ATON GmbH

Digging of sand and ballast was started in August 2007, using high-capacity machinery. From early 2008, a modern cable excavator with a capacity of 400 t per hour has been in service here. The gravel pit allows for the extraction of the necessary commodities for the projects under construction with ATON Transilvania, being able to completely back its own requirements. The exhausted gravel and sand is particularly needed for the production of concrete. A sorting and washing facility with a capacity of 300 t per hour washes the gravel and sand and sorts it into different categories of the sizes 0-4 mm, 4-8 mm, 8-16 mm and 16-32 mm.

The capacity of the gravel and sand pit currently meets 200.000 t per year and is planned to be extended to meet 1.000.000 t per year until 2008/2009. At the end of 2007, a staff of 27 was employed in the gravel pit.

The quarry is located in Lipova (Arad district), approx. 80 km from Timişoara, and harbours, in a depth of 20 meters and on a forested area of 400 ha, substantial granite and granodiorite deposits. It provides hard rock, which is required for road bases, the building of infra-structure and for certain types of concrete. The demand for this type of rock is considerable in Romania. For the sole construction of the motorway in the delivery area of the stone pit, 3.000.000 t of quarry stone is needed.

The operation of the quarry started in May 2007. Due to the upgrade to high performance machinery, it was possible to deliver the first high quality rock by the end of 2007. Among the machinery of the quarry are two mobile breaking and sorting facilities as well as numerous heavy machines that are suited for ground movements (4 front-end loaders, 6 crawler cranes, 2 bulldozers, 2 skips, 2 drills). The quarry has a current capacity of 2.000.000 t per year and extends over an area of 2 ha.

The implementation of a large breaking and sorting facility is planned for the near future. It can handle 500 t of rock per hour and will allow for the rise of work capacity to 4.000.000 t per year. At the end of 2007, a staff of 47 was employed in the quarry.

The concrete factory is the largest facility, assembled by the Liebherr Company, Romania. It is located in Sanandrei, approx. 8 km from Timişoara. The facility has all necessary appliances in order to produce special concrete. It has been ready for production since December 2007 and has a capacity of 150 m³ per hour. The 6 concrete mixers and the concrete pump of its own allow ATON Transilvania to transport and handle concrete also under adverse conditions. In the future, the concrete factory will be supported by 6 transportation silos for cement and will have available a laboratory for quality inspection. At the end of 2007, a staff of 10 was employed in the concrete factory.