Florea Grup Choose Metso Premier Screens

First published in the February 2016 issue of Quarry Management as Premier League

Metso Premier screens deliver the right capacity, precise separation and effective performance for Romania’s Florea Grup 

Starting a new quarry with a concrete and asphalt production plant is a big challenge for anyone, which is why it is necessary to involve reliable partners. Since taking the decision to enter the quarrying business in 2013, the Romanian company Florea Grup say they have found just such a partner in Metso, whose Premier screens are playing a vital role in the company’s quarrying operations.

‘We were astonished by the size of the vibrating equipment, especially the Premier CVB and ES type screens,’ commented David Florea. ‘The large screen feed-box size guarantees good capacity and also makes maintenance very easy and safe thanks to the big gap between the decks. With Metso’s screens, we are able to reduce downtime and increase plant availability.

‘The large capacity of the Premier screens impressed us, and the ability to switch between rubber/polyurethane modular panels and side-tensioned screen media, along with the installed automatic lubrication option, are other big advantages; likewise the E-brake system for the electric motors.’

David’s brother, Marcel, added: ‘We were also pleasantly surprised with the high quality of the delivered plant components. No modification, cutting or welding was necessary on site. Now we fully understand why the engineering and design of such a plant is crucial in this kind of project.’

From petrol stations to quarrying

In 1996, David and Marcel Florea established Florea Grup as a private company. Starting their business activities in the fuel market, the entrepreneurial brothers developed a significant network of petrol stations throughout the county of Alba.

However, the business vision of the brothers quickly shifted towards the production of construction materials. In 2005 they acquired a modern, high-capacity sorting station, moving on in 2006 with the founding of five Liebherr concrete plants in Alba Iulia (two plants), Cluj Napoca, Sibiu and Deva, each with a capacity of 100m3/h. In 2011 they implemented a brand new, state-of-the-art Ammann asphalt plant with a capacity of 160 tonnes/h.

Marking a further step in the company’s development, in 2013 they took the decision to invest in a quarry producing concrete and asphalt fractions. ‘We took this decision on the basis that this was the logical next step in our company’s development,’ said Marcel Florea. ‘More than that, we wanted to deliver the highest-quality products and services to our Florea Grup customers. Therefore, finding a dependable partner who could deliver high-quality final fractions was one of the main topics when we created our business plan for this operation.’

With their requirement for a wide range of end products (0/4mm secondary crushed sand, 0/2mm, 2/4mm, 0/4mm, 4/8mm, 8/16mm, 8/11mm, 11/16mm, 16/25mm and 32/50mm) at throughputs of 180–200 tonnes/h, plus the need for flexible operation, Florea Grup’s search for a specialized consultancy led them to Metso.

Combination of mobile and stationary plants

Initially, Florea Grup opted for mobile equipment, but after numerous discussions with Metso professionals, they decided that a primary mobile crushing unit combined with stationary secondary and tertiary crushing and screening equipment was the best option for them from operational and economic point of view.

The final delivery included a Lokotrack LT116 mobile jaw crusher, two HP200 cone crushers and one Barmac B6150SE vertical-shaft impact crusher, together with one Premier CVB204 inclined screen, one Premier CVB203 inclined screen, a Premier ES203 horizontal screen, and full plant automation.

The mobile LT116 operates in a remote quarry site approximately 50km from the stationary plant, near the city of Zlatna. The stationary crushing and screening plant is located near the Alba Iulia ring road, about 5km from the city.

A major challenge for the project was the fine screening of the 0/2mm, 2/4mm and 0/4mm tertiary crushed products. During the early discussions, Florea Grup were impressed by the new Premier ES-type screens and were eager to see them in action. After a couple of days of checking the final fine fractions, laboratory testing and analysis convinced the company of the positive output capacity, precise separation and general performance of the ES-type screens.

Successful plant start-up

Florea Grup systematically followed the assembly and initial start-up procedures, and, after eight months of engineering, assembling and checking, the plant was started on 6 April last year and has been producing since then without problems.

As a consequence of this successful outcome, Metso teams are now working on a new wet screening application for Florea Grup’s gravel plant. Florea have also recommended Metso to other local quarrying companies, resulting in another major company from Alba county ordering a high-capacity Metso gravel plant.

‘In this first half year since the plant start-up, we have produced approximately 90,000 tonnes of final fractions. This is still just the beginning as the quarry site needs further development, but we’re quite sure that we’ll be able to set our sights on 250,000 tonnes for 2016. One of the main reasons for our confidence is that we’ve had no issues so far with the Metso plant,’ concluded the Florea brothers.

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