Deployment on unfamiliar terrain.

A delicate touch is required. In some places, the distance between the drop and the retaining wall is just 2.70 m. The BF 350 C-5 only just fits through. Thanks to the perfectly responsive joystick control, the machine can be manoeuvred with millimetre precision.

Today marks the second deployment of the new BOMAG city paver for the Tiefbau Velten GmbH team. High above Ahrweiler’s old town, 1,080 metres of farm access track are due to be renewed over the coming days. The slopes reach gradients of up to 50 per cent—wine has been grown here for centuries.

The client is the land consolidation association from the Walporzheim district. Its aim is to prevent the vineyards from falling into disuse. In the Kräuterberg and Alte Lay areas, access was previously inadequate, making efficient machine use by winegrowers almost impossible. The newly paved, 2.50-metre-wide road should improve the situation.

To keep warm-up times as short as possible, the heating rods on this asphalt paver are cast in aluminium. Thanks to MAGMALIFE technology, the temperature is distributed across the screed plates particularly evenly and extremely quickly. MAGMALIFE screed technology offers another advantage: combined with independent side plate heating, it enables highly precise and exceptionally even material placement.

Manuel is assigned as the operator today. He has already gained experience on the larger BOMAG paver model BF 700. So operating the brand-new BF 350 C-5 is no problem for him, as the new BOMAG city paver features the same assistance system, which Manuel is familiar with from the BF 350 C-5’s larger sibling. They enable highly efficient paving and maximum quality. Screed width measurement, crown profile, crossfall, auger position, tow arm height—all key paving parameters are clearly displayed on the digital display. The well-thought-out operating concept makes Manuel’s work much easier.

He can personalise the touch display interface in the driver’s cab and also assign the switches on the travel lever individually. This allows operation to be adapted to the site conditions and the operator’s requirements. Whether at the operator’s station or the screed control panel: all menus and displays are designed to be self-explanatory. The new BOMAG BF 350 C-5 asphalt paver has already become the entire paving crew’s favourite workplace.

Manuel’s workstation is particularly ergonomic: the swivelling operator’s seat and the controls form a single unit. The joystick is positioned on the armrest, and the seat can be fully swung out to the side. In the swung-out position and in unsettled November weather, the well-designed cab with its hydraulically folding side roof provides reliable protection. Despite intermittent drizzle, Manuel stays dry this morning and still has an excellent view—of the machine edge, the hopper, the auger, the screed and the entire material flow—and, of course, down into the valley, where another construction site shapes the scene: the almost completed reconstruction of the Ahr Valley railway line, which was almost entirely destroyed by the devastating floods of 14 July 2021.

The team is making good progress. The BF 350 C-5 and the paving operation are running smoothly. Two light BOMAG tandem rollers are compacting behind the paver. The BW 100 AD-5 is operated by Ferhad Habash. He has lived in Germany for many years and, as he says with no little pride, already operated BOMAG rollers back in his home country of Syria. His machine, a fifth generation roller, is equipped with the ECONOMIZER. The ECONOMIZER not only identifies optimally compacted areas, but also weak spots in the substrate. This gives the roller operator a precise overview of what still needs to be done and where. The risk of over-compaction is reduced and the number of passes can be cut by up to 25 per cent.