Building Concrete Batch Plants

Building concrete batching plants involves careful consideration and expertise as this machinery is responsible for generating precise mixtures that turn concrete into a durable and reliable construction material that can withstand extreme natural forces. Southbelt Repair and Supply, Inc. has two decades of experience creating high-quality concrete batch plants. Our company offers a variety of services to meet your concrete needs, including plant design, fabrication, erection, and take-down, as well as repairs and preventative maintenance services. The Southbelt team of expert fabricators and welders excel at supplying quality, customized batch plants that meet your exacting specifications as well as your budget and project schedule.

Types of Concrete Batch Plants

Batch plants typically consist of the following primary components: silos for cement and aggregates like gravel, adjuvant and dosing tanks, a concrete mixer, equipment for water supply, and a weighing system. They differ, however, in regards to when in the mixing process they add water. Two common varieties of batch plants include:

• Ready-mix batch plants. These plants mix all the necessary concrete materials with the exception of water. Transit mixer trucks with a rotating drum then have a dual function of transporting the concrete to the site and mixing it together with water either in transit or on-site.
• Central-mix batch plants. These concrete plants combine all materials, including water, into a mixture at a central location prior to it going into concrete trucks. When it arrives on the construction site, it is fully prepared and ready for workers to use. In this case, the rotating drum merely assists in keeping the concrete mixture fresh in transit.

Concrete plants are also available in stationary or mobile varieties, based on your application. In addition to water, concrete mixtures may make use of a variety of raw materials, combining things like cement, sand, gravel, aggregate rock, potash, or fly ash.

How to Build Concrete Batch Plants

Building projects commonly require large volumes of concrete, which batch plants can successfully deliver. However, to adequately serve the construction industry and project sites, concrete batch plants must accurately measure and mix materials to produce high-quality concrete for building dependable structures, and they must do so in a set timeframe to ensure that contractors can meet their deadlines. 

Constructing a concrete batch plant starts with planning. As part of the preliminaries, you must determine the volume of concrete that the project will need. From there, select the type and configuration of batch plant that will meet that need, be it horizontal or vertical, and select an appropriately sized and ideally located site on which to build the plant. Also, it helps to determine staffing at this stage for the batch plant. While most processes are automated in modern plants, human oversight is still necessary for smooth operation. Making these initial decisions will help your operation control costs over the course of the build.

Once you have a general plan in mind and an understanding of your project needs, the plant designing phase begins. Our team can help you choose the right equipment for your application, custom design it to match your requirements, and then our fabricators and welders will get to work manufacturing your machinery.

Concrete Batch Plant Advantages

A concrete batch plant provides many advantages for a construction project, including but not limited to:

• Reliable, uniform mixing and product quality. A batch plant enables optimal quality control in your concrete. Modern batch plants typically rely on computer-controlled technology to deliver accurate measurements, consistent mixing, and reliable results.
• Capabilities for automation. Computer-run systems increase productivity while decreasing the need for human intervention. Operators can run the systems easily, and the electrical components are durable for reliable functionality. This automation also leads to shortened construction project timeframes.
• High return on investment (ROI). Shorter production schedules lead to savings. A batch plant improves organization and reduces construction management costs. It can have a relatively small footprint and serve a large amount of space, decreasing the need for on-site storage and machinery. Lower labor costs and material waste are also associated with mixing concrete on-site.

Partner With Southbelt for Quality Concrete Batch Plant Builds

Building a concrete batch plant that will produce the quantity and quality of concrete you need is vital for your construction project. Partnering with an experienced team will help ensure that your batch plant will deliver maximum benefits to your operation. Southbelt has the extensive industry experience and knowledgeable staff to build the ideal batch plant for your project. Contact us today to learn more about our capabilities and how we can support your business.