Wirtgen’s WRC 240i rock crusher arrives in North America

The Wirtgen Group has introduced the WRC 240i rock crusher— a complete in-motion machine — to the North American market.

Wirtgen wanted to offer a solution for contractors that are tackling downsizing or crushing of large in-place stone without the need for multiple touches.

The technology of the current WR series, Wirtgen’s recycler and soil stabilizer lineup, is capable of pulverizing asphalt and small stone but, the machines had limitations when dealing with larger stone. This led Wirtgen’s engineers to redesign the WR into a complete in-motion rock crusher.

Equipped with new crushing and mixing rotors, to its adjustable and interchangeable screens, coupled with the newly designed reinforced housing, the WRC was launched in 2023.

The WRC 240i’s first test was to tackle deteriorating cobblestone streets in Germany. Putting the equipment to test was crucial as Wirtgen needed to collect as much data as possible on various stone types across Germany to test its limits.

The WRC proved capable of downsizing concrete cobblestone, asphalt with granite bases, 3-cm thick non-reinforced concrete pavement and packed layers of limestone.

After months of testing, it was assumed the WRC was well on its way to proving it could downsize in-place stone with one touch.

Once the WRC completed its testing on Germany’s infrastructure, Wirtgen engineers set their sights on larger and more abrasive stone. In January, the first and only WRC in North America arrived in Texas to further the data collection on its capabilities. With Texas’ variety of stone blends, it proved to be the ideal proving ground for the WRC’s new technology.

As the WRC 240i has made its way around the state, it’s been used to downsize, and in many cases pulverize in-place limestone, dolomite and granite. It was also tested at a calcium chloride byproduct plant where it proved to be “too good” and created a size too small for use.

In every demonstration the WRC has proven it can not only downsize the in-place stone, but it has outperformed traditional methods.

In a recent demonstration, the WRC was put up against a dozer using a ripper with a bucket following for cleanup. This process proved to leave many large stones still in place on the mountain road rehab, which were then dragged by the motor grader. The WRC was able to pulverize at a 25-cm depth of 7,500 square metres of the existing substrate, which was a blend of limestone and granite, to a material that was then used as the base course.

In another demonstration, the WRC was compared to a milling head attachment on a 23-tonne wheel loader. A total of 1,100 square metres were pulverized at a 20-cm depth using the WRC in 2 hours. This same process took the wheel loader 6 hours and was only able to pulverize 15 cm deep. At another construction site, the WRC was used to downsize heaping stockpiles of large stone to usable fill. This customer ran the math afterwards and calculated a $9,000 daily saving by using the WRC.

When factoring in the WRC’s ability to relieve other fuel consuming processes, the machine can reduce overall fuel consumption on site. In most situations, a typical greenfield site will require the removal of in situ material to achieve the desired profile, grade and pavement layers. In that case, several pieces of equipment are mobilized to clear the land and possibly remove large amounts of stone.

It is likely the stone will be blasted or fractured with a hydraulic hammer, but depending on the size of the stone, it might be processed again through a large, fixed crusher and will again be piled up and moved using a loader and a dump truck.

Fuel consumption is a major contributor in producing carbon emissions and looking at ways to eliminate some of the fuel usage has been a goal of The Wirtgen Group. If on any site, a contractor could effectively remove large in-place stones with fewer touches, it would not only reduce carbon emissions but also increase daily production and profit.

Through the many demonstrations Wirtgen has completed, the data supports a reduction of time on site, cost of operation and carbon emissions.

The new WRC is evidence that advanced technology can not only preform as per design but can positively impact the customer’s bottom line