them up on the

site, and finally put them into service,” says

Peter Gerny, Project Manager in charge at

Kleemann, expanding on the project’s devel-

opment history until putting into service. The

mobile plant combination produces seven

final aggregate fractions today in a three-

stage crushing operation, including five high-

quality aggregate products that fully comply

with the quality requirements of both the as-

phalt and concrete industry.

Compliant greywackeThe material processed by the Kleemann

crushers is a compliant but hard greywacke.

The rock in the Latteragh deposit has a den-

sity of up to 2.7 tons per cubic metre. “The

final aggregate fractions we produce are used

mainly in our own asphalt plant, and we also

supply them to the company’s own concrete

plant. That’s convenient because our plants

are located just 3 miles away from the quar-

ry,” explains Willie Kelly who founded

Kelly’s of Fantane in the 1950s together with

his brothers John, PJ and Anthony. 60 percent

of the concrete produced in the plant is used

for the production of up to 40,000 concrete

blocks – per day. “The 0–40 mm pre-screen

material, as well as a high-quality 0–20 mm

aggregate fraction are sold to the construction

industry as a mineral aggregate mixture.

Because of the high productivity of the mo-

bile gravel plant, we are planning to set up a

second asphalt plant in the same location,”

says Kelly.

Kelly’s of Fantane is familiar with

Kleemann crushers and screening plants, for

the company purchased an MC 122 Z and

MS 18 in 2003. “Our experience with Klee-

mann products has always been positive,”

says Martin Flynn, explaining the company’s

decision to purchase crushing and screening

equipment from Kleemann. “The units have

easily coped with several thousand operating

hours in extremely tough conditions and,

what’s more, the crushers have an impressive

performance capacity.”

Productive operationThe bulk material quarried by blasting is de-

livered into the Mobicat 140 Z jaw crusher

from Kleemann by an 80-ton excavator.

Contaminations are removed on the large

double-deck pre-screen. After primary crush-

ing in the Mobicat 140 Z jaw crusher, the

greywacke has a grain size of between 0 and

250 mm. Discharge conveyors transport the

material to the first of two mobile secondary

crushers type Mobicone 13 S, where the

grain size 0 to 20 mm is screened and then

stockpiled prior to the secondary crushing

oper ation.

The remaining material with grain sizes

of 20 mm or more produced by the first

KH 400 cone crusher at a closed side setting

of 30 mm is then processed to chipping size

in the second Mobicone 13 S. Material of 14

to 20 mm grain size is stockpiled by this ma-

chine.

In the fourth plant of the process chain –

a Mobiscreen 20 D triple-deck screening ma-

chine – the entire material of grain size 0 to

14 mm is screened to four final aggregate

fractions of 0 to 5 mm, 5 to 8 mm, 8 to 12

mm, and 12 to 14 mm. These grain fractions

are used as aggregate for asphalt and con-

crete production.

“The plant in Ireland is impressive proof

of how the advantages of track-mounted mo-

bile designs can be utilized also in complex

applications requiring high performance ca-

pacity,” says Markus Wörner, Sales Director

at Kleemann GmbH, commending the tech-

nologies made by Kleemann and the know-

how of the Kleemann staff.

Europe’s most powerful gravel plant goes mobileProcessing greywacke in County Tipperary, Ireland

TECHNOLOGY IN OPERATION

Peter Gerny, the Project Manager in charge at Kleemann, and Willie Kelly, the founder of Kelly’s of Fantane, are highly satisfied with the capacity of the mobile gravel plant in Latteragh Quarry.

“A major advantage of mobile crushers is their flexibility in terms of moving from one job location to the next. They are suitable for transport, but can also cover short dis-tances within the boundaries of their oper-ating site, whether in a quarry or on the job site, on their own crawler tracks. When operating in quarries, they usually follow the quarry face, processing the stone directly on site.”

Markus Wörner, Sales Director at Kleemann GmbH

Advantages of mobile crushers

The bulk material quarried by blasting is delivered into the Mobicat 140 Z jaw crusher from Kleemann by an 80-ton excavator.

Facts and figuresOperating site: Latteragh Quarry in County Tipperary, IrelandFeed material: greywackeFeed capacity: 500 t/h Final aggregate fractions: 0 to 5 mm, 5 to 8 mm, 8 to 12 mm, 12 to 14 mm, 14 to 20 mmMachines used: Kleemann• Mobicat 140 Z jaw crusher• two Mobicone 13 S mobile secondary

crush ing plants (with cone crushers type KH 400)

• Mobiscreen 20 D mobile screening unit

The mobile crushers and screening units were assembled in the Kleemann plant to undergo thorough, in-depth testing, and were then disassembled again for shipment to Ireland. The giants weigh up to 135 tons, making them “heavy loads” in the true sense of the word.

Seven different final aggregate fractions are produced in a three-stage crushing operation, five of them complying with the quality requirements for asphalt and concrete production.

Kelly’s of Fantane – successful also in road construction“Leave no stone unturned” seems to be the core philosophy of Kelly’s of Fantane, for the Irish family business not only supplies sand and gravel produced in the company’s own quarries but is a producer of asphalt and concrete as well. It is therefore not surprising that road con-struction is yet another mainstay activity of the company, which employs a staff of 154.

“Our asphalt division continues to use Hamm rollers and Vögele pavers, as we have done so for many years. It‘s no coincidence that we use Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann in our day-to day operations – machines that enable us to finish projects on budget and within tight dead-lines. It‘s great to see all these brands now united under the Wirtgen umbrella,” explains Willie Kelly.

www

To learn more about Kelly’s of Fantane, visit www.kellysoffantane.ie

12

WIRTGEN GROUP MACHINES IN ACTION

The world’s top drivers went head to

head in London on 16 December 2007 to

decide who would be the champion at the

Race of Champions. Machinery from the

three German brands of the Wirtgen

Group played a key role in the success of

the top-class race: The spectacular motor

sport event was staged at the new Wembley

Stadium.

Local contractor FM Conway took a team

of Vögele pavers, Hamm rollers and Wirtgen

milling machines to the starting grid. Conway,

a customer of sales and service company

Wirtgen Limited, had won the prestigious

contract to overlay the pitch with an asphalt

pavement for the motor racing track. Two

cold milling machines milled off the material

right after the race: the famous football sta-

dium was restored to its original condition.

Ekström beats SchumacherThe event organizer had invited drivers from

Formula 1, rally racing, American NASCAR,

Le Mans 24 hours and touring cars, including

Mattias Ekström, seven times Formula 1 world

champion Michael Schumacher and current

Formula 1 drivers David Coulthard, Jenson

Button, Heikki Kovalainen and Sebastian Vet-

tel. Mattias Ekström beat Michael Schumacher

in the best of an exciting three-heat final. The

champion from Sweden took the crown for

the second year running.

A prestigious job for the race track experts Working for the organizers and co-founders of

the race, Fredrik Johnsson and Michèle

Mouton, Conway built the approximately

1 km long twin parallel-lane asphalt racing

track for the drivers to race side by side in

identical cars. A 40 strong team and their fleet

of Wirtgen Group machines worked round the

clock for six days prior to handing the track

over on 30 November 2007 for final prepara-

tions for the race.

Preparation of the track required a great

deal of care. Conway initially placed 8,500

alu minium protection plates over the Wem-

bley turf along the line of the twin track, to-

gether with 400 m of standard motorway bar-

rier along the corners of the track. The team

then followed on placing about 2,400 t of re-

cycled milled material on the plates as a base

layer for each of the two tracks, which was

compacted by two Hamm HD 90 and

DV 90 VV rollers assisted by a Hamm tan-

dem vibratory roller of the new Compact

Line, a HD 14 VV.

The base layer was then overlaid with

1,140 tons of asphalt binder course and the

final surface course using a pair of Vögele

1803-1 wheeled pavers: “Our client wanted a

smooth running surface that drove well, but

didn’t have too much grip,” says Con way Sur-

facing Director Nick Burman. “We used our

high-quality Vögele pavers and Hamm rollers

that are part of our fleet and which we nor-

mally use in the London area on congested

and tight roads where we need versatile and

manoeuvrable plant that is also capable of

high volume production.”

Large milling machines on the fast laneAfter the race, Conway returned to Wembley

very early in the morning of 17 December. A

team of 16 worked round the clock for three

days this time to remove the 4,400 tons of as-

phalt again prior to handing the pitch back to

the Wembley Stadium grounds men in top

condition.

The key equipment consisted of two cold

milling machines, a W 2000 and W 2100, both

of which loaded into a 30 strong fleet of 20-

ton capacity trucks. Both milling machines

were operating at full speed, taking out in one

pass the two binder layers, the wearing course

and the base layer. The layer thicknesses var-

ied between 11 cm up to a maximum of 30 cm.

Each of the high-performance milling ma-

chines was able to load a 20-ton truck in about

3 minutes.

As a matter of the company’s policy –

Conway won the “Legacy Award for Sus -

tainability” last year – the 4,400 tons of mil-

led material were recycled and then reused in

the company’s other contracts.

“Our W 2000 and W 2100 are high-pro-

duction machines and proved ideal for the

Wembley contract,” adds Nick Burman. “We

have several Wirtgen milling machines that

we mainly use for big projects in London

where we need to take out and put material

back down in the same shift to get the road

open for traffic the following morning.”

“There’s nothing to beat Wirtgen milling

machines, and my W 2000 is a great machine

and very reliable for the type of work we do,”

says W 2000 operator Dave Monk. “It has a

very good steering lock and is extremely ma-

noeuvrable, so that it can get into some very

tight places.”

Key to success“The job has gone extremely well,” says Conway Project Manager Clive Carter.

“The key to success was preplanning and the equipment we used. We could take out all the material in one pass. Our sweepers then came in and cleaned off the small re-mainder from the aluminium plates prior to lifting them out and handing the pitch back to the grounds men.”

< Two large milling machi-nes went at it full throttle: Directly after the race, a W 2000 and a W 2100 removed 4,400 tons of asphalt again on three successive days.

Maximum thrill at the “Race of Champions” Wirtgen Group machines build the perfect race track in Europe’s second-largest stadium

< The spacious panoramic cabin of Hamm’s tandem roller with all-wheel steering offered the driver a free view over the drum.

< A slight rise with a mini-bridge were among the special features of the track at Wembley Stadium, which seats 90,000.

< Vögele’s Super 1803-1 paver: utmost precision and evenness, even in the curves.

All went well: Conway Project Manager Clive Carter stayed on top of things and concluded the prestigious contract on schedule.

Machine operator Ian Broughton was highly satisfied with the performance of his machine. “The W 2100 is a very reliable machine. I’ve been operating it for 18 months and it’s very versatile – with formidable daily production rates. The 700 hp engine provides plenty of power so it doesn’t ever struggle.”

13

TECHNOLOGY IN OPERATION

Maximum surface evenness – that’s

one of the most important properties a

good racing circuit must have. An excel-

lent example of this is the world-renowned

motor racing circuit in the Czech city of

Brno, where both David Coulthard and

Valentino Rossi set record times.

Because the pavement no longer fulfilled

the high demands of the world’s best race

drivers in terms of quality, a cold recycler and

road pavers from the Wirtgen Group were at

the starting grid in March and April 2008 to

rehabilitate the difficult circuit in near-record

time.

Racing the track with nearly 1,200 hpTop speed was a must, because bad weather

had prevented the operation from beginning

until March. The first racing event had been

scheduled for mid May – leaving just six

weeks for rehabilitation of the 15 m wide and

5.4 km long track. Construction time was

therefore an important aspect that influenced

the decision in favour of using a WR 4200

cold recycler. “Cold recycling in-situ is often

the fastest and most economically efficient

method to produce a new base layer. What’s

more, it offers flexibility in terms of designing

the overlay which can then be fully adapted to

the road’s traffic load,” says Thomas Krause,

Site Manager at German contractor Kutter

Spezialstraßenbau GmbH, explaining the rea-

sons behind the decision to use cold recy-

cling.

Prior to the cold recycling train commenc-

ing work, several large milling machines from

Wirtgen had removed the top layer of the old

pavement at a depth of 10 cm. In a second

operation, the remaining asphalt package was

granulated and levelled down to a depth of

15 cm. Powered by a total of 1,180 hp, the

brand-new WR 4200 then gave an impressive

demonstration of its performance capacity.

Working at widths varying between 3.80 m

and 4.10, the cold recycler needed four laps to

mix bitumen emulsion, water and pre-spread

cement into the previously milled asphalt

pack age. Mix designs had been carried out

prior to recycling to determine the weight per-

centages of the different binding agents. Site

Manager Krause is happy to have “such a

tremendously powerful machine” in the

WR 4200, enabling him and his team to hand

the new base layer – totalling 80,000 m², after

all – over to the asphalt paving gang after just

15 days.

Vögele pavers ensure perfect surface evennessUnlike the cold recycler, the Vögele pavers –

one Super 1800-2, one Super 2100 and one

Super 1900 – were allowed just two laps

around the racing circuit, which is situated in

a breathtaking landscape. Equipped with

AB 600-TP2 high-compaction screeds by con-

tractor Kirchhoff from Leipzig, they placed a

4 cm surface course on top of a 6 cm binder

course. High compaction was also used when

paving the surface course, though the pressure

bars were operated at reduced pressure. This

left a maximum time frame for compaction in

spite of the low ambient temperatures.

As with all racing circuits, surface even-

ness of the track pavement was of top priority

also on the Brno race track. The requirements

placed on compaction were typical for motor

racing but extremely high compared to stand-

ard road construction: The maximum allowed

tolerance was 5 mm over a length of 4 m for

the binder course. The specified high degree

of precision was achieved by the two pavers

working on the left and right, which scanned

reference wires and were fitted with grade

sensors. The paver working in the middle

used sonic sensors for scanning the newly

paved layer. The tracked pavers successfully

used the highly accurate Niveltronic system

for paving the surface course, the specifica-

tions of which were even stricter.

The Super pavers produced the top-quality

pavement in near-record time of just 7 days

for the binder course and additional 4 days for

the surface course, making sure that rehabili-

tation of the racing circuit was completed in

time for the new racing season.

Near-record performance in race track rehabilitation Cold recycler and asphalt pavers rehabilitate legendary racing circuit in the Czech city of Brno

The three tracked pavers from Vögele were set to paving widths of 5 m and 5.20 m respectively when taken to the starting grid on the Brno racing circuit. The track has a gradient of more than 7.5 % on its steepest section of around one km in length. That’s where the powerful engines and track drives gave impressive proof of their performance capacity.

Perfect evenness over 5.4 km: Vögele’s Nivel-tronic system made sure that the extremely low tolerance of maximum 3 mm over a length of 4 m was adhered to when paving the sur-face course.

“On the Grand Prix circuit in the Czech Repub-lic, the WR 4200 cold recycler gave impres-sive proof yet again that the machine itself, as well as the cold recycling technology are match -

less in terms of quality, economic efficiency and economy of time. As in motor racing, suc-cess in road construction is, of course, always backed by a professional team of machine op-erators, applications specialists and engineers who take the WR 4200 to the starting grid and lead it to victory. A major aspect of the entire process is applications consulting, which we offer to support our customers a round the globe. From the North Cape to Australia, we collaborate with those in charge to work out technically and economically suitable con-cepts for the rehabilitation of roads.”

Martin Diekmann, Product Manager Cold Recycling at Wirtgen GmbH

Applications consulting – Experts from the Wirtgen Group provide on-site support

“In Brno, my colleagues and I assisted the op-erating crew in the first operation of the new cold recycler. We also carried out the first

maintenance together with the customer’s team after the first 50 operating hours. One of our main jobs on sites like this is, of course, familiarizing the customer with the operation and maintenance of the machine. In addition to that, however, we pass on a great deal of application-related know-how to the machine operators – knowledge that we have gained in the past decades in cold recycling projects around the globe.”

Michael Hammerer, service engineer at Wirtgen GmbH special-izing in cold recycling

“Excellent surface evenness is always a crucial issue on race tracks. That’s when Vögele’s au-

tomatic levelling system and high-compaction screeds demonstrate their tremendous per-formance capacity. With our paving screeds, customers can control and adjust the com-paction systems separately and independent-ly. Maximum evenness and quality of the pave-ment are achieved by adjusting the tamper correctly and by setting the pressure at the pressure bars to match both the paving speed and layer thickness.”

André Felchner, Head of Applications Technology at Joseph Vögele AG

<Start-to-finish victory for the WR 4200: After just four laps, the cold recycling train has pro-duced a new, durable base layer from the granulated pavement material across the full pavement width. Trans-verse and longitudinal evenness were moni-tored closely during the paving operation, thus laying the foundations for subsequent paving of the binder and sur-face course layers.

The Brno race track – which is also called the Masaryk Circuit – looks back on a histo-ry of more than 70 years. The historical race track was a natural circuit leading from Brno to Prague over a distance of 29.1 km. The new race track situated west of the city of Brno, which is traditionally used mainly for motorcycle racing, was opened in 1986. The attractive track layout covers a total distance of 5.403 kilometres with six left-hand and eight right-hand corners.

Facts and figures on the Brno race track

With the Cold Recycling Manual, Wirtgen provides a comprehensive compendium on everything to do with the economically effi-cient and environmentally friendly rehabili-tation method. The book describes the methods and options of cold recycling, methods for analysing existing pavement

structures, as well as procedures for select-ing suitable binding agents. The authors have also included many sug-gestions for practical implemen-tation.

Pure know-how Wirtgen Cold Recycling Manual

www

The manual is available for down-load on the Wirtgen GmbH web-site: www.wirtgen.de/coldrecy-clingmanual

14

OUR SYSTEM PARTNERS

Breitenberger summarizes his positive experi-

ence: “Our service team has been specially

trained for the Streumaster products and has

so far been able to manage every job in the

Streumaster builds high-quality

spreaders exclusively for Wirtgen. These

machines for spreading lime and cement

optimally complement Wirtgen’s range

of soil stabilizers and cold recyclers. The

successful system partnership between

Wirtgen and Streumaster has now contin-

ued for over two years.

Walter Grüber, Product Manager for soil

stabilizers and cold recyclers, explains the

reasons for choosing Streumaster as system

partner: “As technological leader for soil sta-

bilization and cold recycling, we deliberately

chose Streumaster as our system partner.

Streumaster is the only genuine specialist for

such spreaders worldwide – and has 40 years

of experience in the market. No other manu-

facturer can offer our customers the same

product quality.”

One sequence: first spread, then stabilizeSoil stabilization with lime, cement or other

binders is an eco-friendly and cost-efficient

means of stabilizing and improving the soil.

The addition of binder extracts moisture from

the soil, improving its plasticity, compaction

and cohesiveness with immediate effect, thus

making it unnecessary to replace the soil and

landfill the excavated soil. The Streumaster

spreaders first spread the required amount

of binder onto the soil, then the materials

are homogeneously mixed by Wirtgen’s soil

stabilizers. Soil properties are additionally

optimized by subsequent compaction with

rollers.

These first-class spreaders for the agricul-

tural and construction industries have been

built in the South German town of Neumarkt-

Sankt Veit since 1967. The family-owned

company with a workforce of 35 men and

women is run by Didier Gutzwiller.

Customers love the complete solution

“Our system partnership with Streumaster

places us in the fortunate position of being

able to meet our customers’ requirements for

a complete solution with stabilization and

cold recycling without any compromises,” ex-

plains Walter Grüber. As confirmed by Erich

Breitenberger, Managing Director of Wirtgen

Augsburg, this offer is well received by the

customers: “The combination of Wirtgen soil

stabilizers and Streumaster spreaders is in

great demand among our customers. Since the

range of lime and cement spreaders from

Streumaster is highly developed, we can offer

our customers a tailormade solution for every

application, be it towed or self-propelled.”

Large product rangeThe latest new products in this successful part-

nership are the high-end spreaders SW 12 SC

and SW 16 SC with the characteristic “Cro-

codile” tractor unit. To ensure maximum reli-

ability even on difficult ground, the Streu-

master engineers have taken account of every

detail, no matter how small: the result is a self-

propelled user-friendly spreader with high

spreading performance.

With these new developments, the Streu-

master range now encompasses seven towed

or top-mounted spreaders.

One partner for everythingThe Streumaster product range is marketed

exclusively through the Wirtgen Group and

its 55 sales and service companies, as well as

more than 100 contractual dealers. As Streu-

master’s Managing Director Didier Gutzwiller

explains, the close cooperation with Wirtgen

also yields advantages for Streumaster: “We

naturally profit from the Wirtgen Group’s out-

standing worldwide marketing and sales struc-

tures. In this way, we can concentrate fully on

the production and further development of our

spreaders so that we can continue to meet with

Wirtgen’s high quality standards.”

On-site service for the local customers is

also provided directly through the Wirtgen

Group’s professional service network. Erich

field without difficulty. Besides which, the

Streumaster machines are extremely robust

and durable and hardly ever need to be re-

paired.”

Unbeatable combinationStrong partnership between Wirtgen and Streumaster ensures better service for the customer

A successful team: Didier Gutzwiller, Managing Director of Streumaster, and Walter Grüber, Product Manager at Wirtgen GmbH, promote their products in the subsidiaries and custom-ers’ firms.

Why did you choose the SW 16 MC spreader?

“The reasons were both technical and eco-nomic in nature. All on-site jobs can be com-pleted quickly with the SW 16 MC mounted on a carrier vehicle, as the binder can be me-tered with extreme precision even when driv-ing at high speed. The spreader can be oper-ated most conveniently via the on-board com-puter system in the driver’s cab. All operating states and spreader data are visualized on a large display allowing the driver to work ex-plicitly in accordance with a predetermined plan and without wasting time – that saves money.”

To what extent was the system partner-ship between Wirtgen and Streumaster decisive to your decision to buy?

“The partnership between the two companies was an important reason prompting my deci-sion. I am totally satisfied with the support and service provided by the Wirtgen Group. Wirtgen Macchine’s service technicians are on site quickly and know exactly what they are doing. I also particularly like the fact that I can contact a single, specific person at Wirtgen Macchine and clear everything nec-essary with him.”

Roberto Bramerini,proprietor of the company Bramerini Francesco & Figli Srl, Italy.

Customers’ opinion of Streumaster:

You have many years of experience with the Streumaster spreaders. What makes these machines so special?

“Streumaster is continuously improving its spreaders and also takes account of custom-ers’ wishes. With the SW 16 MC, for example, we can apply up to 50 kg binder per square metre in a single pass. Thanks to ‘Weigh-tronic’, the material to be spread can be me-tered extremely accurately, which makes cost calculation child’s play for us. Besides which, we can achieve the soil properties required by our customers with utmost precision and the greatest ease.”

How satisfied are you with the Wirtgen Group‘s customer service?

“The supply of spare parts through the Wirtgen sales and service companies – worldwide – is always quick and simple. If service is needed, well trained service technicians are immediately sent out and deal with the problems without delay.”

Uwe Büchele,Managing Director of Heber Terramix GmbH & Co. KG, Germany.

Roberto Bramerini (left), proprietor of the com-pany Bramerini Francesco & Figli Srl, with the Area Sales Manager of Wirtgen Macchine, Davide D’Onza, on a site in Grosseto, Italy, where a SW 16 MC is working in combination with a WR 2000 to prepare the subbase for subsequent rehabilitation of a national road.

Heber Terramix is dispatching the SW 16 MC in combination with a WR 2500 S to stabilize contaminated soil and immobilize heavy met-als. The special binder “Infracrete” is being used for this job. Heber Terramix has already stabilized the port area of Malabo in Equato-rial Guinea using the same method.

<The SW 16 SC with the characteristic “Croco-dile” tractor unit has a capacity of 16.5 m³ binder. The spreader unit comprises three self-cleaning rotary me-tering valves which can be individually switched from the driver’s cab. In combination with computer-controlled speed control, the self-cleaning effect ensures constant compliance with the required spreading rate, regard-less of the vehicle’s driving speed.

<The Streumaster spreader is followed by a Wirtgen soil stabilizer: the mixture of cement and lime is spread first and then thoroughly mixed into the soil in the mixing chamber of the WR 2400, immediately improving the soil’s cohesiveness and plas-ticity.

15

TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE

The growth of the Wirtgen Group cre-

ates new challenges also in the training de-

partments. Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and

Kleemann attach particular importance

to the subject of “promoting young talent”

so that they can continue to rely on the im-

mense potential inherent in their work-

force in the future. Cooperation agree-

ments with colleges and universities are

designed to introduce talented young peo-

ple to the companies. Foreign training

grants and practical projects throughout

the world prepare the trainees for their

various jobs in the Wirtgen Group.

Foreign stipends and English- language training: Wirtgen goes for internationality Internationality is a key factor for a company

with global operations, such as Wirtgen.

Jürgen Wirtgen and Stefan Wirtgen therefore

launched a grant programme giving three

young people per year the chance to acquire

their first professional experience on an inter-

national level. “Working abroad at an early

age is an outstanding qualification for our fu-

ture employees. The newly qualified employ-

ees can develop their skills for three months

in our branches in France, the United King-

dom or United States,” says Head Instructor

Helmut Hecking as he explains the concept.

The young people go abroad directly after

qualifying in order to provide an incentive for

good performance and to avoid conflicts with

the vocational training classes.

21-year-old Thomas Schäfer packed his

bags for three months last October. The me-

chatronics technician assisted the Wirtgen

America branch in Nashville, Tennessee. “I

learnt a great deal during that time, both in

terms of my language and my technical

skills,” says Schäfer describing his experi-

ence. And now, nothing stands in the way of

his future career as a service technician. “I

will be returning to the States for two months

in June, but this time as a fully qualified

member of an assembly team.”

Internationality is also important in the

commercial sector. “Professional seminars,

such as our in-plant English training, are im-

mensely important for a company with world-

wide operations. They allow us to prepare our

trainees specifically for tomorrow’s areas of

work,” explains Reimund Felderhoff, mem-

ber of Wirtgen GmbH’s management. Train-

ing in the commercial sector is all-embracing

in nature. The trainees not only go through all

the relevant commercial departments, but are

also given the opportunity to get to know the

technical and industrial areas. “This gives our

young people important first-hand experience

of all the interlinked processes in the com-

pany,” stresses Felderhoff.

Training days and practical projects merge at VögeleA great deal is also done to promote young

talent at Joseph Vögele AG. Head instructors

Thomas Bayer (mechatronics) and Uwe

Deutsch (industrial mechanics) have for many

years remained in close contact with schools

throughout the region in order to meet the

young people in their momentary environ-

ment. In April 2008, numerous exhibitors –

including Vögele – flocked to the town hall

in Hockenheim to inform 1,400 young people

on everything associated with vocational

training. Instructor Uwe Deutsch: “I was

there with two industrial mechanics trainees,

Marc Lopez-Zanon and Kevin Zöller. We pre-

sented pneumatic and mechatronic systems

and handed out useful tips on how best to ap-

ply for a job.”

Meeting the target group at an early stage

is one thing, but life only really becomes ex-

citing when the young people start their train-

ing as industrial mechanics or mechatronic

technicians. To promote the trainees’ integra-

tion, the traditional Mannheim company at-

taches great importance to interesting practi-

cal projects during their training.

One such project concerns the new

“Vision” series of pavers which were special-

ly developed for the North American market

and presented for the first time at the Conexpo

exhibition in Las Vegas. The trainees in

Mannheim also contributed to this transatlan-

tic cooperation project. Philipp Theis and

Markus Kränzke, two mechatronics techni-

cians in their second year of training, devel-

oped and built a tester for wiring the Vision

pavers to the Carlson screed which is particu-

larly popular in the US market. Correct op-

eration of the wiring harnesses connecting

screed and paver can easily be checked with

this unit. The second-year trainees then tested

and improved their prototype. Two such test-

ers are to be delivered to the United States

this summer.

Attracting young engineers: audi-torium with the Hamm design Hamm AG looks for its young talents direct-

ly “at source”: the compaction specialists in

Tirschenreuth joined the Partner Circle of

Amberg-Weiden University in October 2007.

Above all, this cooperation is designed to

avoid a shortage of engineers. Combining

theory and practice has turned out to be a win-

win situation: “The students can gather valu-

able practical experience in the company’s

marketing, personnel or technical depart-

ments,” explains Gottfried Beer, Marketing

Manager at Hamm. “For us, this cooperation

is an opportunity to win outstandingly qua-

lified engineers for Hamm on a long-term

basis.”

The students now even meet Hamm

during their classes, for the company has set

up a “Hamm auditorium” in the university.

The hall is currently being given the Hamm

design with the aid of information panels de-

scribing the compactor manufacturer.

Dr. Axel Römer, Head of the Development

and Engineering Design Department, has al-

ready addressed the students as a visiting lec-

turer. “I used our new HD Compact line to

give the students some idea of the complex

development sequence and outline the chal-

lenges encountered on the way from a prod-

uct idea to the start of series production.” The

cooperation has proved a tangible success:

“The number of applicants for internships,

dissertations and practical projects has in-

creased since our cooperation started,” ex-

plains Dr. Römer.

From the very outset: Kleemann opts for early integrationKleemann is also a growth-oriented company

with considerable potential for young people,

and it therefore makes just as much effort to

attract motivated young talents. The company

provides training in the fields of mechanical

engineering design and metal cutting. To en-

sure that the trainees become integrated into

their future areas of work as early as possible,

they are confronted with the actual produc-

tion sequence even during their training. “The

trainees are given small individual orders

from ongoing production,” explains Harald

Berger, head of mechanical production and

responsible for the trainees. “In this way, they

are actively integrated into the production

process and learn to accept responsibility.”

The basis for qualified training is being en-

larged with the new Kleemann plant current-

ly under construction. “We will have three

times as much space for training purposes at

the new location and are also investing in nu-

merous modern teaching machines for mill-

ing, drilling and turning,” says Berger with

delight.

Guarantee for jobs with a safe futureEveryone wins in the end: with its extensive

training programme, exciting projects and

outstanding opportunities for a future in an

international group of companies, the Wirtgen

Group offers young talents vocational train-

ing that is both attractive and professional.

The companies also win, for the numerous

young people safeguard the Wirtgen Group’s

long-term future with their ideas and moti-

vation.

Winning and promoting young talent

Innovative projects, motivated young people!

Foreign training grant in the US ensures additional qualification: Thomas Schäfer from Wirtgen GmbH was able to discover the country and find out more about the various machine types of all Wirtgen Group brands during his work on job sites there.

Mechatronics trainees Philipp Theis (left) and Markus Kränzke (right) from Joseph Vögele AG learnt a great deal when building their cable tester. Their slogan: “You’ll know if your wiring is OK when the lamp lights up!”

At the vocational training days in Hockenheim, Marc Lopez-Zanon (right) and Kevin Zöller (left) described the various vocations to be learned at Vögele to interested students.

A look behind the scenes of Hamm research and development projects: Dr. Axel Römer, Head of Engineering Design at Hamm AG, presents practical examples illustrating the students’ lectures.

Demanding tasks using ultramodern training equipment and responsibility for individual parts from ongoing production: Kleemann’s trainees have to meet high expectations from the outset.

A sound command of the English language is essential: during their commercial training at Wirtgen GmbH, the young people receive in-tensive in-plant language training in addition to their regular classes at vocational school.

16

SOCIALLY COMMITTED

Everyone should be able to enjoy a

happy childhood, but many children and

young people in the world’s poorest coun-

tries often have little or no occasion to be

happy. The list of things making a happy

childhood impossible is endless: adverse

living conditions, catastrophic hygiene

conditions, poor diet, inadequate medical

care and lack of school education are just

a few.

For the past 25 years, the charity group “Chil-

dren in Need” has consistently sought to put

a smile back on the faces of children in want.

Instead of investing in short-term activities,

the charity supports self-help projects de-

signed to bring about a lasting improvement

in the living conditions of needy children,

adolescents and entire families. Nu mer ous

helping hands have achieved a great deal in

this time: to date, the charity has forwarded

more than 11 million euros to its aid pro jects

in the Philippines, India, Brazil, Chile and

Argen tina – an investment to make life worth

living.

St. Peter Academy – education brings unprecedented new prospects The foundations for the charity’s work were

laid with its 100% support for St. Peter Acad-

emy in the Philippines. Attended by around

800 students at present, the high school’s di-

ploma is the essential requirement for subse-

quent vocational training. Some 400 students

are currently receiving a multi-year grant for

their education. And the charity’s continuous

engagement is bearing fruit: every year, al-

most all the young men and women have

been able to find a job on completing their

education. Several teachers, nurses, carpen-

ters and electricians are now working in the

charity’s aid projects after having been able

to learn a vocation through its financial sup-

port. For many people, it has opened up new

prospects for the future.

From pre-schools to clinics: all-round support pays off In the Philippine community of Alegria, the

charity opened five pre-schools for children

from the poorest farming families. More than

550 boys and girls regularly attend these pre-

schools today. The “Reinhard Wirtgen Me-

morial Hospital” is another institution set up

by the charity which has lastingly improved

conditions in Alegria. Three doctors work at

the hospital, which is a blessing for all the

families in the surrounding region. The hos-

pital still does not receive any state aid what-

soever. The charity also supports the local hill

farmers whose fields did not yield enough to

in our fight against poverty during the past 25

years. Innumerable children and young peo-

ple who have been able to complete vocation-

al training thanks to financial support from

the charity and its sponsors can now enjoy a

humane adult life. Nothing is more convinc-

ing and more encouraging for our future ef-

forts than the opinions of those whom we

have been able to help.

“Children in Need” charity celebrates 25 years of support

11 million euros invested in aid projects to date

< The charity’s founder Gisela Wirtgen regu-larly visits the boys and girls at St. Peter Pre-school in Alegria, Philippines.

feed their own families properly. Today, these

farmers have joined together in a cooperative

where experts show them how to farm their

fields more effectively, produce their own

seedlings and improve the quality of their

soil. They are now in a position to sell their

surplus produce on local markets.

Children and young people can look forward to a better life thanks to 21 projects worldwide For the past 25 years, the charity has support-

ed several projects in the Third World. In

Palamaner, India, it set up a day centre for

120 disabled children, as well as an elemen-

tary and high school for 350 students from

the poorest families in the southern Indian

town of Tanuku. The school also includes a

children’s home for around 80 boys and girls.

In Chile, the charity supports several chil-

dren’s homes, a home for young mothers

aged between 11 and 18 years, as well as a

girls’ school. Around 100 boys and girls

found love and care in the “Bom Samaritano”

day centre on the edge of one of the largest

slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Another

project in Sao Paulo, Brazil, takes care of 45

Aids patients and HIV-positive children. The

charity also supports children in need in

Argentina.

Numerous highly motivated help-ers make the future worth living We would like to take this opportunity to

thank all those people who have supported us

120 physically and mentally disabled boys and girls attend the “Kinder Care Special School” in Palamaner, India. Numerous disabled children from the surrounding region receive medical care and supervision in the adjacent therapy and training centre.

<“Bonita Home” in Cebu City, Philippines, offers a home to almost 100 sexually abused girls. The girls attend school or are receiving vocational training.

<The “Reinhard Wirtgen Memorial Hospital” provides medical care for the large community of Alegria.

<The charity has also set up an elementary and high school in the Indian community of Tanuku. It is attended by more than 350 boys and girls – the children of day-labourers and field workers.

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Further information on the charity “Children in Need” can also be found in the Internet at: www.kinder-in-not.de