Tarmac ramps up production thanks to Zappshelter
When production volumes grew rapidly at their Tunstead Quarry, Tarmac needed extra storage for key cement-making material, clinker. As the UK’s leading provider of sustainable construction materials and solutions, expanding their on-site stores while minimising environmental impact was a priority.
The lack of dry storage for the clinker produced at Tunstead was already increasing production emissions and costs. With no weatherproof facility to store clinker during kiln shutdowns, the problem also led to interruptions in production.
As Steven Cox, Cement Grinding Production Coordinator at Tarmac, explains, “When (clinker’s) been left outside before, it gains a crust on it, and we end up re-crushing it. So we’re actually processing it twice, which is quite a cost to the business.”
To prevent this and protect the material from the Peak District’s harsh weather, the Tarmac team installed two 17m wide x 56m long Zappshelters, mounted on concrete blocks. Leaving both ends open for easy stock rotation and selecting custom grey-coloured Zappshelter canopies.
With this solution, on-site storage capacity was quickly increased with no impactful construction. As Steven sets out, “There was no groundwork required and the team were able to put the Zappshelder up on existing land within a few weeks.
“By having the clinker within the shelters themselves it means we’re not having to reprocess it when we come to use it again. This means less power consumption, less machine usage and less emissions from the machines themselves.”
Alongside the environmental benefit, the Tarmac team also saw a huge impact on production, As Steven outlines, “It just allows us to plan for a longer window throughout (kiln) shutdown, so we’ve always got clinker for cement production and are always able to satisfy the customers’ needs.”
Zappshelters are engineered to be permanent and made in Britain using Ferroten steel. This is typically three to four times stronger than any other shelter systems in the market. This means they can withstand the Peak District’s high wind, heavy rain and snow.
Steven said, “In terms of Zappshelters themselves, they’ve weathered some storms up in Buxton! We’re renowned for being quite high up, with constant weather impact. With the resilience of them, they’ve not moved an inch.”
Alongside the Zappshelter’s speedy construction and reliability, Steven was impressed and reassured by the level of support from the team. “Although we didn’t need it, Zappshelter was a call away for any remedial work,” he says.
“I think anyone that’s after additional storage for something that’s quick to turn around with great support, then it’s certainly an avenue you should look down. Zappshelter has been great for us and something that we’d look to use in the future again.”
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