Photo courtesy of the Wirtgen Group
Heinrich Feess GmbHG, a family aggregates production and recycling business with multiple locations in Germany, is using a Mobirex MR 130i PRO model at its facility in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany, to make crushed concrete it says is in high demand.
The Mobirex line is made by Kleemann, a brand of the Germany-based Wirtgen Group owned by John Deere.
According to Kleemann, the Feess company and its Managing Director Walter Feess have emphasized sustainability and recycling, often using power that comes from solar photovoltaic systems, collecting rainwater for reuse and championing the landfill diversion and recycling of concrete.
Walter Feess was recognized for his commitment to sustainability with a German Environmental Award in 2016 and again in 2020 with a similar award from the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
According to Kleemann, the Feess company has found the Mobirex MR 130i PRO suitable for its high-volume production of crushed concrete.
In an interview with Walter Feess published on the Wirtgen Group website, he says the company has made a commitment to return a large amount of building materials for reuse/recycling and manufacture recycled concrete aggregate from it.
Walter Feess expresses his opinion that recycled concrete in Germany “is all too seldom used by architects and civil engineers, simply because it is still unknown.”
As a way to address that, his firm has opened a training center located near the site of the Mobirex plant in Kirchheim unter Teck.
Regarding the multiple uses for recycled concrete, Walter Feess says, “This is one of the points we want to address with our training center. We want to raise awareness among experts of the quality and unbelievable possibilities of recycled concrete. Through the significant CO₂ savings thus created, we make an important contribution to the fight against climate change.”
Walter Feess expresses an obligation to engage in more than “merely talking about the fact that we have to get a grip on CO₂ emissions. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to take action now and create corresponding legal and normative bases.”
The pressing nature of the problem means he “will never tire of calling on architects, engineers [and] municipalities and administrative boards."
“As a recycling company, for example, it is incredibly difficult to get available space," he adds. "Long transport routes can be cut and thus large quantities of CO₂ saved if we recycle materials via short routes.”
Such cooperation has yielded results, according to Kleemann, citing an example where the Feess company was awarded the contract for dismantling a district administration office in which more than 90 percent of harvested materials were able to be returned to the construction cycle.
In that project, concrete was crushed on-site and at Feess recycling depots in volumes of up to 1,800 metric tons daily.
As in North America, concrete recycling also can have bottom line benefits. Walter Feess says the activity is “not necessarily more expensive,” adding, “Fuel and material prices will continue to increase due to scarcity and [a German] CO₂ tax.”
“The low fuel consumption, high performance and very powerful twin-deck post screening unit—this is what really impressed us when we received the plant for the prototype test in the depot," Walter Feess says of his company’s Kleemann Mobirex MR 130i PRO.
“Space is tight here and with this plant we got two machines in one. Beforehand we had a crushing plant, followed by a separate screening unit. Now, thanks to the high performance and the option to be able to discharge two classified final products, the MR 130i PRO covers our needs sufficiently. This means that we only operate, service and fuel one machine in [our] daily routine.”
He says his firm also has a smaller Kleemann Mobirex MR 130i EVO2 model it takes directly to demolition and construction sites.
Walter Feess tells Klemann he expects his company’s recycling activities to continue.
“We reached the point a long time ago that we should not just talk, but act," he says. "We are happy to have Kleemann and Wirtgen Germany as a partner by our side, who pursue the same objectives as ourselves: counteracting climate change and doing so in both an ecological and economical manner.”
