AsphaltPro’s 15 Top Products: Astec Dropzone: Smart Load‑Out Solution for Asphalt Plants

This product was selected for the inaugural AsphaltPro’s 15 Top Products Feature.

Astec Industries, Chattanooga, Tennessee, pulls from its 16 brands to design and manufacture the thousands of products used to build the infrastructure that physically connects the world. At the 2025 World of Asphalt tradeshow in St. Louis, Astec announced its Dropzone loadout solution.

Asphalt plant operators juggle multiple tasks including running the plant, coordinating with truck drivers, managing production and handling transactions. A misload can cost thousands in damages, medical expenses or downtime. Dropzone helps the operator ensure that the truck is in place, and that material is not being loaded where it shouldn’t be, thus safeguarding drivers, equipment and operations.

A spokesperson for Astec stated, “It helps prevent costly or unsafe loading situations. Dropzone is an operator aid in that it identifies if the truck bed is in the proper location for loading, but the operator still initiates the loading.”

The technology works with Astec controls or as a standalone solution for non-Astec systems. “Depending on the loadout system being used, the loading of the truck from there can be automated to meet a target weight,” the spokesperson shared. “Our loadout systems do this, for example. If the truck were to start moving after the loading is started and the bed is detected to be moving out of the target, the Dropzone system will automatically close the gates.”

Workers can bypass the system without disrupting operations. “There is a manual override option in case they are doing maintenance or needing to load into something out of the ordinary. When the override is done, the user credentials are logged, a reason code can be stored, and a recording is also stored.”

Learn more at https://www.astecindustries.com/