Simem builds Concrete Batching Plant using Existing Plant Components

Simem GmbH, headquartered on Lake Constance, serves the German-speaking customers of Simem S.p.A. in Verona, Italy. The company has been building concrete mixing plants for customers worldwide for more than 60 years and is one of the few plant manufacturers that produces planetary mixers, twin-shaft mixers, continuous mixers, and colloidal mixers in-house.

In recent years, Simem has received an increasing number of requests to incorporate existing plant components into new plants. These can include, for example, a feed conveyor, an existing bucket elevator, or the portal frames of cement silos. The company has specialized in making exactly this possible.

Thanks to its modular approach, various plant components—often from different product groups—can be combined with one another. This allows for a high degree of flexibility within a standardized plant design.

New Construction of the Hennickendorf Concrete Batching Plant

One project in which this strategy is being implemented is the new construction of the Hennickendorf concrete mixing plant for Thomas Betonbauteile Fehrbellin GmbH & Co. KG. The goal is to replace the existing star-type plant with scraper operation with a modern, high-performance plant while retaining the portal frames of the cement silos. At the same time, the transfer point to the concrete distributor must be precisely maintained so that the automatic production process is not disrupted.

Simem Germany has decided to offer a mixing plant with a freestanding aggregate bunker. The eight-chamber aggregate bunker is located where the star-shaped plant was previously situated and has a capacity of 450 m³ of aggregates. To meet the customer’s quality requirements, the plant is equipped with eight dosing conveyors as well as Ludwig moisture probes for all aggregates.

The aggregate tower is fed via a 47-meter-long conveyor belt that transports sand and gravel from the feed hopper to the distribution belt. To meet the customer’s maintenance requirements, the conveyor belt features a maintenance platform along its entire length.

Additional Chambers for Recycled Material

A Simem specialty—which, according to the company, is in increasing demand—is a pair of auxiliary chambers that are loaded by a wheel loader bypassing the feeding system and were specifically developed for recycled material. These chambers are also in use in Hennickendorf.

In the project for Thomas Betonbauteile, great emphasis was placed on sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, the requirement was to incorporate the existing portal frames of the cement silos. Simem designed the new plant to fit between the existing structural components. To make this possible, the bucket elevator was replaced by a 1,000 mm wide conveyor belt leading to the concrete distributor. This reduces maintenance costs and facilitates accessibility and cleaning.

Planetary Mixer for Precast Plant and Ready-Mix Concrete

The 2.5-m³ Xentrix planetary mixer will produce both concrete for the precast plant and ready-mix concrete for the local market. According to the company, the mixer offers particularly good mixing performance with short production times and is suitable for plants that produce both ready-mix concrete and precast elements.

Installation of the plant is currently underway and is being carried out by KSW GmbH of Ludwigslust. It will then be fully enclosed and approved for commissioning in July.

The control system manufacturer Gedis will commission the plant in close collaboration with Simem.

Thanks to the excellent collaboration with Thomas Betonbauteile at the Hennickendorf site, project obstacles were always quickly resolved. The plant is being implemented in partnership with KSW GmbH, KFB Technologies, and the customer, Thomas Betonbauteile.