Brett Aggregates - North Sea Terminal

Brett Aggregates are the UK’s largest independent building materials group, handling over 5m tonnes of aggregate and producing up to a million cubic metres of concrete every year.

As part of their development plans to their they required the design and fabrication of a new radial conveyor, the size of which would place it amongst the largest in Europe.

Client: Atherton Material Handling

End User: Brett Aggregates

Location: Cliffe, Kent

Sector: Materials Handling / Industrial Infrastructure

Service: Structural Design and Verification

Overview

Brett Aggregates is the UK’s largest independent building materials group, processing over five million tonnes of aggregate and producing up to a million cubic metres of concrete annually. Their Cliffe site in Kent forms a key part of their national network, with direct access to imported marine-dredged aggregate.

As part of ongoing investment in infrastructure and logistics at the Ready Mixed Concrete & Screed site in Cliffe, Brett commissioned a new radial conveyor to enhance storage and transfer capabilities across the site. With an overall length of 67 metres and a cantilever span of approximately 23 metres, the structure is amongst the largest radial conveyors in Europe.

Our Appointment

Shepherd Gilmour were engaged by Atherton Material Handling (AMH), a leading UK-based designer and fabricator of bulk materials handling equipment, to deliver the structural design of this complex, mobile conveyor system. AMH are specialists in the field, known for supplying bespoke solutions to the quarrying, mining, cement and waste sectors across the UK and internationally.

Working closely with the AMH team, we took an early-stage concept and developed it through to a detailed engineered solution. Our remit included not only design development and optimisation, but also structural verification of the final scheme for manufacturing and safe deployment.

Design and Engineering Challenges

Total Length: 67 metres

Cantilever Reach: Approx. 23 metres

Structural Form: Triangular braced tower with mixed bracing configurations

Mobility: Radial conveyor not permanently anchored

From the outset, the scale of the conveyor and its operational mobility presented unique engineering challenges. Our engineers created a detailed Finite Element Model (FEM) to evaluate and refine the structure under various loading conditions, including dead load, conveyor loading, and extreme wind actions.

Through iterative analysis, we were able to significantly reduce the material weight from the original concept, improving structural efficiency and reducing fabrication costs. A hybrid bracing approach was adopted, employing both tension-only cross bracing and compression/tension bracing, while the cantilever was supported by a central triangular braced tower.

Given that the conveyor is not ordinarily fixed to a permanent foundation, we undertook a detailed wind and dynamic response assessment. This ensured resilience and operational stability under a full range of load cases, including parked and operating positions, as well as varying material loadings.

Outcome

The completed design delivered a robust, lightweight, and efficient conveyor structure, tailored to the needs of Brett Aggregates’ high-throughput operations. Our early engagement and analytical input contributed to successful fabrication by AMH and the safe, functional integration of the conveyor into the Cliffe site’s working infrastructure.

This project highlights the value of collaborative engineering and our ability to support specialist fabricators with detailed structural insight, particularly on large, mobile, and exposed infrastructure assets.