KEY ISSUES TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING MOBILE CONCRETE PRODUCTION PLANTS FOR AIRPORT RUNWAY AND MAINTENANCE
Foreword R
unway surfaces are one of the most crucial
New concrete mixes can be harder wearing and
parts of a functioning airport. How they
quicker setting, allowing engineers to complete
perform, how quickly they can be laid and how
resurfacing projects in a timelier manner. However,
long they last without maintenance will be key
due to their characteristics, they often require a
factors in whether an airport can meet the financial,
different approach to mixing, which allows them to
environmental and logistical pressures coming their
be batched and mixed on the spot.
way over the coming years.
As Jo Roth goes on to explain, mobile cement plants
Our first article comes from leading provider of
can open up the use of new surfacing technologies as
cement solutions CemenTech. They provide an
well as offering a host of benefits to airports, including
excellent overview of how surfacing technology has
faster turnaround times and lower waste. All these will
evolved over the years and the new technologies
be crucial in helping airports maintain sustainable
coming to the fore.
operations now and into the future.
These processes and technologies will be vital
Finally, we look at one of the issues which will
as the aviation sector struggles to cope with
become increasingly important for the future of
an increasingly challenging environment with the
aviation: the environment. The climate emergency has
fallout from COVID 19. Our second article goes
come to the fore in the last few years and the aviation
into these challenges in more detail. While the
sector, like other industries, has committed itself to
pandemic has had a major impact on revenues
ambitious carbon reduction targets. These will have
and created anxiety throughout the industry, the
to be achieved while also dramatically increasing
lockdown does create an opportunity to schedule
capacity. It will be one of the biggest commercial and
maintenance at a time when traffic is reduced.
environmental challenges confronting any sector and,
James Butler then turns his attention to
to meet it, airports will have to be innovative.
developments in runway surface technologies
Mobile cement plants help operators meet all these
and why these are contributing to the need for
challenges. They can be faster, use fewer materials
mobile solutions. Although the aviation sector
and reduce carbon use. For a sector which faces
has evolved dramatically over the decades, surface
environmental, logistical and financial challenges,
composition is still based on methodologies
thist will be increasingly important for the future.
dating back decades. With aircraft becoming heavier and traffic busier, surfaces are coming under strain.
Tom Cropper Editor
Tom Cropper has produced articles and reports on various aspects of global business over the past 15 years. He has also worked as a copywriter for some of the largest corporations in the world, including ANZ Bank, ING and KPMG.
2 | WWW.AIRPORTTECHNOLOGYREPORTS.COM
