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Once again, BITAFAL was present at the UM Job Fair, the event that invites students from that university to meet companies in the sectors linked to their future professions. The event, held at the facilities of the UM Faculty of Engineering (FIUM), brought together hundreds of students, who were able to learn about job opportunities, internships and other modalities of relating to the world of work.

On this occasion, our proposal combined a recreational activity with complete information about the world of roads and especially about the opportunities that this sector offers to young talents seeking to enter the labor market. The BITAFAL commercial technical team was in front of our stand, conducting the games between cars and prizes, answering questions from the students and providing information that will surely be very useful to them in the future.

Younger, more future.

For many years BITAFAL has been developing a culture of incorporating young people into its team, whether in professional, technical or operational tasks, being a great generator of opportunities to join the labor market and to develop functional careers, where personal training is an essential value.

The creation of the BITAFAL-UM Sustainable Asphalt Chair marked a milestone in this process, and currently several students develop their research projects in collaboration with our company. Because a growing industry must be nourished by the talent of young people, capable of challenging our own knowledge.

In recent months, the BITAFAL after-sales team accompanied a series of interventions in works in different regions of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, in the application of asphalt emulsions. More than 150,000 square meters of bituminous irrigation were applied on routes in Durazno, Tacuarembó, Rivera, Colonia and Soriano.

The product used was Riego 65 P40, a high-performance emulsion that increases the useful life of the road and improves road safety. For its application, logistical coordination is required between the different BITAFAL teams, considering application times, distances and temperatures.

The BITAFAL after-sales team operates as a strategic partner integrated into the client's work. The service was designed to provide our clients with more technical support on site, using state-of-the-art specialized machinery and highly qualified personnel.

Continuing with the transformation of our company's energy matrix, in recent months we incorporated and put into operation two pieces of equipment of great importance in the clean energy production scheme for the operation of our plants.

At the Colonia Nicolich plant we installed a new biomass boiler that feeds the asphalt melting and modification section. With a thermal production capacity of 2,000,000 kCal/h, this equipment generates temperatures of up to 250 °C, using up to 1 ton of wood chips per hour.

The new boiler will reduce the generation of 500 tons of CO2 per year, which represents a significant reduction in our carbon footprint.

New wood chipper

BITAFAL's energy conversion, now with a biomass boiler in each plant, requires a high consumption of wood chips from recycling containers and pallets.

To improve the efficiency of this process, we incorporated a chipper with a processing capacity of 12 tons per hour. A piece of equipment that allows wood to be processed with great efficiency, since it has two magnetic separators to separate the metal parts that are incorporated into the pallets.

These additions in the energy area represent great progress in the sustainable transformation of the entire company.

In a few more days, the most important online event in the road industry in Latin America will take place. The InterCILA is the virtual version of the Ibero-Latin American Asphalt Congress, which is held every two years, in the period between two in-person editions of the CILA.

On this occasion it will be held from Mexico and will feature the participation of very prominent technicians from all of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as experts from Spain, the United States and the hosts from Mexico. In two intense days, we will be able to attend conferences on Pavement Recycling, RAP, Asphalt Mixtures and Binders, Artificial Intelligence applications, Innovation and Sustainability.

The call is open and free, which constitutes a unique opportunity to attend a top-level event and learn about the state of the art of the industry, presented by its protagonists. The program includes conferences, presentation of success stories and discussions that will undoubtedly bring us closer to the latest developments in the world of road construction.

InterCILA will be the bridge that connects the last edition of CILA, held in Paraguay in 2025, with the next edition that will be in 2027 in Panama. From BITAFAL we invite all construction companies, members of the National Highway Directorate of the MTOP, academics and students from the FIUM and FING engineering faculties to register for this link and participate in an event that will undoubtedly allow us to learn and compare our reality with the situation of very diverse countries and markets.

“Being happy is also a decision we must make.” Under this promising slogan, the BITAFAL team held its annual Open Session at the IEEM Business School of the University of Montevideo. The training was led by teacher Patricia Otero, who delved into the importance of achieving happiness in different areas of people's lives, including the family, the personal and especially at work.

We had the pleasant opportunity to share with some client friends and a large number of members of our team to reflect on the importance of happiness as a driver of personal and organizational growth. Formerly considered a soft skill, today happiness is valued as a fundamental element for the success of people within companies, generating more humane, sustainable and productive organizational environments.

Otero directs the UM Center for Happiness Studies, a space where research is carried out on the influence of that emotion on performance within companies. “If what you do brings you happiness, you will surely do it better,” said the teacher, referring to different scientific studies on the matter, which demonstrate the relationship between well-being in relation to the task and the result achieved.

This workshop is part of the permanent training plan that BITAFAL carries out in all its areas and for all its members. For the team that leads the management of the company, it represented a very important event, which was evident in the very positive assessment expressed by all who attended it.

BITAFAL's Transportation Division recently received two new tankers intended for the transportation of asphalt emulsions. They arrived from Brazil and have a loading capacity of 29,000 liters each.

Built in carbon steel, the new tanks are divided into 3 independent warehouses, which allows us to deliver up to 3 different products in a single office. This facilitates the task of applying and collecting emulsions for our clients, resulting in greater efficiency in their construction processes.

With this incorporation, BITAFAL continues to expand its fleet specialized in transporting asphalt emulsions and continues to improve processes and optimization in each delivery for the benefit of our customers and minimizing the impact on the environment.

Along with the new cisterns, the Transportation Division continued with the renovation of its infrastructure, incorporating a new control and security system through cameras, exterior signage and internal signage. Added to this was the remodeling of offices, dining rooms and work spaces, all elements that result in greater comfort and safety for the team that carries out the important task of delivering our products.

Within the framework of its annual program of academic activities, the BITAFAL – UM Sustainable Asphalt Chair organized the workshop “Pavement Rehabilitation Design for Maintenance Contracts”. It was aimed at learning first-hand about the state of the Uruguayan road network and the maintenance needs it presents.

The presentation was given by MTOP technicians Adrián Moreira and Pablo Hermida, who provided very valuable information about the reality of our roads, the criteria for evaluating their condition, structural parameters of the surfaces, functional parameters and wear according to the volume of traffic they receive. The specialists explained in depth the methodology for surveying and auscultating the pavements, using special equipment acquired for that purpose.

In that sense, they distinguished between the state of conservation of the Uruguayan road network, which in general terms is very good. Likewise, they highlighted that the MTOP is implementing a road asset management system called Ícaro, where all the information generated in the surveys carried out is processed.

Subsequently, MTOP representatives presented the design and rehabilitation methodologies determined by the portfolio for road maintenance contracts, especially those called AASHTO 93 and EVO, an empirical mechanistic analysis system. In this sense, the experts carried out a detailed analysis of the evaluation criteria used in the last 25 years and the trends that will be applied in future contracts.

The activity was presented by the director of the CAS, Eng. David Fontans, and was attended by more than 40 students from the FIUM and the FING, technicians from the MTOP, representatives of the Municipalities of Canelones and Montevideo, as well as technicians from abroad who participated in person and virtually in the day of high technical content. The BITAFAL team was led by our General Director Santiago Kröger, the commercial manager Victoria García and the technical/commercial advisor Ezequiel González, completing a day of high academic level on one of the most important aspects of road construction.

Days ago, the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works signed the first MAS-CREMAF contract for the rehabilitation of more than 200 km of routes in various departments of the country. A true milestone in road construction in Uruguay, since for the first time these contracts include incentives for meeting goals in the area of ​​sustainability.

The sections included in the contract involve routes 8, 17, 18 and 26, in the departments of Lavalleja, Treinta y Tres and Cerro Largo, for a period of 7 years. The agreement was signed by the Corporación Vial del Uruguay (CVU), MTOP concessionaire, and the company Serviam. BITAFAL will be providing support with its sustainable products and expertise to the recovery of the intervened sections.

The Sustainable Asset Maintenance contract model constitutes an evolution of the CREMAF contracts and combines the rehabilitation of existing sections with their long-term maintenance and the incorporation of specific sustainability criteria. To this end, they determine bonds related to emissions reduction, recycling and reuse of materials, asphalt materials and mixtures, environmental management and biodiversity, road safety and social impact.

The objective is to guarantee the conservation of the road heritage during the seven years of the contract, anticipating the necessary interventions to ensure service levels and preserve the routes in the long term.

At BITAFAL we are very pleased to contribute, from our place, to the promotion of sustainability in the Uruguayan road ecosystem, with our line of sustainable asphalts and emulsions.

We hope that this first contract will be successful and that it will be the beginning of a series of new projects that continue to put sustainability at the center.

More info HERE