Road Technology Days

01 Jun 2018 Editorial Team

An international industry event at Vögele in Ludwigshafen where Wirtgen Group showcases highly specialised solutions for worldwide road construction... The focus of this year's Road Technology Days, held by the Wirtgen, Vögele And Hamm brands on April 19-20, was on synergies, 3D applications and networked job site processes. The climax of the event was the live machine demonstrations. The high point Some 4,000 customers and road construction experts from more than 80 countries flocked to the event. On the 370,000 sq m site of Joseph Vögele AG in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, the three companies of the Wirtgen Group's Road Technologies business sectors provided practical insights into the latest developments in the fields of cold milling, cold recycling, soil stabilisation, paving and compaction. In addition to specialist expert talks and technology exhibitions, visitors were also able to enjoy live demonstrations, factory tours and a machinery exhibition featuring around 70 exhibits. The high point of the event was a gala evening in the newly constructed 22,200 sq m dispatch hall at the Vögele brand headquarters. "A personal and professional exchange with our international customers is very important to us," says Domenic G Ruccolo, CEO, The Wirtgen Group. "That is the only way we can develop tailored country- and customer-specific solutions in an industry with such diverse and highly differentiated requirements. This makes the Road Technology Days an ideal platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences." The best of three worlds A total of 25 machines by Wirtgen Group", Wirtgen, Vögele and Hamm milled, fed material, placed asphalt and compacted on an area of around 3,000 sq m in two live demonstrations. "In the live demonstrations, we are not just presenting tate-of-the-art technology and solutions for road construction: Our customers also see how the machines of the Wirtgen Group work together in practice and the synergies this creates for the entire road construction process. That is why the live demonstrations have always been a key feature of our Technology Days and why they are unique in our industry in terms of both their form and their scale," says Roland Schug, Head of Marketing, Joseph Vögele AG, who has overall responsibility for this year's Road Technology Days. Digital measurement and control Wirtgen, Vögele and Hamm demonstrated the latest 3D solutions in two technology presentations. For instance, the SP 15 slipform paver from Wirtgen, the 3D Navitronic Plus solution from Vögele, the HCQ system from Hamm - such applications save a lot of time and money, and also enable precise implementation and high quality. Intelligent solutions Expert talks and technology exhibitions gave visitors an overview of current and future developments in road construction. Wirtgen presented precise levelling, cost-effective cutting and advanced recycling technologies, while Vögele presented the software-based process management system, Witos Paving. Hamm demonstrated intelligent solutions for compaction, including the intuitive Easy Drive operating concept and the principle of oscillation. Quality creates quality Visitors were able to explore the Vögele production facility, built in 2010 and currently being expanded with a dispatch hall and additional production facilities. An interactive exhibition 'Quality Management' also demonstrated what requirements the components have to meet and what controls they have to pass through on the way to final assembly and delivery to the customer. "Quality in road construction begins with us," says Bernhard Dnser, member of the Board of Directors, Joseph Vögele AG. "Only with perfect and technically sophisticated products can our customers build high-quality roads." (Communication by the management of the company)