In August Vietserve successfully organised a trial of the new Wirtgen Recycler on an 800 metre long (4.75m width) stretch of road in An Suong, the bussiest highway linking HCMC to the Mekong Delta. Public Works Dept of HCMC commissioned the trial with the support of Ministry of Transport Hanoi.
An experienced team from Wirtgen Group joined our Vietserve service personnel to put the Wirtgen Recycler through its paces in front of a high level group of invitees, including officials from MOT Hanoi, PWD HCMC, University of Science and Technology and leading contractors in Vietnam.

Faced with a severely damaged road, 24 hour truck traffic carrying very heavy loads, constant rain and a very high water table immediately under the road, the Wirtgen Recycler performed admirably. Digging to a depth of 25cm and mixing a carefully calculated mix of water and bitumen (heated to 170
0C) to form a foaming bitumen mix, we were able to complete the first 400m stretch of road within 12 hours.
As local contractors develop further experience in building recycled roads, it should be possible to recycle up to 1000m per day. The finishing and quick setting of the aggregate thanks to the foamed bitumen process allows vehicles to drive on the recycled road prior to asphalt paving within hours of completion. This stretch of recycled road is designed to carry heavy traffic for at least 10 years without breaking up.

The benefits of recycling are clear to see:
- Recycling can rehabilitate roads which suffer from constant needs to overlay due to a weak base, and offer at least 10 years maintenance-free operation
- By reusing existing road asphalt and aggregates, investors can save large amounts of money on road maintenance
- Roads can be recycled one lane at a time, minimising disturbances to traffic flows on busy roads
- Contractors job is easier with no deliveries of aggregates
- the speed of the recycler (@10m/minute) allows for very fast repairs of roads, a benefit for both investor and contractor
For contractors their best benefits are obtained when using a full equipment package - Streumaster cement spreader, Wirtgen Recycler and Hamm 20T compactor.
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Before recycling
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Spread 1% cement by Streumaster
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Recycling by Wirtgen WR2400
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Hamm footpad 20T
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Level by grader
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Compact by roller
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Finish compact by rubber tyre roller
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After recycling
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The Streumaster uses computerised settings to deliver cement powder evenly and to set percentages, giving certainty to contractors and investors and offering great savings over the alternative traditional method of spreading by hand which often leads to more cement used than required.
The Hamm 20T compactor is the minimum 20 ton weight that needs to be used to ensure optimal compaction of recycled aggregates.
Another advantage of the Wirtgen Recycler is its dual use as a soil stabiliser. Traditional methods for stabilising land is to remove existing soil/mud and replace with new materials, roll and allow to settle for long periods. This is an expensive method and causes long delays in construction. The end result is not guaranteed and many examples of the effects of unstable land fill can be found around Vietnam, often leading to claims against contractors and investors.
The Wirtgen Recycler/Soil Stabiliser is able to provide a guaranteed strong base able to bear heavy loads. It reuses existing materials, with a carefully calculated mix of binders, depending on results from soil samples which are analysed in the Wirtgen WB10 testing unit.
Benefits are obvious: a perfect base calculated for planned loads; cheaper due to reuse of existing ground materials; fast stabilisation as no need to settle and fast speed of the Wirtgen machine; little labour as the operation is machine driven.
Please contact your Vietserve sales representative to arrange a meeting to discuss further the advantages for your business.