Airfield runway specialist, Jointline, has invested £1 million in new plant and machinery to enhance its runway grooving capabilities.
The Lincolnshire-based business, which has undertaken renovation and improvement works at airports across Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, specialises in anti-skid grooving on both asphalt and concrete runways to provide additional grip and safety enhancements. Grooving facilitiates the rapid dissipation of water, thereby increasing surface friction and substantially reducing the risk of aquaplaning. Jointline’s recently completed projects include runway grooving for London’s Heathrow and Stansted airports, as well as Belfast International Airport and Shannon Airport in County Clare, Ireland in addition to several military airfields.
With demand for runway refurbishment and development the highest it’s been for a decade, according to Gary Massey, Managing Director of Jointline, he explained that “in order for us to fulfil the demand from existing domestic customers – while expanding our overseas operations – we have deployed company funds to purchase multiple new sets of specialist plant and machinery.”
The investment will include the purchase of five ride-on pavement groovers, a bespoke 30-ft articulated and two 44-tonne DAF XF Super Space tractor units. The firm has also invested in the remanufacture of its 30,000-litre capacity water tanker, which has additional safety features, Chapter 8 requirements and full 360-camera coverage.
Tests conducted by official bodies such as NASA show a marked improvement in the take-off and landing distances of aircraft using a grooved runway, which can achieve a co-efficient of friction that equates to 85% of that when dry.
