REPORT

NEWSLETTER FOR DECISION MAKERS

NR. 01 | 2013

Production site in Bad Schmiedeberg

Dear readers,
There is a great deal happening at Steinzeug-Keramo right now;

Discover more about further challenges Steinzeug-Keramo has

we are constantly rising to new challenges. Some of our goals are

been meeting recently in our reports on a special record set with

very ambitious, but time and again the outcomes open new doors

DN 1400 jacking pipes in Poland (p 10), a complex sewer network

for our customers.

project in Bulgaria (p 13), and DN 1200 jacking in a landscape conservation area (p 12).

Innovative action is preceded by innovative thinking. In this respect,

the Cradle to Cradle certification impressively underlines our

Finally, this edition of REPORT has taken on a progressive new

commitment to sustainable value creation. The concept represents

look, and will presumably be the last version to appear in print. In

a truly revolutionary idea for industry and trade: seeing product life

future, we will be sending it to you as an electronic newsletter in

cycles as infinite rather than linear processes, and consequently

PDF format. Whether on paper or screen though, its the contents

promoting future-oriented interactions between the economy, ecol-

that count.

ogy and the conservation of resources (see p 4).

Happy reading!
The new DIN EN 295 standard out now creates a framework for
higher efficiency on a European level, for realty developers, planers,
construction companies and manufacturers alike. Turn to page 6
for more information.

Ihr

Strategic vision has always been a strong characteristic of Steinzeug-Keramo. Nevertheless, you may be as surprised as we were
to read the glowing press reports about ceramic tiles for eternity
(p 9).

Gernot Schbitz

Frank Franco

Geschftsfhrer Geschftsfhrer

01.2013

NEW WEBSITE
BETTER USABILITY
www.steinzeug-keramo.com

Our website www.steinzeug-keramo.com has been given a complete makeover and is now online with added functionality. An
attractive page structure and self-explanatory navigation improve
usability; documents and brochures are available for download
from the related web pages. Our Infopool, available 24/7 per login,
has also been revamped. Just a few clicks will take you to the heart
of our companys offer of services and information.
Everything you need to know about our vitrified clay pipes, fittings
and accessories for planning, construction and operation can be
found online, as well as additional information about the costeffectiveness, intergenerational fairness and ecology of our
products.
Browse at your leisure, use our online offer, and spread the word to
your customers, colleagues and partners ...

INFOPOOL

The Infopool also contains calculating

tools for structural analyses, sleeves
and hydraulics. Simply log in and
youre ready to go.

01.2013 | NEWS

100 PER CENT NATURE. ZERO WASTE.

CRADLE TO CRADLE
Do you know Cradle to Cradle?
Our products are certified.
A regenerative product life cycle a mindset that we
have been following consistently, and out of conviction, since the onset of our pipe and fittings production. Steinzeug-Keramo has become a forerunner
for a concept whose practical implementation has
now been officially certified. Cradle to Cradle: on the
basis of these principles we manufacture products
to globally respected European standards and regulations, and safeguard production sites and jobs in
Europe.
Steinzeug-Keramo. Inspired by Nature.

01.2013 | NEWS

Cradle to Cradle is a concept for regenerative product life cycles

Added value for the product added value for the customer

that challenges the contemporary cradle to grave pattern that be-

Cradle to Cradle certification underlines our commitment to sus-

gins with a products creation and ends with its disposal. Instead,

tainable value creation. This applies to us, as a pipe system ma-

in emulation of nature, the constituents of one product eventually

nufacturer, as well as to our customers, who are obliged to ensure

become the constituents of another. With the implementation of

reliable, safe and long-term sewage disposal under stable and af-

Cradle to Cradle, products and all their components flow as re-

fordable conditions.

sources in infinite material cycles. It represents a truly revolutionary

system for industry and trade. At Steinzeug-Keramo we have been

Find out more at our website:

implementing the principles of responsible stewardship since the

www.steinzeug-keramo.com/nachhaltigkeit

onset of our vitrified clay pipe and fittings production.

The Steinzeug-Keramo environmental cycle: responsibility in practice
8 Recycling

..Ceramics are entirely recyclable and can be

returned to the production process as grog

1. Mining of raw materials

..Local clay mining: environmentally friendly

mining with subsequent land rehabilitation

for the production of vitrified clay pipes

7. Operation

2. Raw material

..Sustainable in use:

transport

..Easy on resources

low maintenance and

repair costs; long

and low CO2 emissi-

service life

ons: short distances

between quarry and
production site

6. Installation

3. Raw materials

..Clay, grog and

..Professional on-site
installation assistance

water: 100% natural

and consultancy

resources in exact

..Pipe systems for open

quantities

trench and trenchless

construction
5. Logistics

..Fine-tuned logistics and optimized cargo

loads are more eco-effective
..Flexible and quick the shortest route to the
contractor and/or building site

4. Production process

.. Consideration of the Cradle to Cradle criteria

at each level of the production process
..Energy optimisation measures (use of

biomass plants, heat exchangers, green

electricity)

01.2013 | PROJECT REPORT SPECIAL

MIKOW GOES FOR THE RECORD

SETTING A RECORD WITH DN 1400 JACKING
Mikow is a Polish town in the administrative district of Silesia, around 10 km
southwest of Katowice. The town administration made an invitation to tender
for the new construction of 162 km of
combined sewers and 29km of separate
rainwater drainage for the towns approx.
40,000 inhabitants. After a three-year
planning period involving five engineering
firms, Zakad Inynierii Miejskiej Sp. z o.o.,
Mikow, won the commission for the
construction work.

01.2013 | PROJECT REPORT SPECIAL

Katarzyna Polanska-Zorychta, Steinzeug-Keramo

Piotr Kosz, Steinzeug-Keramo

Alls well thats planned well

The pros speak for themselves

It was not without reason that the planning stage was so lengthy.

The table below shows the fitting sections in metres and the re-

The projects complexity required numerous technical and logistical

spectively used vitrified clay pipe dimensions. High resistance

decisions as well as a solid financing strategy. One of the main

against chemical and physical influences, long service life, and long

technical decisions was whether to install the pipes in open trench-

depreciation times (80 to 100 years for Mikow) justified using the

es or per pipe-jacking. Both methods were feasible as the ground

vitrified clay pipes along the entire stretch.

survey reports revealed a mixture of sand, loam, clayey sand, shingle, silt and clay, with groundwater levels from 1.5m to 11m below

The construction of this huge wastewater network was financed

ground level. Sand and clayey sand were used here as bedding

partly by the town itself (165.1m zloty) and partly by funds from the

material in the open trench construction.

European Union (234.7m zloty).

More than a record

Two sections of the 162km long combined sewer deserve a closer
look:

..1.642 m DN 1000 per microtunneling

The longest pipeline length achieved here was 240 m.

..382 m DN 1400 per manned, controlled pipe jacking (open shield)

Here, the longest length was 90m.
Pipe sizes and distances in the Mikow project
DN

150 N

150 J

200 N

200 J

250 N

250 J

350 N

300 N

300 J

400 N

Meter

24.424

488

117.665

5.303

10.157

1.529

893

3.141

787

1.536

DN

400 J

500 N

500 H

500 J

600 N

600 J

800 H

800 J

1000 H

1000 J

Meter

462

3.911

1.000

725

30

40

160

60

418

1.642

DN

1200 J

1400 J

Meter

100

382

H = high load pipes

N = normal load pipes
J = jacking pipes

Mikow project: Client: Zakad Inynierii Miejskiej Sp. z o.o., Mikow | Planning: SCOT WILLSON, Warszawa ALL-PRO
Sp. Z o.o., Bielsko Biaa, BPIRIE rodowisko, Bielsko Biaa, BIPROSAN Gliwice, Gliwice ENERGOTECHNIKA Project, Gliwice |
Construction work: SANIMET Krzysztof Grzywacz, CzstochowaSYNKRET S.A., Bytom AUTO KOMPLEKS P H-U Grzegorz. Wyrobek, Rudotowice
SOBET S.A., Brzeg Zakad Budowlany in. Henryk Krol, aziska Gorne | Construction material retailer: HTI

01.2013 | PROJECT REPORT EUROPE

STEINZEUG DN 1200 PIPE JACKING WITH INTERMEDIATE JACKING PIT

INGENIOUS IDEA FOR A LANDSCAPE

CONSERVATION AREA
Klaus Ellermeier, Steinzeug-Keramo | Christel Flittner, Steinzeug-Keramo | Friedrich Prove, Peine urban drainage

The inlet pipes to the wastewater pump station in the Dungelbeck-

All-round landscape conservation

er Bruch landscape conservation area on the outskirts of Peines

The entire construction project was completed within 14 months,

Dungelbeck district needed to be renewed for hydraulic and con-

of which around eight months were needed for the pipe jacking.

struction reasons. As the entire length of pipeline runs through the

The citizens of Peine now have new supply pipes, seamlessly inte-

landscape conservation area, it was decided to install vitrified clay

grated into the landscape conservation area because vitrified clay

pipes with the aid of controlled pipe jacking and slurry tunneling,

pipes are made of natural raw materials, and are neutral to soil and

because:

groundwater, environmentally friendly and recyclable. The depreci-

..other operating sewers ran parallel to the planned new route

..the groundwater levels partially reached above ground level, and
..the pipe route had to run beneath an enclosed marsh.

ation period is 80 years.

Installation in groundwater
The first wastewater pipeline was pressed with DN 400 vitrified clay
jacking pipes in three sections of 123m, 133m and 39m length.
DN1200 vitrified clay jacking pipes for the combined sewers were
pressed parallel to this pipeline. Here, the longest pipe jacking section was just under 260m, and was easy to achieve without a blind
shaft. A second passage was 43m long. Due to the length of the
entire route, a lost intermediate jacking pit with intermediate flow
and tracking pipes was installed; but as the jacking forces were so
low there was no need to activate it.

Client: Stadtentwsserung Peine (urban drainage), municipal undertaking | Planning and site management: bpi Hannover Verworn, Hannover |
Pipe jacking management: Dipl.-Ing. Gajowski GmbH, Baunatal | Overall construction project management: Stadtentwsserung
Peine (urban drainage) | Ground survey reports: Dr. Pelzer und Partner, Hildesheim | Construction work: STRABAG AG Braunschweig/Magdeburg |
Pipe jacking: STRABAG AG Berlin | Construction material retailer: HTI Bar & Ollenroth KG, Berlin

01.2013 | PROJECT REPORT EUROPE

44 KM FOR A HOLIDAY REGION

BULGARIA LOVES VITRIFIED CLAY

Haris Soldatos, Steinzeug-Keramo

Burgas, Bulgarias fourth largest city, and the nearby villages of Banevo, Vetren and Mineralni Bani, have these past years developed
into popular resorts that attract an increasing number of tourists.
Their location close to the Black Sea and the choice of spas, sanatoriums and other sights account for the growing popularity of the
region. Burgas counts around 220,000 inhabitants, the other three
villages together around 8,000 though this can vary greatly during
the tourist seasons.

Revision of the infrastructure

Balkanstroy Jsc commissioned the engineering firms ALCONSULT
and AQUAPARTNER to plan a completely new sewage treatment
plant, including separate wastewater and rainwater drainage, and
new drinking water supply lines for this region.
The wastewater lines were installed in open trenches as there were
no space restrictions and no tunneling work was required.

..DN 300 vitrified clay pipes for a 42km stretch, and

..DN 400 vitrified clay pipes for a 2km stretch
A popular pipe material
Balkanstroy Jsc began the building measures in April 2013 and has
so far encountered no difficulties. Neither the very clayey foundation
soil with its deep groundwater levels nor the pipe installation itself
has proven difficult.
Asked why vitrified clay pipes were used in this project, the immediate answer was: Because vitrified clay is simply a fantastic pipe
material!

Client: Balkanstroy Jsc, Razlog (BU) | Operator: Municipality of Burgas (BU) | Planning: ALCONSULT Ltd., AQUAPARTNER Ltd. | Construction work:
Balkanstroy Jsc, Razlog (BU) | Construction material retailer: HTI Bulgaria (BU)

10

01.2013
01.2013
| OBJEKTBERICHTE
| PROJECT REPORT
AUSEUROPE
EUROPA

PIPE JACKING WITH DN 1000

AT VW WOLFSBURG

Following a call for tender in June

2012, Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg
commissioned the engineering firm
Kuhn & Partner from Braunschweig
to plan necessary sewer drainage
work in the course of building a new
car park. This also involved the construction of pre-flooding facilities in
the area of VWs R&D factory premises.

11

01.2013 | PROJECT REPORT EUROPE

Premiere: For the first time

ever, pipeline lengths of 220m
were pressed with DN1000
vitrified clay jacking pipes.
Klaus Ellermeier, Steinzeug-Keramo | Christel Flittner, Steinzeug-Keramo | Fabian Kaiser, Ludwig Pfeiffer

Skill and instinct

..Installation of a reinforced concrete draw-down shaft as

Under normal conditions, a project such as this would be fairly

the reception pit in the landfill body as an inlet shaft from

unspectacular and a matter of routine. This assignment, however,

the car park

required more complex planning and meticulous judgement as the

DN 3200

car park was to be built on a former landfill site.

with an underwater concrete base

10 m deep (as a precautionary measure against landfill gases)

The ground survey report revealed straight away that the drainage

subsequent installation of a gas-tight PE shaft (precautionary

pipeline could only be installed via pipe jacking in natural soil to

measure against potential landfill gases)

circumvent any potential leftover impurities.

and the actual underground pipe jacking:
Everything considered
Ludwig Pfeiffer Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH & Co. KG from Kas-

..Two pipe jacking sections per microtunneling (with auto-

sel was commissioned with the high-precision pipe jacking

matic bentonite lubricating station)

and extension work, and began in September 2012 with the:

pipeline length 1 = 220 m, pipeline length 2 = 184 m

..Installation of a double initial excavation pit in the

DN 1000 vitrified clay jacking pipe (KeraDrive), 2m long

groundwater level: 2m above ground level

groundwater

sandy soil, partially washed up during excavation work of the

6,00 x 6,00 m

nearby Mittelland canal

5,10 m deep
as sheeting construction; 100 m3 underwater concrete base

Perfect pipe jacking

exit openings sealed with HDI

Construction lasted from mid-September through mid-December

..Installation of a reinforced concrete draw-down shaft

2012; the pipe jacking itself for the first 220m passage took from

DN 2600

17 October until 6 November, and for the second 184m stretch

5,00 m deep

from 3 until 7 December 2012.

with a reinforced concrete base as an access shaft

..Installation of a reinforced concrete draw-down shaft

Besides achieving very short pipe jacking times, we also succeed-

DN 3200

ed in pressing 220metre lengths of DN1000 vitrified clay jacking

5,20 m tief

pipes for the first time. No intermediate jacking pit was used, but an

with an underwater concrete base as the reception pit

automatic bentonite lubricating station. The jacking forces of max.

with subsequent conversion to an inspection chamber, and

100t were very low.

connection to the existing DN 2400 collector drain

Client: Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg | Planning: Ingenieurburo Kuhn & Partner, Braunschweig | Ground survey report: Ing.-Buro Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rodatz &
Partner, Braunschweig | Construction work: Ludwig Pfeiffer Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH & Co. KG, Kassel

12

01.2013 | PROJECT REPORT EUROPE

CLEAN BEROUNKA II, PART B

PILSEN RIVER CROSSINGS

Jan Kozlik, Steinzeug-Keramo

In March 2005, several townships in the Pilsen region joined up

to form a strong project group. Their objective was to prepare
and implement the project ISTA BEROUNKA etapa II (Clean
Berounka) aimed at guaranteeing the collection and treatment of
wastewater in all the member communities of the project group,
according to European Union regulations and Czech statutory provisions.
Today these communities, who identify themselves closely with the
project, can benefit from a large-scale project for canal and sewage
treatment plants as a result of 60% financing from European Union
funds.
Five projects, one pipe material
ISTA BEROUNKA etapa II is divided into five sub-projects. In all
five, vitrified clay pipe systems were chosen for the sewage duct
construction (see table on the right).
1. PILSEN DN 500 installation in open trenches
2. RADOBYCICE DN 150 to 700 installation in open trenches
3. SLAVSK SBRA installation of DN 800 and DN 1000 jacking pipes, and DN 800 and DN 1000 installation in open trenches
4. ZRUC, SENEC DN 150 - DN 300 in open trenches
5. PRESTICE DN 150 - DN 600 in open trenches
By far the most interesting of these five construction projects was
the one in USLAVSKY SBRA.
Project Part B.3 SLAVSK SBRA
The Berounka is a 139km long tributary of the Vltava in the western
part of the Czech Republic. It is formed in Pilsen (125 km2, approx.
167,000 inhabitants) through the meeting of the rivers Me, Uhlava,
Radbuza and Uslava. The Uslava, in turn, originates in the foreland
of the Bohemian forest, and flows north to open out into the Berounka in Pilsen after around 83 km. This is the area affected by
part B.3 of the project; the 3,654m long collector drain is named

Pils(e)ner beer, also known as Pils, is a bottom-fermented beer named after

the Bohemian town of Pilsen (Plze). Today, Pilsner type beers account for
over 70% of beers produced and sold in Germany.
(Source: Wikipedia)

13

01.2013 | PROJECT REPORT EUROPE

Over the entire length of the

3,654m collector, 1,900m were
installed per pipe jacking.

after it (USLAVSKY SBRA). The objective is to transport the accrued wastewater from the towns Lobzy and Bokov districts to
new sewage works. The meandering river will be crossed at four
different points.
Planning and building with vitrified clay
An association ofengineering firms AQUA PROCON, Prague, and
VALBEK, Liberec was/The engineering firms Verand-AQUA PROCON, Prague, and VALBEK, Liberec, were commissioned by the
town of Pilsen to plan the Uslava collector drain and the sewage
1,754m vitrified clay pipes in open trenches

plants in order to improve the water quality of the entire region.

1,754m of vitrified clay pipes (DN 800 and DN 1000) were installed
Due to the dense building coverage and the existing supply lines,

in open trenches in the USLAVSKY SBRA partial project, and

pipe jacking was the only alternative for the longest stretch of the

6,220m in the other four partial projects (see Table).

collector drain (1,900m). 1,754m were installed in open trenches.

The planners recommended using vitrified clay pipes for both ver-

Project part B.3, USLAVSKY SBRA, was concluded this Sep-

sions.

tember. In all, the project took 23 months to complete and cost

18.5m, of which 11.1m were financed from EU funds.

1,900m vitrified clay jacking pipes

The wastewater collector has a total length of 3,654 m of which
1,900m were built with ISEKI microtunnel technology, with:

..785 m of DN 800 vitrified clay jacking pipes

..1,115 m of DN 1000 vitrified clay jacking pipes

In all, 20 stretches of pipeline lengths ranging from 47m to 191m

were jacked to a depth between 5 m and a maximum of 7.9 m,
predominantly in or alongside public roads. The largest part runs
parallel to the Uslava, but also passes below it at four points. The
groundwater level here lies at 4.5m below ground level.
Pipe sizes and distances for the open trench installation in partial projects 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the IST BEROUNKA etapa II project
DN

150

250

300

400

500

600

700

800

1.000

Meter

520

1.580

705

810

980

300

180

280

865

= 6.220

Client: Pilsen town | Operator: VEOLIA Pilsen | Planning: Verand - AQUAPROCON Prague, VALBEK Liberec | Construction work: EUROVIA CS and
Subterra a.s. for microtunneling | Construction material retailer: MARES, Pilsen

14

01.2013 | DATES | FAIRS | EVENTS

DATES
2013 / 2014
Fair

Fair

Fair

Fair

06.02.2014
07.02.2014

05.05.2014
09.05.2014

20.05.2014
22.05.2014

27.05.2014
29.05.2014

Oldenburg (D)
IRO 2014

Mnchen (D)
IFAT 2014

Bydgoszcz (PL)
WOD-KAN 2014

Brno (CZ)
VODOVODY 2014

Fair

Fair

Fair

16.06.2014
18.06.2014

22.10.2014
24.10.2014

25.11.2014
28.11.2014

Bukarest (RO)
EXPOAPA

Bologna (IT)
H2O Accadueo 2014

Lyon (F)
Pollutec Horizons 2014

More dates can be found on our homepage

www.steinzeug-keramo.com

Imprint: Publisher: Steinzeug-Keramo GmbH

Alfred-Nobel-Strae 17 | D-50226 Frechen | Telefon +49 2234 507-0 | Telefax +49 2234 507-207

Find out more at:

www.steinzeug-keramo.com

11.2013

Steinzeug-Keramo GmbH
Alfred-Nobel-Strae 17 | D-50226 Frechen

Steinzeug-Keramo N.V.
Paalsteenstraat 36 | B-3500 Hasselt

Telephone +49 2234 507-0

Telefax
+49 2234 507-207

Telephone +32 11 21 02 32
Telefax
+32 11 21 09 44

E-Mail
Internet

E-Mail
Internet

info@steinzeug-keramo.com
www.steinzeug-keramo.com

info@steinzeug-keramo.com
www.steinzeug-keramo.com