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#CAS Archives - Bitafal

Between September 17 and 19, the 14th Uruguayan Road Congress was held, the event that brings together all members of the sector to analyze the reality of the national road industry, convened by the Uruguayan Road Association.

Construction companies, suppliers of materials and equipment, state organizations and the most prominent technicians in the field met at LATU for three days to learn first-hand about the new techniques, trends and also perspectives of this important construction sector for the coming years.

The inauguration of the event was attended by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, Architect Claudia Peris, and the National Director of Roads, Engineer Federico Magnone, who led an important representation of national and departmental authorities present at the plenary session of the congress.

As is usual in these instances, BITAFAL had a leading participation with the presentation of the students of the CAS Bitafal-UM Chair as well as a presentation on the first year of the CAS and on the technology of warm mixtures by our General Director Santiago Kröger. Likewise, the company was present with a stand where professionals, clients and colleagues could learn, through our technical/commercial representatives, the innovative proposal of products and services that BITAFAL offers to the market, such as the AC30 MAX, AM2 MAX, AM3 MAX and HiMAX.

For the second consecutive year, the BITAFAL–UM Sustainable Asphalt Chair organized its International Meeting in conjunction with its sister Chair in Spain, Padecasa-UAX. The event was attended by specialists and researchers from Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

On this occasion, the program focused on the use of RAP, presenting experiences and success stories collected in different countries, including one of the leading countries in the use of this technique, the United States.

The panel was made up of experts Javier Loma and Angel Sampedro (Spain), Luca Baccellieri (Italy), Mario Jair and Alejandro Bisio (Argentina), Rafael Zuchetto and Ivan Reginatto (Brazil) and the Uruguayan researcher based in the United States, the MSc. Faustina Keuliyan. The moderation was carried out by the director of the CAS David Fontans.

The event, held in hybrid mode with rooms in Spain and Uruguay as well as streaming, was attended by more than a hundred technicians, researchers and students representing the industry. The large gathering showed that this meeting is destined to be one of the obligatory references of the international road industry in the use of asphalt mixtures and the incorporation of sustainability concepts to the production of roads around the world.

With very good success, we have been advancing in the application of warm asphalt mixtures in the construction of the new double lane of Route 9. In recent weeks, the access to Pan de Azúcar was resurfaced with an F10 type mixture with AM3 MAX, an exclusive product from BITAFAL for the next revolution in the road industry of our country.

By reducing production and laying temperatures by approximately 35°C, emissions were reduced, the well-being of all involved was significantly improved, and around 20% of fuel per ton produced was saved.

Likewise, on Route 45 in Ciudad Rodriguez in the Department of San José, a dense mixture was applied with AC30 MAX, another product of the New MAX Line developed by BITAFAL. In this case, the temperature reduction was 20°C, making a significant difference in smoke emissions throughout the process and the densities achieved in the field were maintained.

Thanks to the joint work carried out with the companies Traxpalco and Serviam, and under the supervision of the technical team of the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works. In this way, the three companies and the State representatives demonstrate their commitment to sustainability applied to road construction, one of the great guidelines that BITAFAL has promoted for more than 30 years.

The Uruguay Construction Chamber organized a meeting called “Sustainability in Road Construction: real trends and application cases” to analyze the advance of the culture of sustainability in our sector. The event held on August 7, was attended by the United Nations Global Pact.

BitaFal was invited together with the Constructora Traxpalco company to present its experience in the application of the concepts of sustainable production to the production of asphalt and asphalt emulsions.

Before a room full of technicians and representatives of construction companies of different items, our commercial head Victoria García presented in detail the process that BitaFal transits in the development of sustainable asphalt, aqueous emulsions that reduce the use of hydrocarbons, the reconversion of the energy matrix of our production plants and the research and innovation work that is carried out from the chair of sustainable asphalts Bitafal - Um.

For his part, our head of quality, safety and environment Ana Laura Hernández, recalled the process that led us to prepare the first sustainability report of the company in 2024 and highlighted the importance of systematizing the information of all the dimensions involved in sustainable production, especially on indicators such as carbon footprint and water footprint. In that sense, he encouraged the representatives of the different companies to begin touring the way to prepare their own sustainability reports. "We have a lot to do, but we are on the right path," he concluded.

The panel was also composed of the human management manager of Traxpalco, Andrea Caraballo, who stressed the importance of joint work between companies in the sector to reduce the environmental impact of road construction, especially thinking about communities and ecosystems that can be affected in the construction process. The event was present at the Executive Director of the Global Pact Felipe Filomeno and had the moderation of the head of the Department of Economic Studies of the CCU Florence I will be.

An excellent experience of exchange between representatives of companies that share concern for a more sustainable production, which takes care of the social and environmental aspects in the road construction of our country.