New Avermann turning pallets for double wall production at Betonwerk Stigloher

Stigloher is a family-run business based in the Bavarian town of Bad Aibling; it was founded by Marzellus Stigloher in 1955. The company is currently being managed by Martin Stigloher, Sr. and Martin Stigloher, Jr., who represent the family’s second and third generation. It is a reliable partner of the construction industry in the Rosenheim, Miesbach, Ebersberg, Bad Tölz and Munich areas. Stigloher is a practice-driven business with close customer ties and a high degree of customer loyalty.

Its wide range of products includes precast floors, suspended floor slabs, concrete, expanded clay and form blocks as well as precast walls and columns, floor slabs for stables, embankment stones, grass and block pavers. Thanks to the company’s close ties with construction companies, recent years have seen an increasing demand from customers to supply construction sites completely, providing everything from a single source. This also made it necessary for Stigloher to purchase and supply double walls.

This is why considerations got underway at Stigloher to not only expand their portfolio, but also to manufacture the walls themselves. In 2021, the company began to search for a used production line in sound condition, but this effort proved to be unsuccessful. In 2022, Stigloher started the planning and design process for a new double wall production line in close cooperation with Avermann. The business focused on variable manufacturing options, capacities and, as a matter of course, the required capital expenditure. After careful consideration, Stigloher opted in favor of installing turning pallets of 15.0 × 3.6 m in size.

New factory building constructed

Construction works began on a new factory building in which additional tilt tables were also to be installed. Production was to start with two turning pallets, but additional space was made available for the retrofit of another pallet. The turning pallets provide the option of producing double walls with maximum dimensions of 15.0 × 3.5 m and thicknesses from 18 to 50 cm.

Standard thicknesses are produced with lattice girders, whereas KAP waves from Kappema are used for connecting the two shells for wall thicknesses below 20 cm or above 40 cm. Stigloher also uses KAP Thermo Waves for producing double walls with infill insulation. The concrete shells are cast using a bucket that ensures uniform concrete distribution across the entire surface. Concrete from the existing mixing plant is currently supplied by a forklift truck equipped with a tipping body. Tried-and-tested Wacker vibration equipment is used for compaction. Fixed external vibrators are combined with a variable frequency inversion control system to ensure low-noise, high-frequency compaction to an impeccable quality standard.

As such, the turning pallets consist of two tables connected by tilting joints. One of the tables is stationary and adjustable in height. The second table is designed to rotate via the tilting joints to perform a 180-degree turn. On the turning pallet, the first shell is usually ­prepared, cast and compacted with all required parts and fixtures. On the next day or during the second shift, the formwork is placed for the second shell, which is then reinforced and concreted on the stationary pallet. For this purpose, the stationary pallet is height-adjustable using hydraulic cylinders. After reaching the specified wall thickness, the pallet is locked at the corresponding height. The cylinders return to their initial position and are thus no longer engaged during compaction. The height adjustment is designed to center the turning pallet at the correct distance and in full alignment. The first shell is fixed hydraulically and held in place on the turning pallet using element clamps. Once the elements have been secured, the turning process can be initiated. The 180-degree rotation of the pallet with the elements is also performed hydraulically. The operator can interrupt the turning process at any time to adjust the reinforcement of the second shell if necessary. Now that both shells are “married”, they are compacted together to ensure a perfect fit and bond. The operator then releases the element clamps, and the turning pallet moves back into its zero-degree starting position. After cleaning the surface, the first shell for the next shift can be produced on the turning pallet.

Assembly and commissioning were completed in time for the start of production in spring 2023. Avermann would like to thank the Stigloher family for their trust and long-standing partnership and wish them a successful double wall production launch.