Portuguese Quarry Operator Invests in Metso Crushing and Screening Equipment

27 February, 2014

First published in the February 2014 issue of Quarry Management as Mobile Flexibility

Portuguese quarry operators Secil-Britas invest in mobile crushing and screening fleet equipment from Metso for operational flexibility and cost-effectiveness

Tightening economic and ecological restrictions have been affecting quarries worldwide. To meet the demands for operational flexibility and cost-effectiveness, Secil-Britas, one of the leading quarry and cement firms in Portugal, have invested in a number of Metso mobile crushing and screening machines.

‘With Metso’s Lokotrack machines, we are able to achieve three main targets: produce all end products that our customers request; move the equipment flexibly between our quarries; and effectively exploit even smaller quarry areas,’ said Franclim Venda, director of Secil-Britas for the southern market in the Algarve.

‘When demand for aggregates is low, we can easily circulate a team of operators and equipment between our four quarries, resulting in a cost-effective operation. In a tourism area like the Algarve, at the Matos da Picota, in Loulé, which contains more than 30ha of exploitation area landscaping has already been carried out with a number of trees being planted on the old benches.

‘Since we have to operate the quarry in a much smaller area, we could now dismantle the old plant and effectively utilize the rock deposit under the plant with Lokotrack mobile equipment.’

Metso brand loyalty

Formed as a family business in the early 1970s, Secil-Britas’ co-operation with Metso started in 1980 and today around 90% of the company’s four quarries in southern Portugal are operated using Metso crushing and screening equipment.

‘Good personal and business relations are the key to our long-standing co-operation,’ explained Mr Venda. ‘Metso have always supported us with a professional approach, along with all the necessary technical support we need.

‘Based on the good experiences we’ve had from the start, Metso’s quarry equipment serves as an example for competitor quarries, when choosing their machines and services. Remarkable synergies in spare and wear parts can be achieved, for example, using the NP1415 impact crusher at both our mobile and our stationary facilities.’

Other Metso products delivering key operational and production benefits for Secil-Britas include an LT1415S track-mounted mobile impact crushing plant with a screen module. Also making up the company’s fleet are an ST620 mobile screen and a Lokotrack ST3.8 mobile screening machine.

With a three-stage mobile fleet, Secil-Britas are able to provide their customers with a full range of aggregates, including: coarse gravel for road base; various types of aggregate for concrete and asphalt; and fine powder for ‰ pavements. All of these construction products are made using mobile equipment and extracted from high-quality limestone deposits.

In addition to dry products, Secil-Britas operate a complete Metso sand manufacturing and washing plant at their Escarpao-Albufeira Quarry. At this high-quality limestone quarry, washing is necessary due to the clay content. The sand that is produced is used in the company’s own concrete production.

Hoping for an upturn in 2014

While Secil-Britas’ four quarries have the capacity to produce 1.5–2.0 million tonnes of materials per year, production is currently less than 500,000 tonnes a year. Despite the lower demand for aggregates in Portugal, Mr Venda remains optimistic and hopes the market will pick up.

‘Last year the production levels remained the same, but for 2014 we hope to see an upturn in demand,’ he concluded.

Secil-Britas S.A. – South
Operates four quarries in southern Portugal, Algarve area

End products: M. Picota-Loulé Quarry