Long-established precast producer on the route to modernity together with Avermann

In 1947, brothers F. and H. Conrad founded a limited liability company in Halberstadt in the State of Saxony-Anhalt for the processing of rubble from local buildings destroyed during the Second World War. In 1953, this limited liability company was converted into a state-owned enterprise named VEB Betonwerk Halberstadt, which began to process Magdeburg’s wartime rubble in the mid-1950s. From 1973 onwards, the company built a reputation as a manufacturer of custom precast elements in high demand across East Germany. Over the last couple of years, a new concrete mixing plant, a modern factory building, and numerous rehabilitation and upgrade projects have been completed successfully to increase the efficiency and quality of production.

The product range includes elevator shafts, balconies, girders/beams, precast floor slabs, elevated railway platforms, columns, staircase systems, solid floor and wall panels, and custom components that require a high level of specialist advice and planning. The company states that its strengths include high quality and dimensional accuracy, project-specific design options, manufacture exactly to customer specifications, a fast, high-quality production process, and delivery as well as assembly of finished products if required.

Building upon more than 70 years of experience, BEFER GmbH, a subsidiary of Richard Schulz Tiefbau, considers itself to be a reliable partner of the construction industry. It delivers tailor-made solutions for precast elements, support systems, and reinforced concrete structures. The company focuses on innovation and continuous improvement to simplify and speed up the construction process.

Investments are currently being made in expanding a high-performance IT system such that the design process in place at BEFER can be performed even more efficiently based on holistic (BIM-compliant) 3D models. Previous investments in the new production facility (“BMU – BEFER Massiver Umlauf”) set the course to a high-quality, future-proof production process. The business is continuously investing in process refinement and further expansion/renewal.

New construction of a modern factory building

BEFER TAT operates approximately 130,000 m² of shopfloor space on a total site area of more than 1 million m². New construction of a modern factory building for precast element production began in 2021. The decision-making process took only a few months, while the preliminary design phase lasted about one year. Engineering expertise was sourced from engineering firm Hobl and consultant Ewald Nospel. The new “Future” project got the go-ahead in 2019. The system layout with free access to all work stations was developed in constructive co-operation with Hobl engineering office. Different station times - as is usual in the production of special parts - do not represent an obstacle to pallet circulation. To avoid pinch points, trouble-free access and easy access to the pallets, the decision was also made to design all circulation components ‘floor-level’ and trip-free.
After more than three years, BEFER TAT commissioned the new production facility in early 2023.

It features a pallet circulation system, a 3D rebar fabrication unit, and a fully automated concrete conveying system. Starting in March 2022, the in-house assembly team at BEFER TAT installed the components produced in-house.

Managing Director Volker Weidemann comments: “In a very pleasant and constructive cooperation with Avermann, we prepared the 3D design of our new BMU system in-house using their ifc machine data. For the equipment manufacturer, we specified that the calibrated pallets, which serve as the base frame for any formwork assembly, should prevent potential slips, trips, and falls as far as reasonably possible, be free from installations directly on the floor, and be operable individually by any shopfloor employee. We further specified that the new building had to be constructed between two existing factory buildings and during ongoing operations. The total investment amounted to 12 million euros, and the project became necessary owing to the ageing infrastructure of a company with a tradition extending over seven decades. The distinctive feature of the new plant is that it has no limits regarding height and volume. We are currently operating at about 80% of our capacity, and our next goal is to ‘fine-tune’ our equipment in the individual departments. If you look around here today, you will notice that the new building is fully insulated, heated, and equipped with central sanitary facilities, making it a nice, bright workplace for our people.”

Andreas Mahlke, Head of the Technical Office/Structural Engineering and Design department at BEFER TAT, adds: “To ensure a sound start into the future, we conducted a comprehensive spatial pre-planning exercise and workflow simulation as part of the design phase of our new production facility. Based on our previous experience at the plant, it quickly became clear that we wanted to create a type of ‘circulation system’ in which the components ‘cycle’ through the plant similar to an assembly line while employees have to leave their fixed workstations less frequently, which mitigates the risk of accidents significantly and minimizes unnecessary movements.

“Involving suppliers and subcontractors – particularly Avermann –, our employees, and the occupational health and safety agency at an early stage through establishing a comprehensive 3D/4D model that included documentation of essential components of all subcontractors involved and simulated process flows over time helped achieve an optimized, realistic assessment of working conditions and early detection of hazards. We were thus in a good position to identify workable solutions and to design an innovative, integrated production facility in which hazards and clashes of components, control chains, etc. are minimized significantly, if not prevented completely. Cooperation with our suppliers has always been running smoothly. We adopted an exceedingly pragmatic and results-driven approach, which is why we can handle subsequent customer requests and maintenance support very quickly.”

    Avermann is equally satisfied: “In the circulation system we supplied, the pallet traversing technology is fully integrated into the hall floor, which was an important requirement of our customer. This means that there are no interfering contours caused by the traversing technology in the production area. An individual circulation system can be controlled in which the precast concrete parts run on the pallets through the relevant production stations. Many different types of precast elements can be produced simultaneously, resulting in high capacity utilization. A constant flow of materials prevents unnecessary waiting times, which had been occurring frequently in the past,” explains Rainer Holtgrefe, Sales Project Manager at Avermann.

Avermann’s plant design for BEFER TAT included the following components:

1. 12 Pallets, 14 × 4 m, 10 kN/m², 10 mm sheet metal;

2. Pallet transport by means of:

  - Special fixed rollers;

  - Friction wheel drives (frequency inverters) for circulation system (46 pcs.);

3. Transfer unit;

4. Avermann oscillating compacting system with high-frequency vibration equipment;

5. Hydraulically operated tilting station;

6. Transport carriage, 8 × 2.5 m, 40 tons, battery-operated;

7. Transport track for loading racks;

8. Avermann control cabinet installation and electrical layout inclusive installation materials;

9. RIB-SAA circulation control and visualization system.

Efficient cooperation between all project stakeholders

Several other project stakeholders supported BEFER TAT in delivering, installing, and commissioning the new facility. Ing-Büro Hobl was responsible for the consultation and concept, Avermann for the planning, installation and commissioning of the circulation system. Wiggert installed the new mixing plant, Dudik supplied the overhead bucket line, and Elematic delivered the concrete spreader. Progress, Conecranes, Beta, and Ratec also contributed their services, as well as BEFER TAT. The precast producer is very happy with the value they got for their money, and the cooperation as such.