Transporting reinforced concrete to building sites in the Actros

An Actros 1848 loaded with reinforcement rods stops at Altra Logística's head office in Tauste (Saragossa, Spain). The material was loaded at a steel plant in Bilbao and is now being transported to Teruel where there is a plant belonging to Sendin – a French manufacturer of steel constructions for reinforced concrete. “We transport steel reinforcements of various diameters, lengths and shapes,” explains J. Antonio Arrieta. The material is used in the production of metal constructions for reinforced concrete. Mr Arrieta runs his hand over the surface of one of the rods. “The protrusions or ribbing help the concrete to stick to it more readily,” says the Managing Director of Altra Logística.

Today it would be unthinkable to build infrastructure projects without using reinforced concrete. “This material can be found everywhere you look,” says Arrieta. “It’s in buildings and all kinds of other structures: bridges, dams, tunnels or industrial buildings.” The metal that Altra Logística is transporting will be used in construction work for the Paris Metro and Orly airport.

The company was in danger of disappearing.

Altra Logística has a staff of 160 people and a fleet of 150 company-owned trucks which are on the road every day. Its premises cover an area of 22,000 square metres. J. Antonio Arrieta is now sitting in his sunlit office, explaining the success story which his company has written. What was once founded by his father as a modest company carrying out excavation work is now an enterprise which specialises in the transportation of steel and metal constructions for reinforced concrete. Today earth excavation operations still make up around 20 percent of the company's activities. “The situation was critical around 10 years ago during the international economic crisis. The company was in danger of disappearing,” says J. Antonio who then decided to expand the company’s activities into other areas.

The Altra Logística trucks transport metal structures for reinforcing concrete in a range of platform trucks and trailers every day from Sendin's plant in Teruel to Paris, covering a distance of around 1300 kilometres. “It’s one of our main routes,” explains Mr Arrieta. He appreciates the Predictive Powertrain Control intelligent cruise and transmission control system of the Actros, particularly on long-distance routes. “The system saves fuel, is kind to the environment and minimises driver fatigue.”

The freight that is brought back from France on the return journey is usually scrap metal destined for Catalonia and the Basque country where it is melted and reprocessed by steel companies. “Which brings us full circle,” says Mr Arrieta.

Mr Arrieta manages his company by relying not only on his intuition and experience, but also on a consistent quality of work and the Actros 1848: “I am don't buy the brand just because I'm a fan of it. I buy trucks from Mercedes‑Benz because they work.”

Photos: Begoña Tremps