The versatility of composite driving slabs

For several years, Ferex has been making a good impression with its composite roadway plates. Due to the various favorable properties, the roadway plates are widely applicable in a large number of sectors and markets where a temporary surface is needed. New applications are constantly being "discovered," such as in underground infrastructure for the mechanical retraction of cables and pipes.

Ferex's composite roadway plates are subsurface-compatible. "Unlike with steel driving plates or dragline bulkheads, no tillage is necessary beforehand. This saves a lot of time, money and unnecessary CO₂- and nitrogen emissions," says Sanne Buitenhuis of Ferex. "The driving plates are interconnected via a winch joint which ensures optimal pressure distribution and load spreading. It results in an increased load capacity of up to 400 tons per m² for the 'heavy' Heavy Duty variant."

No rutting

A temporary detour of walkways and bicycle paths, as well as temporary (construction) roads or even complete crane sidings, it is all part of the possibilities with Ferex's composite road plates. "Meanwhile, the plates have also proven themselves for underground infrastructure," says Buitenhuis. "In fact, our plates prove to be an ideal surface for transport and especially to support large equipment, such as a huge trench cutter. The mechanical retraction of cables and pipes 'in the field' was never before so efficient, with the trencher moving forward over two lanes of composite driving plates. Once the machine had passed a series of plates, the plates were picked up and placed back in line with the others. Thus, the temporary road construction moved with the machine each time, and a limited number of driving plates made it possible to cover kilometers, without rutting."

Ferex now has a comprehensive range of composite driving plates. The Heavy Duty is the best known and can load up to as much as 400 tons per m², but since the beginning of 2022 the Light Duty has been added. The Light Duty is thinner and smaller in size (120 x 240 cm) than the Heavy Duty driving plate (200 x 400 cm) and, thanks to a weight of 36 kilograms, is easy to (re)place by hand. A 2-sided anti-slip profile ensures maximum safety, which makes the plate particularly suitable as a temporary detour of walkways and bicycle paths. Want to experience the composite road plates yourself? Then visit Ferex's stand during InfraTech 2023, which is 'founded' on its own road plates.