Operated by Tarmac Quarry Products Northern Howick is a hard rock quarry with reserves of whinstone and is located near Alnwick, Northumberland.

Originally relocated some years ago from another Tarmac site the asphalt plant contained an aged Vibro-King asphalt screen which was now in desperate need of renewal and no longer commercially available.

After searching for a company that could manufacture an exact match,  Finedoor, after subsequent on-site consultation received an order to manufacture an asphalt screen that would interface into the original plant.

Finedoor who offer bespoke Quarry and Recycling Solutions and have considerable knowledge and expertise in replacement screens manufactured a 2.44m x 1.24m, three deck screen. Incorporating nine screen deck mesh cassettes these are designed to mount onto the existing screen support frame and suspension units.

The new screen was manufactured from 10mm rigid side plates with heavy duty bolted decks and features 2 -self aligning spherical roller bearings with grease lubrication. Several unique elements of the replacement screen are the provision of lift-out cassettes and the suspension on wire rope.

A new screen canopy, lower feed chute section and new walkways around the screen platform and elevator bucket platform were also manufactured.

The installation of the screen, canopy and associated equipment, was tested and commissioned successfully by Finedoor engineers.

Jonathan Larter-Unit Manager, commented; "Tarmac are committed to supplying customers with an exceptional service of all products which in terms of asphalt can be very challenging as site requirements can vary quite quickly at short notice. As a business we need to be flexible in our approach whilst continuing to adapt to the changing needs of our customers; for this reason our plants have to continue to be extremely reliable and efficient for producing a variety of materials across the product spectrum. Finedoor were approached to carry out this work following their excellent record for various hot screen installations across the country. Their team managed to complete the full project ahead of schedule through complex and difficult timescales. The full project from start to finish was very well managed and we were at full production ahead of schedule with little impact on our business."