Industry first as FM Conway expands highways materials portfolio

Leading infrastructure services company FM Conway has become the first highways materials manufacturer and contractor in the UK to produce its own Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB).

The new products support FM Conway’s growing asphalt manufacturing division supplying London and southern England. PMB is added to asphalt mixes to improve the long-term performance of road materials. Thanks to their greater elasticity, asphalt mixes which contain PMB can significantly improve the durability of highways assets. In particular, their greater resistance to rutting and cracking provides improved resilience to the impacts of changing weather patterns caused by climate change.

FM Conway’s director of aggregates and asphalt, Tim Metcalf, commented on the expansion of the company’s materials portfolio:

“As a business, we’ve long championed the benefits of a self-delivery approach, manufacturing, supplying, as well as laying our own materials on the local and strategic road networks to drive cost and time efficiencies for our clients. The production of our own Polymer Modified Bitumen marks the next evolution of this model, allowing us to continue producing high-quality materials for the UK’s highways that meet the needs of roads users now and in the future.

Thanks to their greater elasticity, asphalt mixes which contain PMB can significantly improve the durability of highways assets.

“FM Conway is committed to driving innovation in the highways sector. We’ll continue to explore how extending the use of PMB across all layers of our roads can support a more durable, whole-life approach to highways asset management and help us respond to industry challenges such as dealing with the effects of climate change.”

The development of FM Conway’s PMB plant is the result of a close collaboration with its chosen polymer supplier, Kraton Polymers, and leading plant equipment manufacturer, Benninghoven. The materials will be manufactured at a newly opened facility at the company’s Gravesend bitumen terminal in Kent.

The production of PMB complements FM Conway’s existing materials recycling and manufacturing capabilities. The company owns and operates six asphalt plants across London and the south of England in addition to the Gravesend bitumen terminal and PMB production facility.