01 Sep 2020
September 1, 2020

drymix.info News 241/2020

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 idmmc8, Nürnberg, 22. Mar. 21: Splendid Classic Car Location Secured

In our last Newsletter, we announced the 8th International Drymix Mortar Conference idmmc8, taking place as real event in Nürnberg, Germany on 22. March 2021. We had issued a Call for Papers then (please send us those contributions, dear supporters!).

In the meantime, we managed to secure an excellent location as replacement of Kleine Meistersingerhalle (which undergoes renovation in 2021): we will meet at historic Ofenwerk, a classic cars hotspot with ample space for our conference and industry showcase! We have been promised to actually have classic cars INSIDE our conference venue to marvel at. The location also features automobile and scooter workshops, parts stores, storage facilities and a huge model car racing track (Carrera).

We are sure that Ofenwerk will be a memorable location for all our delegates and offers a very different atmosphere from the fairgrounds with European Coatings Show ahead (23. to 25. March 2020).

3. MEDMA Accepted as UAE Association by Dubai Chamber

The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA e.v., Munich, Germany proudly reports its acceptance as UAE Association under Dubai Association Center (DAC). The Dubai Chamber has recently completed the application process and granted the commercial license to MEDMA to operate as not-for-profit association both in the UAE and internationally. MEDMA UAE will take office at Dubai World Trade Center. This organizational change is essential for the development of MEDMA and its activity in the Middle East region. Legal framework for this has already been anchored in MEDMA e.V.’s constitution by its founders back in 2006.

4. Substantial Increase in Incoming Orders for Construction in Germany

According to the German Federation of the Construction Industry (Zentralverband Deutsches Baugewerbe, ZDB e.V., Berlin, Germany) the real (price-adjusted) order receipt in construction in Germany has increased in June 2020 by 12,4 % over the figures of May 2020 (Source: German Federal Statistical Office). The main increase came from large-scale orders. When compared with June 2019, the increase was still noticeable: + 1,2%, which is remarkable in times of crisis. In the first half of 2020, incoming orders dropped by 3,5%. Considering the values, Incoming Orders for Construction in Germany in June 2020 totaled about 8.300 mio Euro, 9,2 % over June 2019 (7.600 mio Euro). This marks the highest value of new orders ever reported for a June in Germany. 

“On one hand, those positive signals from the market are good news,”  said Felix Pakleppa, CEO of ZDB, “ but (the figures) represent an explicit exaggeration of the (overall) trend of demand”. The fact that many large scale orders are driving the order value up can also be attributed to a hold-back of orders, a compensation for losses earlier this year (we reported earlier).

5. Haver&Boecker and BillerudKorsnäs Publish Specifications for Packaging Materials

Haver&Boecker OHG of Oelde, Germany and BillerudKorsnäs AB of Solna, Sweden have worked together to summarize specifications for packaging (“Sack Packing Norms”). The two companies recently published the first set of 10 specifications. The intention for this joint project was to avoid common mistakes when specifying, designing, testing the materials, producing and filling paper bags in construction applications with dry, abrasive, highly fluidized materials. The new specifications are intended as a proposal for a Norm-to-Come and are openly available for the entire industry. They include material and handling specifications as well as test methods and performance parameters. Thomas Hilling, General Manager of the Haver&Boecker Institute stresses the fact that a common language is definitely needed for the highly technical interfaces along the packaging process chain: “Globalization makes it essential to speak one language clearly and distinctly. With the Sack Packaging Norms, we have, together with BillerudKorsnäs, created the basis for joint and helpful communication for (…) perfect paper bag packaging”.

Haver&Boecker is producing (amongst others) packaging machines and BillerudKorsnäs is designing and producing paper bags.

6. Ardex Completes Takeover of Knopp, Establishes New Management Team

Ardex GmbH of Witten, Germany has completed the integration of screed and concrete additives expert Knopp, Dettelbach, Germany (we reported earlier). As planned in late 2017, Ardex has now taken over the remaining shares from Ellen and Harald Knopp. “It has been our goal from the beginning to give our family company into good hands after this transition period (…). We are sure that the faithful relationship with Ardex  offer excellent perspectives for our production location in Dettelsbach and its employees,” they said. Dr. Jan Kalkühler assumed the position of CEO of the Knopp Group in July 2020. He will be assisted by long-standing Knopp Managers Thomas Weißenberg, Dr. Hannes Raue and Wolfgang Schnabel. The Knopp Group wil continue to operate independently within the Ardex Group.