... state-of-the-art manufacturing for a bright future! This was the task that engineers at Weckenmann had to fufil when they were commissioned by German concrete manufacturer Albert Schiller in Weinstadt (near Stuttgart) to modernise and enhance a 1975 Weckenmann plant for manufacturing floor slabs.
The concrete spreader and lifting unit had to be taken into account from the beginning and integrated into the new production line as far as possible. "We are very proud of the durability of our machines and our experts knew the job would not pose a problem", explains Dietmar Kiene, sales manager at Weckenmann. "To keep investment costs as low as possible, we always consider existing machines and incorporate them into the new layout for upgrades and refurbishing projects."
Since the concrete spreader and lifting unit for flooring elements continued to operate reliably, even after 35 years, they were simply brought "up to speed" and reshaped in line with the new hall scheme. Only the production lanes and formwork system were removed entirely and replaced. A new cleaning, plotting, and electrostatic oiler streamlines production further and improves product quality. The computer-controlled device supports plotting of the slab dimensions in exact accordance to plan. A new cross lifting platform is also used in place of a crane to move the machines to their respective production lane. "This solution is proof that our efforts to modernise an existing production facility with minimum outlay, taking into account existing machinery, were a success", explains Kiene. Schiller has been manufacturing precast concrete parts since the early 1970s and has been a customer of Weckenmann ever since.
