On a former military airfield in the small town of Leipheim in southern Germany, a grain refinement center is taking shape for the Weltgold corporation. Once the plant is finished, it will be used for processing grain into flour. Large parts of the development were executed using a slipform process, which permits very rapid construction of high, vertical concrete components with generally constant profiles throughout. Here, the formwork and all work platforms were continually raised centimeter by centimeter using hydraulic jacks on so-called jacking rods. All the concrete engineering and reinforcement work, the concrete casting and the follow-up processes were carried out at the same time. To produce a seamless finish, builders need to work the concrete while both elements are fresh. That means that during the development of each section of the build, work went on 24 hours a day with no notable breaks.
During the course of the first of a total of three slipform sections constructed back in June, the external walls of the approximately 23-meter-high grain mill and the almost 52-meter-high network cells were finished within just 14 days. Two of our female engineers from our Hamburg office were on site day and night to supervise the construction measures and to monitor the quality of the work on behalf of the developer. In doing so, they paid particular attention to the execution of the reinforcement in line with planning and the correct follow-up treatment of the concrete surfaces, which will be placed under considerable stresses as a result of their direct contact with foodstuffs. The work went smoothly and planning preparation for the second section, which is to start at the end of August, is already in the final stages. The third slipform section will follow in the autumn.
Alongside supervision of the slipform construction, WTM Engineers also handled the building and structural planning for the entire project.
