Concrete plants: market is difficult but demanding

The volume of processed concrete will not be reduced in Brazil but—in manufacturers’ evaluation—the sales of batching and mixing plants will be significantly reduced.

Brazil produces approximately 50 million cu. mt. of processed concrete per year, using approximately 1200 batching and mixing plants. Batching plants still represent more than 90 percent of sold equipment. In a simple calculation, there are no more than 120 mixing plants operating currently in the country. Even with the economic crisis, the produced volume will not be significantly reduced. But this is not what will happen with equipment sales. According to Schwing-Stetter, sales are being reduced if compared to the increase in last years. This results in a fierce competition, mainly between the manufacturers of each type of plant, one against the other.

Who validates this negative information is Marcelo Antonelli Silva, commercial director of Zoomlion. According to him, sales of concrete batching and mixing plants this year will reach 40 units at maximum.

In terms of technology, however, the scenario did not change significantly, according to people interviewed in this column. And the preference of working with concrete processed in batching plants still occurs due to several motives. The most important is the exemption of the Tax of Manufactured Products (IPI), charged on plant-mixed concrete. “A batching plant is not charged with this tax because it only batches the materials, having no productive process of mixing”, sums up the equipment commercial manager of Schwing Stetter, Luiz Polachini.

Antonelli, from Zoomlion, confirms that more than 90 percent of machines sold in the country are still batching plants. But he considers that this indicator will change due to the advantages of mixing plants when compared to batching ones. Antonelli adds that research and development of concrete components was intense, what makes more relevant the percent of batches per hour. Point for mixing plants again. “The huge difference will occur when the market will look for and decide to buy mixing plants, which have larger capacity of production. At this time, all development of concrete aggregates will emerge in a significant way”, says him.

RCO considers that only manufacturers of precast parts and large worksites—such as the hydroelectric power plants of Belo Monte and Jirau—use this type of equipment, frequently supported by batching plants.

Polachini, from Schwing-Stetter—company that reports a market share of 20 percent of mixing plants, but has no significant participation in the sales of batching plants—also is waiting for this change of preference and says that the option for mixing plants is a cultural question of the German manufacturer, inclined to use more advanced technologies.

The executive says that the use of mixing plants is being increased in the worksites. This technology is chosen when productivity issues are evaluated. “They ensure a better control of concrete production, managing water, additives and aggregates”, says him, adding that mixing plants batch, mix and load the final product inside the truck mixer, differently of batching plants that only carry out the first part, leaving to the truck mixer the final mixing.