3D_Ansicht_vom_Moonlight_Bürokomplex_in_Luxemburg_Projekt_betons_feidt
SOURCE: Felix Giorgetti
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bétons feidt creates special architecture in concrete

Precast architecture is modern and different. Numerous building projects worldwide prove that. It now has very little to do with standards and norms. One of the long-standing leaders among the manufacturers of such precast elements is the concrete specialist bétons feidt from Luxembourg. Vollert technology plays a big part in this.

What bétons feidt from Luxembourg makes with concrete is almost art. The concrete specialist produces and supplies concrete elements and very modern architectural components for residential, industrial and office buildings and is regarded as one of the leading manufacturers in Europe in terms of quality. For instance, the Moonlight office complex with a floor area of over 9600 square metres designed by the renowned architect's office Jim Clemes is currently under construction in Luxembourg City. The architectural supporting facade from bétons feidt consists of one single concrete strip with over 1000 metres of length. For this, over 300,000 terracotta bricks will be installed by 2018, 6200 cubic metres of concrete poured and 4400 square metres of double walls put into position.

120% quality and maximum componentvariability in production

"With all the structural elements that we produce, whether solid wall sections, noise barriers or bridge elements, we aim for 120% quality. State-of-the-art production technology and maximum variability in the processes are crucial for customerspecific production", says Ferd Feidt, managing director and owner of bétons feidt. Until 2016, solid walls and special architectural parts were manufactured in the precast plant in Medernach in a fully stationary process on tilting tables. In order to create the urgently needed capacities for forthcoming large-scale construction projects, a new circulating production concept was developed together with Vollert as the plant specialists. The core is a central transfer table with a movement range of 60 metres, which distributes the pallets for the precast concrete elements to be manufactured to the individual shuttering and reinforcement stations by means of a pair of cross-lifting trucks and subsequently transports them onwards to the concrete casting. A low-frequency, low-noise VArio COMPACT2 vibrating station is installed for the very good compaction of the concrete. The shaking motion is generated by unbalance drives, enabling the compaction energy to be adjusted precisely in comparison with a conventional vibrating station. By lowering the water-cement mixing ratio (w/cratio) whilst maintaining the early concrete strength, the cement content can be significantly reduced. For higher yield capacities a further low-frequency compaction station has been installed with an additional vibrator.

The new plant concept is supplemented by a modern ceilingguided VArio STORE storage and retrieval machine, which puts the semi-finished concrete parts into store in the individual rack towers of the curing chamber. The VArio CURE curing chamber consists of three lined rack towers, each with 12 storage compartments. Approaching the individual hardening chamber levels takes place by means of setting bars, whose set-down points are infinitely adjustable A safety concept specially developed by Vollert prevents overloading of the lifting cable, thus minimising the risk of a cable breakage. State-ofthe-art VArio SMOOTH trowelling machines ensure very high quality fair-faced concrete surfaces of the architectural concrete elements. This is ensured by an electrically driven smoothing head with vane adjustment and adjustable speeds of rotation. Once the precast concrete elements have been given their final finish and have attained the desired surface quality, two VArio TILT high-performance tilting stations take care of the vertical lifting and loading onto depositing frames. A hydraulically movable support beam prevents the concrete element from slipping during the tilting procedure.

Optimum processes - always with a vision of tomorrow

"All processes have been optimally thought through by bétons feidt and our planning specialists. As a result of that we have achieved maximum variability in the structural elements to be manufactured. We can change the production type in just a few minutes or manufacture concrete elements of varying complexity for the different building projects in parallel", explains Daniel Krusche, project manager at Vollert. The Unitechnik master computer receives the data models directly from the CAD system and controls all plant processes. In the conception of the master computer, Vollert ensured that the plant operator can always keep an eye on the most important key economic figures.

Today, just a few months after the start of production of the new plant equipment, structural elements are already being delivered in premium quality to delighted customers - with a previously unattained availability as regards capacity and quality. Ferd Feidt is and remains a visionary, always looking forwards. He drives innovation forwards with the goal of keeping one step ahead in the competition for customers. In doing so the focus is always on the quality of his premium concrete products. Later extension options are thus already provided for on the production side, for example for double wall production or a fully automatic CAD/CAM-controlled concrete distributor. One thing is sure: bétons feidt will continue to stand out from the standard through spectacular precast element architecture.

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