COPIED
3 mins

COSTS DOWN, UPTIME UP

Crush the lumps, keep the value: how ALLU turns RAP into revenue

Across Europe and the UK, asphalt producers and contractors are chasing the same target: push recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) higher without pushing costs through the roof. The fastest wins are usually hiding in plain sight—inside the RAP pile. That’s where the ALLU Asphalt Screening Bucket earns its keep: mounted on the excavator or loader you already own, it breaks up bitumen lumps, screens to spec, and sends clean, ready-to-use material straight back to production— without the set-up, footprint, or fuel burn of mobilising another crusher.

“It’s a smarter, more profitable way to work, and we’re proud to help drive this transformation across the industry.” — Peter Grönholm, CEO, ALLU Finland Oy.

At Asfalttikallio’s flagship plant in Ylöjärvi, Finland, recycled content typically runs 30–60% in new mixes. Their ALLU solution handles both milled asphalt (stone <16 mm) and blocky bitumen (up to 50 mm), reliably delivering a 25–35 mm fraction. The change isn’t just smoother material flow—it’s measurable money: processing costs dropped from about €3/ton to roughly €1/ton, while screened material is fed directly to production rather than double-handled around the yard.

In the UK, MRD Plant has built a thriving business around this same principle, but with a twist that fits typical British sites and job sizes. Their day-to-day material is 0–25 mm road planings, where aggregate is <14 mm - so the bucket’s TS Axe blades aren’t “crushing stone,” they’re de-lumping the bitumen and cleaning the fraction.

MRD’s Managing Director, Tom Chapman, puts it plainly: an ALLU on the front of a 35-tonne excavator “is so much more efficient, productive and less expensive than bringing a mobile crushing plant on to the work site… we’re literally halving our fuel costs.”

The MRD method is deliberately pragmatic. On planings, their ALLU DHA 4-17 with TS16 blades will process around 80% of the pile quickly and to spec. The stubborn ~20% ultra-hard lumps still go to a standby impact crusher. This hybrid method keeps total cost per tonne down and the program resilient: when one machine is down, the other keeps the project moving. Because stockpiles can cure hard, the serrated cutting edge can dig into compacted planings.

Performance is steady and bankable. MRD bids a modest 500 t per day yet typically achieves 700–800 t/day in regular 7–8-hour shifts.

Their record is 1,450 t per day on planings. Every 10,000 t they run through the bucket instead of a crusher saves about £4,800 in fuel, before you consider the extra operator and set-up time, they avoid by not mobilising a separate unit.

This is the pattern we see again and again. For plants like Asfalttikallio’s, the bucket becomes a quality-control workhorse that feeds production with the right fraction while stripping out oversize. For contractors like MRD, it’s the first-pass processor that transforms most of the pile at low cost and low fuss—while a crusher remains on call for the last 20%. Either way, the result is the same: less double-handling, fewer truck moves, less idling, and a lower cost per tonne for recycled feed. And because the ALLU mounts on your existing carrier with quick two-bolt Variable Drum locks and a reinforced, serviceable frame, you get all of that without adding a whole new machine to babysit.

If your goal is to raise RAP content and protect margins, start where the payback is fastest: crush the lumps, keep the value, and let the ALLU bucket turn your carrier into the small, smart processing plant you need—right where the material sits.

This article appears in USA Issue 03

Go to Page View
This article appears in...
USA Issue 03
Go to Page View
WELCOME
Welcome to Issue 30 of Awesome Earthmovers. In
POWER at the PORT
How Forsen Machinery and Sennebogen support one of
BIG IRON
Water is a much-valued commodity the World over. Some countries have more than they require, others struggle on a daily basis.
RENTAL.ONE CHARGES AHEAD!
As one of Norway’s leading landscaping and groundworks companies, with headquarters at Sørlandet and branches in Stavanger, Mandal, Kristiansand and Arendal, Landskaps Entreprenørene AS places great importance on protecting the environment which is why they recently acquired a three tonne emission-free, whisper-quiet electric Komatsu PC33E-6 mini excavator.
ROCK SOLID PERFORMANCE
James Carney Site Manager West Texas Rock Resources
TAKING THE STRAIN OUT OF SOFT TERRAIN
The first low ground pressure ‘bog’ spec’d Takeuchi
BUILT TO HANDLE MORE
INTRODUCING THE TSS 390T PLUS FROM TEREX ECOTEC
THE XE500EHR IS NOT JUST A MACHINE IT’S A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
In the world of modern demolition, precision and
JOINING FORCES
Blue Machinery is delighted to announce that it
UK CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UNITES TO SUPPORT AIR AMBULANCE CHARITY
A JCB 140X wrapped in a striking Air Ambulance UK livery turned heads at Plantworx this year, but the machine represents much more than an eye-catching display. It is the product of a powerful collaboration between Flannery Plant Hire, Brandfix, Skanska and Awesome Earthmovers, all working together to raise awareness and funds for a charity that performs life-saving work across the UK.
LEADING THE WAY
LiuGong’s new dealer for Scotland and the northwest of England, Lloyd Ltd recently held a very successful ‘Dig Days’ event to promote the brand across the region where it operates a network of branches providing plant and machinery for the construction, agriculture, groundcare and materials-handling sectors.
TWO-IN-ONE
When it comes to meeting customer requirements, Case Construction Equipment and its North West of England dealer Dennis Barnfield Ltd have no hesitation in pulling out all the stops as Andy Barnes, one of the owners/directors of Terra Firma Environmental Ltd, can well testify.
COSTS DOWN, UPTIME UP
Crush the lumps, keep the value: how ALLU turns RAP into revenue
SUSTAINABLE PAVEMENT TECHNOLOGIES
Reducing CO2 output by recycling asphalt
MAGNA LANDS IN EUROPE
The official European launch of MAGNA, Terex’s large-scale crushing and screening equipment range, has been celebrated at the Terex Coalville facility in Leicestershire in collaboration with UK distributor Blue Machinery.
CRUSHING GREENER & BETTER
Balancing the push to cut emissions and keep
GENERATIONS OF QUALITY QUARRYING
Tulloch Developments Ltd has never left its roots in Shetland, Orkney and the North of Scotland. In fact, since it started 40 years ago, the business has shifted and expanded from housebuilding to delivering central infrastructure projects that meet the needs of local communities.
SETTING THE STANDARD
Purchasing the right crusher or screener for any operation requires not only a substantial investment, but has to be on what material is being produced, mobility and versatility of the machine, efficiency and productivity, ease of use and after sales support are all equally key.
THE HISTORY OF BARFORD
In 1840 Barford and Perkins started manufacturing rollers/compactors and agricultural equipment going on to become market leaders.
SUCCESSFUL BIOMASS PROCESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RIGHT SHREDDING
In the last few years the waste and
CONEXPO CON/AGG
CONEXPO-CON/AGG returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center
Looking for back issues?
Browse the Archive >

Previous Article Next Article
USA Issue 03
CONTENTS
Page 67
PAGE VIEW