The SWIETELSKY Magyarország road builders are ready to jump at the new opportunities

He also pointed out that about half of the total production is sold on the market. It is interesting to note that their customers include a relatively large number of small companies that, due to their size, work on road construction at low costs and low prices, but cannot produce the asphalt.

He added that they also derive a significant turnover from the fact that they and a few other large companies are the only ones able to produce quality mastic asphalt. "For example, when they need a quality mastic asphalt that meets specifications for bridge sealing, they often turn to us because it's a special technology product."

Innovative professionals are highly valued

In response to a question, he also explained what is needed to provide a high quality service in the road department. "Constant professional development only works if the construction team, both managers and middle managers, are dedicated and love their profession."

The other prerequisite was the right technological background. "It is important to plan and monitor processes and test products in an accredited laboratory. In addition to all this, it is a great advantage that we have innovative colleagues who work as experts in different working groups of HAPA and MAÚT, so we are also involved in the development of new road specifications. These colleagues are highly valued because their knowledge and experience is very important to us."

It also draws attention to the importance of the latter relationship. "I always say that standardisation improvements can only be achieved if there is feedback from industry."

Technical aspects are often overridden by regulations

We also asked to what extent can the aspects of market change be reconciled with the challenges of technological change, and which is the stronger argument for capacity development? "The stronger argument is clearly the market and the regulatory environment: we can invent anything if there is no demand."

At this point he drew attention to a problem in public procurement that affects several companies. "We need to improve a number of tenders, basically for two reasons: one is to get a good product and the other is to make it more economical." He adds that it often happens that a technical proposal is given to the client, who gives feedback that it is basically good, but cannot allow it because it was different in the tender, and if it is not fulfilled, sanctions come. "In my view, this is a big barrier to Hungarian innovation."

The Germans are close to recycling, but we still have barriers to recycling

A similar issue was raised regarding the reuse of mart asphalt, which is important for sustainability. "All our mixers are designed to be able to feed mastic asphalt. We have the knowledge and the tools to do it."

He also gave a sense of where we could improve. "In Germany and the Czech Republic, more mart material can be incorporated into the wear layer than in our country. And the Germans are maximising this rate because they can achieve a replacement of the wearing course every seven years on a given road. This means that only a small amount has to be spent on repairs, because the road does not deteriorate as much as it does here. It's very close to the sustainable cycle of construction that we often talk about nowadays."

The Hungarian asphalt industry has a greater capacity for innovation

Similar obstacles to the use of new types of asphalt mixes or additives are encountered. "These cannot be incorporated purely to optimise technical aspects because we are bound by road regulations."

In conclusion, he said, the Hungarian asphalt industry has a much greater capacity for innovation than is currently being achieved. "We are also in the HAPA working groups, among others, working on these changes."

The MKIF approach starts a good process

Despite these problems, the expert is optimistic about the future. "The fact that part of the investment and operation of motorways has been taken over by one company is very positive for the sector. The concessionaire really does think like a farmer. Design, construction and operation are managed by a single stakeholder. If they find a fault, they don't just fix it, they think about the cause and fix it in a way that reduces repair and operating costs." He added that the standards also bind the concessionaires, which he believes gives the operator of thousands of kilometres of stock greater lobbying power to optimise standards.

Overall, he warned that in the standards strategy it is of utmost importance to consult and involve market players in decision-making.

This structure provides a direct working link to European development trends

For the SWIETELSKY Magyarország road builders, the multinational background is a great help both in technological development and in building the necessary knowledge base. "We are constantly seeing what our German, Austrian and Czech colleagues are developing and how much they are producing. We also have specific databases that show how much was produced by which blender in which country in which month." The data also shows that around 10 per cent of SWIETELSKY's global asphalt production of 3.5 million tonnes a year is produced in Hungarian mixer plants.

There is also a more concrete way of harnessing international contacts: 'We have regular consultations with our colleagues abroad. We have a level of cooperation where we have joint working groups on a particular topic. At the moment we are working together on an innovation topic: we are discussing parallel drum asphalt mixing, which is the solution of the future." He added that this tool is essential to ensure that a large proportion of the asphalt can be recycled.

They now have 12 thousand employees and a turnover of €3.5 million

As background to the international cooperation, he also described a process: "The group has grown steadily in recent years, with 12,000 employees and an annual turnover of €3.5 billion. In line with this growth, a major structural change has been underway for a year and a half now to make the knowledge we have acquired in each area and country more widely available throughout the group."

With the German method, many more roads could be built with the same amount of resources!

Looking at the situation of the road construction sector at national level, he said that it would be useful to follow the example of Germany and Austria, where it is common practice for several companies to jointly determine the allocation of asphalt mixing capacity. "At the moment, in Hungary, the total mixing capacity available is 3.5 times greater than what is needed: in my opinion, this is a luxury! Mixing plants have high maintenance costs even when they are not in operation."

He said that there are very good models abroad for the cooperation we lack. "In a given region, for example, several companies operate in a consortium to make the best use of capacity, treating the site as a 'community mixer'. At present, half of the hundred or so mixers operating in our country could be eliminated by this method, and all asphalt producers would be better off. At the same time, it would also be worth it from a national economic point of view, because I think the cost of mixing asphalt would be cheaper, and overall we could build more roads with the same amount of resources."

Thinking about the future instead of downsizing

He concluded the interview by saying that the SWIETELSKY Magyarország is ready for change and has much more road building capacity than it can use in the current market environment. "I am determined to get and keep both the human and machine base in a state where we are able to make the leap whenever the opportunity opens up. While we see downsizing in other industries, the SWIETELSKY Magyarország road construction team is thinking about the future instead of downsizing!"