Composite driving plates: now also in 'small' size

Ferex's composite driving plates are now a household name in the market. Thanks to the large size of the Heavy Duty version (8m2), a large area with a high load-bearing capacity can be realized in a short time. In many cases this is fine, but sometimes there is a need for a more manageable format, such as for temporary footpaths and bicycle paths for example. Since this year, Ferex can provide that too. Meet the Light Duty composite driving plates.

Ferex introduced the Light Duty variant in 2022 in the Netherlands. 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. Like its big brother, the Light Duty is equipped with a 2-sided anti-slip profile. The smaller size ensures maximum safety, making the plate particularly suitable as a temporary detour of walkways and bicycle paths. And because the driving slabs are thinner, no ramps or other attachments are needed.

Subsurface 

Unlike traditional plastic road plates, Ferex Light Duty road plates are interconnectable, stresses Ferex's Sanne Buitenhuis. "This results in a greater load capacity of up to 80 tons per m2, despite its modest own weight." Although the Light Duty variant has only just been introduced, it is already widely used for a wide variety of applications. "For example, temporary bicycle paths have now been constructed in several cities using our lightweight composite road plates, and we were able to cover the turf at the FBK stadium in Hengelo during the Special Olympics with the Light Duty. A major advantage of temporary surfacing with our composite road plates is that the surface remains intact. We were able to demonstrate this beautifully during the Special Olympics. The before and after inspections show that the turf was hardly affected, despite the many days of intensive loading on the plates."

Heavy Duty

With the Heavy Duty driving plates, Ferex has been making a good impression for years. "The range of application is incredibly wide. In contrast to steel driving plates or dragline mats, no tillage is necessary beforehand. That saves a lot of time, money and unnecessary CO2 emissions. The Heavy Duty plates are also subsurface-compatible. We can lay them directly on any type of subsoil. The lip joint ensures optimal pressure distribution and load spreading, which makes them loadable up to as much as 400 tons per m2."

Ferex continues to expand its stock of composite roadway slabs. "In the infrastructure sector, we deliver significant savings in CO2 and nitrogen emissions with our products. No tillage is necessary and flora and fauna are preserved. The composite plates are so light that they do not sink but float even in the weakest soil."