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Dozens of craftsmen are on the construction site of the Swiss timber construction company Blumer Lehmann, which is moving its German production site from Großenlüder to Steinau. The dimensions of the new hall are so large that people can hardly be seen in it.
Steinau an der Straße – The company is investing 20 million euros in its new location in the Main-Kinzig district. Production is scheduled to begin around the turn of the year. The shell of the 140 meter long, more than 30 meter wide and 12 meter high building is now more or less complete.
Apart from concrete pillars at regular intervals, it is built entirely from wood – in our own production in Großenlüder in the Fulda district and with supplies from the main factory in Switzerland. The external cladding for three sides of the hall comes from there.
Blumer Lehmann's Steinau location is making great progress
“We prefabricated the wooden frame walls in our own factory in January. The micro-perforated wooden formwork for the facade made of six meter long boards comes from our sawmill in Switzerland,” says Managing Director of Wood and Modular Construction Germany, Alexander Holl.
The glued laminated timber beams installed in Steinau come from the company's new gluing plant in Switzerland. “The first batch from there went here.” We didn't miss out on having fun,” says Holl with a grin. Meanwhile, the shell for the large hall is almost complete.
The last metal panels are being laid on the roof, while installation of the photovoltaic system planned for almost the entire area has already begun. This is intended to supply electricity for the heat pump, which is used to operate the underfloor heating embedded in the floor slab.
While work is being done on the roof, work on the interior has already begun – at least in the area separated by a wall that is intended as a storage area. The master's office is located on the second floor a few meters above the production level.
From here, large glass panes allow a view into the hall, where up to 400 wooden construction modules are to be built annually in the future. This area is still only gravelled and offers space for material. This should gradually change as early as mid-June. The floor is then leveled and the floor slab is then poured in one go.
At the same time, installation of the façade began on the gable side facing the street. Only the side facing the currently undeveloped part of the 3.8 hectare property will have a facade made of twelve meter high metal components.
“A second hall will be built there in a few years,” says production manager Dieter Zinkand. In fact, Blumer Lehmann is talking about three construction phases. The final expansion will provide a production area of around 15,000 square meters in three halls.
It's not that far yet. Meanwhile, construction of the office building began. The foundations and other concrete work have largely been completed. The walls for the building are to be delivered from Großenlüder this week. Here, as in the other areas, several dozen craftsmen are at work every day. The company relies primarily on companies from the surrounding area of Steinau and the previous location in Großenlüder.
First batch from new factory
Alexander Holl as well as plant manager Christian Stoll and production manager Dieter Zinkand agree that the future employees at the Steinau plant will find very good working conditions. They rave about a crane system that will cover the entire length of the hall and other aids.
After commissioning, around 40 jobs are expected. There are currently 22 employees in Großenlüder. “We are currently looking for 10 to 15 more in various trades,” says Holl, also pointing to the growth prospects.
