Platform on civil engineering, underground infrastructure, energy, construction equipment & construction machinery
A leading organization focused on production, application, sales and product development of innovative market-oriented bitumen and polymer-based products and systems.
LATEXFALT performs a bridging function between the oil refining and chemical industries on the one hand and construction companies on the other. "Two very different worlds that need to be connected in areas such as fundamental material knowledge, technology, logistics and innovation." But also increasingly in the areas of regulation and sustainability, according to Elzinga. "That's why LATEXFALT is busy with a number of sustainability developments."
"It is enormously important that innovative developments and efficiency-enhancing measures come about more quickly and efficiently so that a more flexible response can be made to a changing environment. CO2 control and energy efficiency are decisive for the future in this regard." LATEXFALT has defined a number of roadmaps related to the construction of roads with better bitumen, life-extending maintenance of roads and recycling of the asphalt that is released. "Then it comes full circle."
"Developing sustainability has to be done together with partners. Those are not only the customers, but also the oil industry from which we buy our products," Elzinga says. "It really is a matter of co-creation. For example, in roadmap 1 -from IMO regulations and the wishes from the market- we are investigating how we can influence bitumen in order to be able to guarantee a constant quality. The application and functionality of the product is important here, which requires transparency and research from the market." That dovetails perfectly with roadmap 2: a path LATEXFALT has been working on with two partners and with the Department of Public Works since 2010. "Meanwhile, a product has been validated and we are on the eve of its large-scale deployment. With large-scale deployment of this life-extending product, the sustainability goal can be achieved quickly. So we hope more districts within the Netherlands will embrace it." In the area of asphalt recycling, there are also some gains to be made, according to Elzinga. "If released asphalt has been used several times, the quality of the bitumen deteriorates. We are researching how to rejuvenate that old bitumen using juvenators. The product we developed, called Neomex HR, has been tested on a large scale in Antwerp and will be included in a test section by Rijkswaterstaat next year during an innovation project on the A58. Rijkswaterstaat wants to know what juvenators there are and what variations in products result from them and whether they are sustainable and/or life-extending."
"The Netherlands is a leader in life-extending maintenance and asphalt reuse, and we see that countries around us are showing interest in these developments. Yet we are also breaking new ground there in order to achieve sustainable developments together with partners in a transparent manner. Looking at the demand from the market where we work together to come up with beautiful products in the field of life extension and recycling of asphalt."
