Innovation as a tradition – Rembeck relies on progress

Rembeck – a family-owned company with a long tradition

The company‘s roots reach back to the year 1936 when Alois Rembeck senior founded a construction company. He ran the business as a one-man company focusing on agricultural construction until the war. After the reopening, when the war was over, the foundation of the concrete plant marked an important milestone in 1953. In the beginning, concrete blocks and even joist floors were manufactured in this factory which is what made the company one of the oldest concrete plants in Germany.

Innovation is the key to success

Since the year one, innovation has been a key aspect of the corporate philosophy of Rembeck and provided for the fact that the company with a long tradition remains at the top. The concrete specialist and the technology supplier Progress Group have this in common. As the first company in the region, Rembeck had already implemented a concrete mixing plant in 1965. The company started with the production of semi-precast floor slabs in 1967 and has continuously extended the product portfolio, for example, with precast stairs and columns in the early 1990s. In this regard, they always opt for new technologies and bold entrepreneurial decisions. Ralph Rembeck, the grandson of the founder, who is now running the business himself, joined the company in 1997 after finishing his studies and initiated the production of double walls. Thermal walls were added in 2009. These products are particularly in demand in the agricultural sector where they are used for the construction of stables, for example. This enabled Rembeck to establish itself a special position on the market.

Agriculture and theme parks

The Rembeck company, however, did not only concentrate on precast concrete elements for the agricultural sector. A highlight project is the delivery of more than hundred precast concrete elements for a theme park in the Bavarian Forest. „The owner, who knew us because of a biogas plant, was so excited by our work that he also awarded us a contract for the theme park,“ reports Ralph Rembeck. The precast producer built foundations for a summer toboggan run, a restaurant on the mountain as well as the buildings of the mountain and valley stations. „We are focusing on concrete-intensive building structures, where we have an advantage with our automated production process and can also use our two ready-mix concrete mixing plants,“ explains Rembeck.

Complete circulation for better working and better quality

In order to meet the rising quality requirements, to counteract the shortage of skilled labor and to serve the increasing demand for complete supplies including walls and floor slabs, Rembeck has invested in modern technologies and automation systems of the Progress Group. At the beginning of the 1990s, the father of the current general manager had already invested in a system of Progress. In 2002 an MSR 16 multi-rotor straightening and cutting machine was added that is still running. Regarding the investment into a complete circulation system Rembeck states as follows: „Our capacities for double walls and thermal walls were exhausted and we also intended to create the possibility to produce floor slabs. This led to the decision to build a new complete circulation system and to focus on automation and digitalization.“ Innovative solutions in the new factory, among others, are a Form Master shuttering and deshuttering robot, an Econ Drive concrete spreader, a rack system with storage and retrieval unit, compaction devices as well as the complete reinforcement automation and integrated software solutions. The new systems have improved the quality of the final products considerably and have increased the output. „For finalizing the precast elements, for example, we have switched to vibration technology and hardening in curing chambers. As a result, we no longer have any pores in the concrete and are able to produce larger quantities,“ he adds. Moreover, Rembeck has automated the preparation of insulation. The entire insulation is prefabricated on a laser-equipped table so that it can be easily placed onto the concreted element on the pallet.

Completely in-house reinforcement production

The reinforcement production is situated on an intermediate platform, thus saving space in the new production hall. The installation of an M-System BlueMesh mesh welding machine and a Versa lattice girder welding machine with automated height adjustment during ongoing production also contributed to an increase in efficiency. For Rembeck, the plant will already have amortized after about 5 years owing to the high purchasing costs for lattice girders. The reinforcement automation allows the company to produce themselves special mesh, cages and lattice girders from the coil just-in-time, saving costs and simplifying storage.

Digitalization of the production

The digitalization of the production process was another important step. „With the implementation of the Ebos software of the Progress Group, we are able to monitor and control the entire production digitally,“ states the general manager. This allows for paperless production and improves communication and efficiency considerably. „Our staff members have huge touchscreens, where they can retrieve all necessary information,“ Ralph Rembeck explains. Digitalization also provides the advantage that the production process can be monitored remotely. „As a statistics nerd, I particularly appreciate the possibility to request all production data in real time,“ he adds.

Progress through collaboration

„We have a close relationship with the Progress Group and the cooperation is excellent,“ Ralph Rembeck points out. „When I stood in our precast concrete plant and could see the Form Master shuttering robot in action for the first time, I felt like a little boy standing in front of his new toy. It is fantastic that the machines are already running with great success in many places and that you can view them yourself at the own precast concrete plant of the supplier. That creates trust!“ According to him, the common language and the geographic proximity facilitate communication even more and made the common project to a success for both sides.