France • Duktus pipes under the Champs Élysées – Eau de Paris

Volume 10 No. 2 November 2014
France •
Duktus pipes under the Champs Élysées – Eau de Paris replaces a drinking water line •
Germany •
Flexible and fast in Wetzlar – Duktus sewer pipes for new development area •
Finland, Germany, Switzerland •
Trenchless from Finland to Switzerland – Four construction sites – four times plug&play® with Duktus pipes •
PAGE 2 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Contents
15
Die blasting system goes into operation – Investment for better
quality and efficiency
The most beautiful drinking water pipe in Germany – Westfalen Weser
Netz and Paderborn waterworks putting some art into the pipeline
3 Editorial
PROJECTS
4 Duktus pipes under the Champs Élysées – Eau de Paris puts its trust in
Duktus pipes for the replacement of a drinking water pipeline
5 Duktus hits the mark with a complete solution – Industrial water
pipeline for Solnhofer Portland cement works
16 Well connected and committed – Duktus plays its part, offers new
ideas and takes a stand
ABOUT US
17 A warm welcome – New colleagues at Duktus
From the geological experience trail to the ox-fest – Lots of variety at
the Duktus Family Day
6 Flexible and fast in Wetzlar – Duktus supplies sewer pipes for the new
Rasselberg development area
18 Pilot trip for Duktus bikers – From the Lahn to the Rhine
Order is called – Duktus Action Day brings a shine to the works
7 Bochum upgrades its drinking water supply – Playing a part: More
than 400 DN 800 ductile iron pipes with cement mortar coating
19 All along the riverside – The “iron eight” on a tour of discovery
Anniversaries – Congrations to
Whoops!! – Something has gone wrong here
8 Trenchless from Finland to Switzerland – Four construction sites – four
times plug&play® with Duktus BLS® cement mortar coated pipes
9 Right through the River Murr– Culvert pipeline with ductile
drinking water pipes
10
Simple, secure, robust – Duktus drinking water pipes laid in a
collector system
Turbine pipeline for Reinåga power station – running through rock and
a drop of 567 m – no problem for ductile iron pipes
11
Everything from one source – Challenging installation of a drinking
water pipeline in Kosmonosy
Once Duktus, always Duktus – Ductile iron pipes for snow-making
in Bernau
12
In demand nationally and internationally – Ductile iron pipes from
Duktus for fire extinguishing lines
Common cause – The Oberndorf public utility company and the
Kleiner Heuberg water supply association replace drinking water lines
13 Duktus favoured – BLS® pipes with cement mortar coating for the
drinking water supply to Würzburg-Heuchelhof
REPORTS
14 Reform of the law on renewable energy – Rigid limits
prevent any exemption for Duktus – Interview with Stefan Weber
Impressum
Issued by: The management of Duktus Rohrsysteme Wetzlar GmbH
Editors: Iris Reinhardt, Elvira Sames-Dickopf, Ulrich Päßler
Colleagues involved in this issue: Sebastian Battaglini,
Alexander Bauer, Plasch-Jon Depeder, Klaus Emrich, Wilhelm Faulstich,
Silke Hackl, Florian Häusler, Petr Kopal, Susanne Lorz, Andreas Mantz, Benoît
Planel, Lutz Rau, Karl-Wilhelm Römer, Jürgen Schütten, Melanie Schwarz,
Juha Tiira, Gunnar Ulvik, Stefan Weber, Heinz-Jörg Weimer, Hans Wiesner
Graphic design, setting and lithography: K13 Medien, Wetzlar
Photo credits/sources: p. 5 top left: HPC AG, bottom right: Wikimedia
Commons (H. Raab); p. 14: ©Alex Kurz; p. 16 bottom left: DVGW-Bezirksgruppe 35 Mittelhessen, top and bottom right: © Gerd Scheffler
Unless stated otherwise, all rights for photos, drawings and other illustrations
are held by Duktus Rohrsysteme Wetzlar GmbH
Printing: Druckhaus Bechstein, Wetzlar
Editor’s address:
inform
Sophienstraße 52-54, D-35576 Wetzlar
Phone: 49(0) 64 41- 49 14 90
Fax: 49(0 )64 41- 49 14 97
E-mail: [email protected]
© Duktus Rohrsysteme Wetzlar GmbH
Next issue: May 2015
Exhibition dates 2015
InfraTech
The meeting point for infrastructure
20th to 23rd January 2015
Rotterdam, Netherlands
WASSER BERLIN INTERNATIONAL
Trade fair and congress for the water industry
24th to 27th March 2015
Berlin, Germany
TRENCHLESS MIDDLE EAST
Conference and Exhibition for trenchless technology
9th to 10th March 2015
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Interalpin
International trade fair for alpine technologies
15th to 17th April 2015
Innsbruck, Austria
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 3
Editorial
Dear inform readers and dear friends and employees of Duktus!
A warm welcome to this edition of our company magazine for the end of
2014 which we hope will, as ever, be an enjoyable and stimulating read
for you.
During the last year Duktus has been associated with some quite new
and very unfamiliar experiences – experiences of helplessness together
with ignorance and a high degree of unprofessionalism. In connection
with the law on renewable energies we had to face some circumstances
which are entirely contrary to our own conception of ourselves. In the context of the so-called turnaround in energy policy, German politicians
adopted a law which is not only poorly crafted but also has the opposite
effect to what was intended: it increases the price of energy and puts jobs
at risk on a lasting basis!
However, what is particularly scandalous about it is that our democratic
representatives do indeed seem to be aware of these deficits but nobody
has any active interest in doing anything to change them. The general
situation of the coalition parties in Berlin does in fact come up with crossparty deals, what with “pension at 63”, “toll charges” and “minimum
wage”. But at the moment, any content in terms of policy matters seems to
fall by the wayside. However all that does not prevent us from going our
own way, even in the matter of renewable energies law. We are still trying
to encourage the politicians to relent with this policy and hope for a more
flexible arrangement in the implementation of the law. On this subject,
please read the interview with Stefan Weber on page 14 and also our article on “We are the heart of the economy” on page 16 which talks about
the campaign by the metal and electrical industry in support of German
industry as a whole.
We refuse to let our pleasure in our work and our enjoyment of being together be spoilt, even by politics. Hence, last Summer, our employees
experienced a lot which is new and a lot which is entertaining in some
joint undertakings (from p. 17). The Duktus Family Day at the Wetzlar oxfest was also a great success.
Dear readers, we thank you for your support and cooperation in 2014 and
wish you and your loved ones a healthy and successful conclusion to the
year!
Warmest wishes
Ulrich Päßler
Stefan Weber
Also, as ever, we will be the professional partner of our clients, because
this is what they should expect of us. We want to provide our users in industry, water and energy with sustainable advantages from our products,
thereby providing them with professional support. Our plug&play® concept is the eye-catching expression for this: Duktus pipe systems and
technologies offer a simple promise of high performance and dependability. Once again we have gathered a few examples of this from the last
months and included them in this edition of inform. Have a look, for example, at the impressive measures taken by Gelsenwasser in Bochum (p. 7),
those in Kosmonosy in the Czech Republic (p. 11), in Würzburg (p. 13) or
a series of trenchless pipe laying projects from page 8 onwards.
In Würzburg-Heuchelhof a 130 m long drinking water line in Duktus BLS® cement mortar coated
pipes was laid in a supply and disposal tunnel
Reutlingen:
Laying a 450 m long DN 400 drinking water pipeline using the directional drilling process
PAGE 4 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Duktus pipes under the Champs Élysées
EAU DE PARIS PUTS ITS TRUST IN DUKTUS PIPES FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF A DRINKING WATER PIPELINE
When it comes to the question of replacing
drinking water lines, it is usually the age and
condition of the pipes which have a role to
play. But for the Parisian water supply company, Eau de Paris, that was not the reason in this
case. The dimensions of the existing 840 m long
pipeline were too big. It runs in a tunnel beneath the Avenue Franklin Roosevelt, the roundabout of the Champs Élysées and the Avenue
des Champs Élysées, crossing diagonally under the heart of Paris. Its nominal width is due to
the fact that years ago there was a plan to connect it up to the Porte Maillot further in the West
of Paris. As this was never actually done, then
something which was considered a good idea
at the time has meanwhile become rather a disadvantage for the performance of the network.
This was obvious from the hydraulic tests which
Eau de Paris carries out at regular intervals.
When the contract for the new pipeline was being awarded, Soval scored points for the reliability, durability and ease of installation of ductile iron pipes and also for the excellent collaboration with Sogea, a renowned construction
company commissioned for the laying work. Although the line runs through a shaft underneath
the traffic junction in Paris, there were nevertheless also a few things to be considered above
ground. This is explained by Duktus Sales Manager Benoît Planel: “One of the first difficulties
which the Sogea team came up against in the
planning was the lack of space in the tunnel.
Therefore seven metre long service shafts had to
be produced, and this meant a lot of discussions
with the relevant authorities for defining the surface for this. Given the proximity to the German
Embassy, the Grand Palais and numerous luxury boutiques plus thousands of tourists, this was
no simple task. Eau de Paris attached great importance to having all traces of the construction
work cleared away in time for the ceremonies to
commemorate the end of the Second World War
on 8th May. We had to cope with this pressure
on time.” The laying company had 14 weeks in
which to complete all the construction work and
lay the Duktus pipes professionally. The 20-man
Sogea team managed it – not least because of
the easy and hence time-saving handling of the
ductile iron pipes and the convenience of the
joint technology. Depending on the specific location along the route, the pipeline is mounted
on supports or brackets. Large sections of the
old line were able to be removed before the laying of the new supply line. “But unfortunately not
all of them,” says Benoît Planel, “because, in order to have connection points available for attaching bypass lines to ensure an uninterrupted
supply of drinking water, the old line had to remain in place during the laying work and could
only be dismantled once the DN 300 line was
up and running”. For Benoît Planel, who worked
on the project right from the planning stage and
spent many hours ‘underground’ with the Sogea
team, this construction site in the catacombs of
Paris was a special experience. “140 pipes and
innumerable fittings had to be put together in
the time allowed to produce a functioning drinking water line and the logistics both below and
above ground had to be sorted out in order to
be ready right on time. That really showed me
how much responsibility we, as pipe manufacturers and engineering consultants, have to shoulder along with the construction companies in order to successfully meet a client’s targets”.
The Sogea team had just 14 weeks in which to lay the new line
In many places, the old pipeline (left) could only be removed once
the new line was up and running
Benoît Planel (left) at one of the service shafts which had to be
opened up because of the lack of space in the tunnel
Duktus sales representative Benoît Planel (left) and an employee of the Sogea construction company examine a branch of the 840 m
long drinking water pipeline in the tunnel under the Champs Élysées
In order to replace an oversized drinking water pipeline with one more suited to the throughput, Eau de Paris ordered DN 300 ductile iron
pipes from Soval, the French marketing partner
of Duktus.
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 5
Duktus hits the mark with a complete solution
INDUSTRIAL WATER PIPELINE FOR SOLNHOFEN PORTLAND CEMENT WORKS
96,000 cubic metres of water a year for cooling its
kiln. This industrial water is taken from the Hefele
source located directly next to the Altmühl valley
and is stored in a so-called yard tank. In order to
overcome the constantly increasing water losses
caused by an old industrial water pipeline in grey
cast iron, the traditional company found it necessary to order a new pipeline. After evaluating different solutions, the planning office commissioned
for this, HPC AG from Harburg, made the decision to replace the line over its entire length and
extend it by 530 m. Duktus cement mortar coated
pipes with BLS® joints were used.
The construction company OCHS Rohrleitungsbau GmbH was able to lay the approximately
1,500 m long DN 150 industrial water pipeline
within four months without problem. The route
runs along a ridge with a height difference of 150
m. Therefore a major part of the line had to be
laid in complicated topographical conditions
where, above all, the supply and removal of the
necessary materials was an expensive and time-
consuming business. This was the main reason
why the company doing the laying work used the
robust cement mortar coated pipe from Duktus
with the easy-to-assemble BLS® joints. The excavated material was broken up with a bucket separator and could be used then and there for backfilling. The cement mortar coating is best suited
for dealing with such “tough nuts”. Project Manager Tobias Schmickl from OCHS Rohrleitungsbau was more than happy with the BLS® cement
mortar coated pipes: “It is precisely because of
the method we use – breaking up coarse material
and then putting it straight back – that the impact
strength of ductile iron pipes with cement mortar
coating makes them a good choice.”
Duktus Sales Manager Wilhelm Faulstich adds:
“With these measures we were able to prove that
our many times tried and tested complete programme and plug&play® – the universal usability
of our BLS® cement mortar coated pipes – is the
most economically rational solution specifically for
complex requirements.”
A major part of the 1,500 m long industrial water pipeline in
Duktus cement mortar coated pipes was laid in rocky terrain
Solnhofen and the Archaeopteryx
Thanks to its competence in being able to offer
complete solutions for challenging pipe-laying
projects, Duktus was awarded the order to equip
an industrial water pipeline at the Solnhofen Portland cement works with ductile iron pipes.
At a place where 150 million years ago a lagoon lay and subtropical temperatures reigned,
today, we can find numerous traces of this geological era, referred to as the Jurassic period. It is not only the cement and limestone industry which profits from the famous limestone
slabs – palaeontologists do as well. Here there once lived the earliest known bird, the Archaeopteryx, a feathered dinosaur. All 10 of the fossil examples of pigeon-sized forerunner
of our birdlife known to date were found in the limestone slabs of Solnhofen.
The limestone slabs are considered as one of the most important fossil deposits in the
world. In addition to Archaeopteryx, the remains of small dinosaurs, 6 species of pterosaurians, various types of turtle and more than 180 prehistoric types of insect as well as fossils of
early shrimps measuring up to 30 cm have been found. For amateur palaeontologists, Solnhofen is a real Eldorado. They can be looked for and dug up in designated stone quarries
in the Altmühltal Nature Park. And – a particular incentive for those searching for traces –
as a rule they can take their archaeological finds home with them.
The cement works, a medium-sized family business established in 1933, is based in Solnhofen in
the middle of the Altmühltal Nature Park and operates nationally in the areas of natural stone, cement, ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete elements and also internationally in the area
of natural stone (Solnhofen Stone Group). The
works, situated on a plateau, requires around
Despite difficult topographical conditions the OCHS Rohrleitungsbau company managed to complete the laying work in four months,
not least because of the “fast” BLS® joint technology
An almost complete skeleton of Archaeopteryx (original fossil, not
a casting) from the Solnhofen limestone slabs of the Altmühl valley
PAGE 6 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Flexible and fast in Wetzlar
DUKTUS SUPPLIES SEWER PIPES FOR THE NEW RASSELBERG DEVELOPMENT AREA
ster went ahead with the laying work. Dieter Ludwig from the Duktus application engineering
department paid particular attention to the boring and positioning of saddle connections. In
addition to a total of 1,700 m of cast iron pipes
with zinc epoxy coating, Duktus supplied 59 saddles which were used to make sure that the necessary domestic connections could be done
flexibly and quickly. The precise position of the
domestic connection on the main sewer was
determined directly on site and the saddle was
able to be installed at almost any position required on the cast iron pipe. This flexibility saved
time and costs during the construction phase,
but also during the planning stage, as the position of the domestic connections did not have to
be determined with any great degree of accuracy in advance.
The fact that the construction work was able to
be completed about two and a half months earlier than planned pleased not only the building
contractor and Duktus, but also the property
owners who were able to take advantage of a
more favourable season for starting building
work in the idyllic location between the Spilburg
district and Neue Friedhof.
Employees of the Jost construction company preparing for boring
Due to heavy demand, the former recreational
area of Rasselberg in Wetzlar has become the
site of a new development of detached homes.
The housing area on the outskirts of the city centre, with good transport connections, offers 59
building plots which were quickly allocated. Duktus received the contract to equip the complete
sewer system with ductile waste water pipes in
nominal widths of 150 to 600.
Florian Häusler, Duktus marketing manager for
Mittelhessen, commented: “It was not only our
home advantage which led to us winning the
contract, but to a very great extent it was the excellent cooperation with the building contractors,
whose employees had already been instructed in
the techniques of laying ductile iron pipes in the
course of previous hands-on training. In addition,
the city of Wetzlar, as the client, was able to rely
on piping material with an unrivalled safety record and delivery on which they could depend”.
The development of the attractive building project was preceded by a few discussions. By December 2013, it was possible to start with the
tree-felling and clearance work and in March
2014 the Wilhelm Jost company from Weilmün-
Bolt holes are bored for the assembly of saddle flanges
Assembly of a transition sleeve
Duktus is at home in Wetzlar. And here in this
Mittelhessen city, with its long tradition of cast
iron pipe production, Duktus was naturally first
on the scene when it came to equipping a newly constructed development area with waste
water pipes.
Dieter Ludwig, Duktus applications engineer, and Florian
Häusler, marketing manager for Mittelhessen, on the construction
site at Rasselberg
The Wilhelm Jost construction company from Weilmünster laid a
total of 1,700 m of ductile sewage pipes from DN 150 to DN 600
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 7
Bochum upgrades its drinking water supply
PLAYING A PART: MORE THAN 400 DN 800 DUCTILE IRON PIPES WITH CEMENT MORTAR COATING
Around 2,500 m of the new drinking water line will be constructed from ductile DN 800 drinking water pipes. The pipe-laying team have
no trouble putting the Duktus pipes together. Progress on site is therefore very pleasing
In July 2014, construction work began on what is
currently one of the biggest pipeline construction
sites in Bochum: a 4,200 m long drinking water
line is being laid from Witten-Heven to BochumStiepel. A good half of the line will consist of DN
800 ductile drinking water pipes from Duktus.
Duktus had already been involved in the planning phase for this in a consultative capacity. Duktus Sales Manager Jürgen Schütten explained
the decision in favour of Duktus pipes, saying,
“the fact that 2,500 m of ductile iron pipes with cement mortar coating were used takes account of
the client’s wish for the greatest possible cost effectiveness. What is more, where the surrounding
soil had sufficient compacting characteristics this
meant that in some sections it was possible to dispense with the expensive process of replacing the
soil. We were delighted with the good cooperation and the praise for our application engineering
consultancy in this premium project”. From 2016,
around nine million cubic metres of water will be
transported each year from the Witten waterworks
to Bochum in order to supply 60 percent of the
population of Bochum, which means providing
drinking water to more than 200,000 people. The
operator of the pipeline is Wasserbeschaffung Mittlere Ruhr, a joint subsidiary of Gelsenwasser AG
and Stadtwerke Bochum. Among other things,
Gelsenwasser supplies around 2.7 million citizens
with drinking water and is one of the largest water
utility companies in Germany.
Once again, the Duktus production and sales
team demonstrated their high degree of flexibility
in this project.
“We had to be capable of delivering within four
weeks of the order being placed and this capability has to be guaranteed for the entire period of
construction on site. We are keeping in close contact with the Gelsenwasser site office and, whenever necessary, we make adjustments to meet the
actual laying conditions on site, even at short notice”, says Jürgen Schütten.
In the first stage of construction, two articulated lorry loads of cast iron pipes a week were being sent on their way for one construction gang
on the Bochum site; this equates to just under
100 m in a week. As from October the pace increased, because two construction gangs were
working on two sections of the pipeline. For the
production department at Duktus this means getting 200 m of DN 800 pipes with cement mortar
coating ready for dispatch every week. “We do not
have any problem with these numbers on the production side. Meanwhile, all the blanks have been
completely cast so, as and when needed, all we
have to do is apply the cement mortar coating”,
explains Klaus Emrich.
“Like children’s building blocks”
Since the start of construction the regional press has been reporting on this major construction
site, and time and again it is the “giant blue pipes” which take centre stage. “It is through these
big fat blue pipes that fresh drinking water will be gushing in the future for most of the people
of Bochum. 2 m down, the installation engineers are putting them together almost as easily as
children’s building blocks.” (WAZ, 22.8. 2014). Sometimes comparisons like this hit the nail on
the head, describing what distinguishes Duktus pipes: easy and quick to lay. plug&play® –
just like children’s building blocks, although these whoppers (another appropriate term for the
DN 800 pipes measuring 6 m in length) do in fact weigh 1.6 tonnes. Roughly what three fullygrown polar bears would weigh.
Construction site in the Lottental. The water here flows with a pressure of 6.5 bars. In order to tackle the gradient up to Stiepel, a pressure booster station is being constructed at the western end of the valley
which will provide the necessary 3.5 bar pressure increase
PAGE 8 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Trenchless from Finland to Switzerland
FOUR CONSTRUCTION SITES – FOUR TIMES PLUG&PLAY® WITH DUKTUS BLS®
CEMENT MORTAR COATED PIPES
Tampere in Finland:
A first in horizontal directional drilling with
Duktus DN 500 pipes
In April 2014, “Trenchless history” was made in
Tampere in south-western Finland. In this industrial city with its 200,000 inhabitants, the “Manchester of the North”, a 300 m long, DN 500
drinking water pipeline in Duktus BLS® cement mortar coated pipes was able to be laid in
the inner city area quickly, cost-effectively, without problem and without disturbing the environment, using the horizontal directional drilling process. “It was the nominal width which was the extraordinary thing with this trenchless construction
project”, explains Peter Pulli, a Project Manager from the Tampere water supply company. “We
had never laid this dimension using the trenchless laying technique before in Finland.”
Trenchless laying spared the busy inner city
area of Tampere from gridlock because using
the open construction process would have taken
more than three months to finish the job. By using the horizontal directional drilling technique, it
was only three weeks until the two construction
pits had disappeared without a trace. The Finn-
ish Duktus sales partner, Ulefos Oy, had already
supported water supply company Tampereen
Vesi in the planning. Juha Tiira comments: “The
new line needed to be laid at about 2.5m to 3 m
beneath the old one. Part of the process of planning for horizontal directional drilling properly is
a preliminary investigation of the area where the
line is to be laid as regards any other lines which
might be there, as well as the condition of the
soil. Therefore preliminary soil analyses were carried out to add to the information already available. The results were good and there were no
rocky sections to be considered, although there
was no detailed information about additional cable lines and other connections which might be
in the installation area. With a nominal width of
500, the answer had to be Duktus pipes with cement mortar coating and BLS® joints in order
to guarantee the lasting security of the line and
the required short construction time.” The planning concept with BLS® cement mortar coated
pipes from Duktus worked. “It took just 24 hours
for the fifty 6 m long ductile iron pipes with their
“debut nominal width” to be drawn through beneath the Rongankatu street. A good example of
plug&play®”, summarises Juha Tiira.
sion to lay the new line using the trenchless longitudinal pipe relining technique. Project Manager Waldemar Gebhardt explained the reasons
for this: “The open trench method in an urban
area of Hattersheim would have been expensive and would have taken a longer time. Also,
with the trenchless technique, the approval process is considerably less complicated.” In March
2014, six drawing sections were set up along the
route so that Duktus BLS® cement mortar coated pipes of nominal width 400 could be pulled
into the existing DN 700 line. Just how easily and
quickly this was achieved is described by Duktus Sales Manager, Heinz-Jörg Weimer: “After
three months the construction site was a thing
of the past. Even the longest stretch, for which a
pipe string of 490 m was preassembled, did not
present any problem. The teams from the laying
company, Umwelt & Wasserbau from Frankfurt,
praised the perfect handling of the Duktus BLS®
cement mortar coated pipes.
Reutlingen in Germany:
450 m long drinking water line laid using
the directional drilling process
In the Hessen town of Hattersheim, with around
25,000 inhabitants, there was one thing which
was particularly important when it came to the replacement of a drinking water pipeline running
along a route approximately 1,400 m long, from
the waterworks between Okriftel and Eddersheim
in the direction of Frankfurt and crossing residential and industrial areas: this was fast and costeffective laying, short construction times without
disrupting life above ground. The client, NetzDienste RheinMain GmbH, therefore took the deci-
In Reutlingen, the gateway to the Swabian mountains, the local energy supplier FairEnergie began
the replacement of an old, 450 m long cast iron
drinking water pipeline in July 2014. So as not to
hold up the traffic on Reutlingen’s busiest road
unnecessarily, FairEnergie gave preference to the
cost-effective directional drilling process using DN
400 ductile iron pipes from Duktus. Because there
was not only the question of lack of space in the
installation area but also, and more importantly,
the geological conditions there are difficult, cement mortar coating was the means of choice in
order to exclude any points of vulnerability. Immediately after the directional drilling section it was
necessary to go under a railway line in a protective casing tube, which represented a challenge
Detailed view: A new DN 400 ductile iron pipe with cement
mortar coating is pulled into the old DN 700 line
Laying a DN 400 drinking water pipeline in the town centre of
Reutlingen using the directional drilling technique
Hattersheim in Germany:
Replacement of a main water line using
the pipe relining technique
The 300 m long string of DN 500 Duktus BLS® cement mortar
coated pipes was installed in Tampere in only 24 hours
Directional drilling equipment with drill pipes in use in the inner
city area of Tampere
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 9
Right through the River Murr
CULVERT PIPELINE WITH DUCTILE DRINKING WATER PIPES
Duktus cement mortar coated pipes proved their superiority for
trenchless laying in Reutlingen
not to be under-estimated. Because of some excellent collaboration with the directional drilling
experts, the Max Wild company, and the pipeline
installation company of Norbert Schütz, the work
was able to go successfully into its final phase in
September 2014. For the Reutlingen drinking water supplier this was the first project with the new
generation of ductile iron pipes and, as Duktus
Sales Manager Alexander Bauer reckons, certainly not the last with plug&play® from Duktus.
Cham in Switzerland:
Installation in only two days using the
burst lining process
In Cham, in the Swiss Canton of Zug, despite
some rather unfavourable geological conditions it
was possible to install a 30 m long drinking water
pipeline using the burst lining process in just two
days in March 2014. The old DN 250 transport
line had a number of points of damage and needed to be replaced. As the route lies on the very
busy Zuger Straße and traffic was not to be disrupted during the repair work, Wasserwerke Zug
AG (WWZ) decided on the environment and traffic
friendly method of laying using the trenchless process. With a network length of around 440 km,
WWZ supplies the residences and businesses of
the Canton of Zug as well as the surrounding district with drinking water. Thanks to the professional consultation provided by Hagenbucher Grabenlos it was possible to deal successfully with both
the planning and the geological problems. A total
of 120 m of Duktus cement mortar coating pipes
with BLS®- joints in nominal width 300 were laid.
The installation of the ductile iron pipes in Cham was able to
be successfully completed in the shortest time thanks to clever
planning and the maximum use of people and machines
The 23 m long culvert, weighing nine tonnes, assembled on the
riverbank, hangs suspended from a mobile crane to be placed in
the pipe trench in the Murr
Culvert pipelines are rather special. Their installation is spectacular and requires particularly
thorough advance planning. And this was also
the case in Backnang, the picturesque town at
the edge of the Swabian-Frankish forest. A drinking water pipeline consisting of nominal width
200 ductile iron pipes with cement mortar coating was sunk into the River Murr together with
other utility lines with a total length of 23 m with-
in just one day.
The Backnang public utility company (SWB) has
been investing for years in the sustainable upgrading of its energy and water supply. The Murr
meanders through the town and, up until now,
a major drinking water line crossed it aboveground on footbridges. In order to prevent the
water from freezing, these sections of line had
to be heated in winter. A cost-intensive undertaking which the people in Backnang did not
want to put up with any more. The SWB agreed
to lay the line under the Murr as a culvert in order to guarantee a high-quality, secure supply
of drinking water to the eastern side of the town
centre. In addition to the drinking water pipeline,
the Murr culvert also carries gas lines and empty conduits for the SWB. And other network operators also took the opportunity of adding their
own empty conduits. The line was laid using the
open technique, meaning that heavy excavators first had to dig out a trench for the line in the
Murr. The entire culvert construction was put together on the bank. The assembly of the Duktus pipes with the proven BLS® push-in joint system was completed without problem, as was
the tightness testing. For the installation of the
pipe bundle, with a load amounting to just under 9 tonnes of weight, a mobile crane was used
in order to lower the colossus into the prepared
trench. Because of the speed at which the Murr
flows, this work proved to be extremely difficult.
But because of the precise preliminary planning
carried out by engineers Riker + Rebmann from
Murrhardt, this stage of the work was able to be
completed in the specified time. Once the culvert line had been connected up to the supply
network according to plan, the watercourse was
restored to how it was before. By laying this line,
the SWB achieved a milestone in its water supply and, with the ductile iron pipes, drinking water will now be transported reliably across the river for many decades to come.
As well as the drinking water line of Duktus-BLS® pipes, the Murr culvert also contains gas lines and empty conduits
PAGE 10 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Simple, secure, robust
DUKTUS DRINKING WATER PIPES LAID IN A COLLECTOR SYSTEM
In a residential area of Frankfurt old steel lines supplying drinking water have been replaced by ductile iron pipes with cement mortar lining. The pipelines run through an accessible underground collector system 3 m high and 2 m wide. These collectors were an alternative system used for complex developments in the high-density housing
programmes of the 70’s and 80’s in particular. All
the utilities required in residential areas of this kind
are laid together in these reinforced concrete tunnels. As a rule, drinking water lines are laid at the
coolest level in the bottom section. The Frankfurt
Water and Sewage Company (FWA) tackled the
work at the beginning of 2014 in order to guarantee problem-free supply of drinking water to the
centre of Frankfurt. Duktus pipes with BLS® joint
technology offer long-term security and so the decision was not a difficult one for the engineering
office of Drus & Wolff. In addition to two runs of
nominal width 80 and 100, in the first construction
stage 60 m of Duktus DN 200 pipes and 54 m of
DN 150 with BLS® fittings were installed.
Lutz Rau, the Duktus marketing manager in
charge of the product, explains the assembly process: “There are three locks and one catch in the
cast-iron retaining chamber and these are inserted via an opening in the socket once the pipes
have been assembled. The weld bead on the spigot end of the next pipe makes the joint bendable
up to PFA 42.”
Handling of the 6 m long ductile iron pipes in the
collector structure is still good, especially since
assembly of the BLS® joints is extremely simple. Because of their high inherent stability, Duktus pipes only require brackets to fix them in the
area of the socket. An advantage for the FWA was
the fact that Duktus was able to supply the entire range of BLS® fittings. “Everything under one
roof”, says Lutz Rau, pointing out another advantage: “In case of fire, cast iron pipes are absolutely
safe and, because they are so robust, they can reliably withstand external damage of the kind which
can sometimes be caused by vandalism”. Once
the steel line had been dismantled, thanks to the
A view of operations for laying the pipeline in the collector
briefing given by Duktus application engineers, the
construction company (ESO – Bau GmbH from
Beeskow) was able to assemble the new lines easily and securely. “A clean and easy-to-install solution for the reconstruction of this particular type of
development“, sums up Lutz Rau.
Turbine pipeline for Reinåga power station
RUNNING THROUGH ROCK AND A DROP OF 567 M – NO PROBLEM FOR DUCTILE IRON PIPES
Hydropower is given top priority in Norway when
it comes to energy supply. In the municipality of
Hemnes, in Nordland Province, power production
is the most important sector of the economy, alongside agriculture and forestry. There are several
power stations producing electricity which is mainly used by the aluminium smelting works in Mosjøen and the iron and steel industry in Mo i Rana.
At the beginning of 2014, in a district close to the
town of Korgen, a new power station was commissioned and the turbine pipeline for this consists of
NW 600 pipes, supplied by Duktus. The new power station uses water from the Reinåga mountain
torrent. The water is collected at a height of 700 m
above sea level meaning that, to get to the powerhouse, the roughly 1,030 m long turbine pipeline
has to overcome a drop of 567 m. As with many
similar projects in the past, the Norwegian distribution partner of Duktus, Brødrene Dahl, was able to
convince the power station operator of the advantages of ductile iron pipes. “The conditions of the
terrain were particularly challenging here. The very
The turbine pipeline for Reinåga power station has to cope with a drop of 567 m over a length of approximately 1,030 m
steep pipeline had to be laid in rock all the way.
Therefore, we needed the robustness of this ductile
material to give us a good safety margin against
pressure surges. The fact that, despite these challenges, the entire turbine pipeline was able to be
laid without any major problems was due not least
to the merits of the ‘mighty giants’ in ductile cast
iron”, rejoices Gunnar Ulvik from Brødrene Dahl.
The Reinåga power station produces 12.8 GWh of
power, which corresponds to the annual consumption of about 320 households.
The power station at 133 m above sea level close to the town of
Korgen in the Norwegian Province of Nordland
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 11
Everything from one source
CHALLENGING INSTALLATION OF A DRINKING WATER PIPELINE IN KOSMONOSY
Laying an approximately 250 m long drinking water pipeline in
Kosmonosy in the Czech Republic
The drinking water supply in Kosmonosy in the
Mittelböhmen region of the Czech Republic has
been undergoing expansion in successive stages
for the last two years. Duktus litinové systémy was
best able to procure the ductile iron pipe system
and with its consultation and support in application technology, it set a milestone. Kosmonosy is
a prospering small town and is growing more
closely together with the regional centre of Mladá
Boleslav. Its closeness to the Skoda works is
bringing increasing numbers of residents to the
location and consequently poses the challenge
of adapting the infrastructure. “Particularly with
respect to the drinking water supply, there are
bottlenecks which need to be sorted out as
quickly as possible”, says Petr Kopal, Managing
Director of Duktus litinové systémy. “We have
gained a good reputation with local water suppliers from previous projects and, as is the case
with this project in Kosmonosy, we are often included in the planning at an early stage. People
are starting to appreciate that we offer the reliable material, the application technology and the
complete logistic handling from a single source”.
Confidence in the durability and reliability of the
ductile iron pipe system moved the investor, Arena MB, to award the contract to Duktus. Many
aspects played a role here, as Project Manager
Jirí Mlynár knows: “Because of the aggressive
soil which is present in the area where the pipes
were to be laid, we were able to convince the
planning office, Vodohospodárská kancelár from
Trutnov, of the superiority of Duktus cement mortar coated pipes and thus put another piping
material, which had initially been planned, out of
the running. The BLS® joint technology offers the
promise of cost-effective installation as there is no
need for thrust blocks and also the pressure produced by the groundwater does not represent
any risk for a pipeline with BLS® joints”.
The approximately 250 m long DN 800 pipeline
was laid using the open trench technique. One
challenge was providing a large number of fittings with weld beads. “This work was able to be
done directly on the construction site. That contributed towards a considerable saving in costs.
For the client this was the first experience with
ductile iron pipes in this order of magnitude.
Their contentment is shown in the fact that Duktus has already received a further order for a
2,700 m long pipeline”, says Jirí Mlynár.
Once Duktus, always Duktus
DUCTILE IRON PIPES FOR SNOW-MAKING IN BERNAU
The tourist resort of Bernau with five ski-lifts and
pistes of different degrees of difficulty is one of the
reliable places in the Black Forest when it comes
to snow. Nevertheless, in Bernau they do not trust
simply in the natural white stuff but for years have
been investing in technical snow-making. For the
third time in succession the resort has relied on
ductile iron pipes from Duktus for this project.
Thomas Spiegelhalter, Project Manager for the resort, lays the snow-making lines with his team un-
der his own direction. “Even with this year’s extension of the snow-making on the mountain top
with its 530 m long piste, we found the laying of
the 102 m line of Duktus DN 80 pipes to be easy.
Once again the BLS® joints delighted us”, he
stresses. The folk in Bernau got started in September 2014 and were able to put the line, along
with the branches to the snow-making equipment, into operation on time before the start of the
2014/2015 season.
Assembling a fitting onto the DN 800 line of Duktus cement
mortar coated BLS® pipes
Laying the pipeline in Kosmonosy: fitting the protective collars
applying
For the extension of snow-making on the mountain top in Bernau, for the third time the resort used ductile iron pipes from Duktus and
laid the snow pipes themselves
PAGE 12 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
In demand nationally and internationally
DUCTILE IRON PIPES FROM DUKTUS FOR FIRE EXTINGUISHING LINES
Baumholder in Rhineland-Pfalz/Germany
From December 2014, Baumholder will be back
on the rails again. 33 years after passenger traffic
was discontinued, regular passenger trains will
once again be arriving at this small town in the
mountainous area of the North Palatinate (Rhineland-Pfalz). Some heavy investment was needed
for this because there are stricter rules for passenger transport than for the simple transport of
goods, which is what this section of rail was carrying until now. A large part of the investment
went into installing emergency lighting and a
supply of fire-extinguishing water in the 621 m
long Scheidwald tunnel, as well as providing new
escape routes. For the extinguishing water supply, designed as a dry fire-fighting line with hose
connection fittings at 125 m intervals, 624 m of
BLS® cement mortar coated pipes in DN 125
with FM Approval were used.
ers of construction materials has commissioned a
well-known German plant construction company
to build two cement works in Tuban, Java. Duktus
is on board for this. “As a manufacturer of ductile
iron pipes, which are suitable for fire extinguishing
lines like no other pipe quality, in September 2012
we received the first order for supplying the Tuban 1 works on the northern coast of Java“, reports Manfred Hoffmann of International Marketing at Duktus. The crucial point for being awarded the contract was the FM Approval. For Tuban
1 Duktus delivered 2,668 m of cast iron pipes of
different nominal widths, all with the dependable
BLS® joint technology. Plus a huge number of
fittings. “Altogether there were 100 tonnes of cast
iron”, adds Susanne Lorz, whose task it was to
work out the logistics of the delivery. “The effort
involved in preparing and marking the pipeline
components in time was enormously high”, she
says. “We were therefore pleased that the client
praised us for a ‘super performance’.” Even before Tuban 1 had gone into cement production
the follow-up order had already gone out to Duktus. And for Tuban 2 as well, they wanted ductile
iron pipes “Made in Germany” for the fire extinguishing lines. Experience had paid off and so,
one year later, Susanne Lorz was once again able
to send Duktus pipes off on their long journey to
Indonesia. This time there were 1,152 m of BLS®
pipes in DN 100 to DN 200 – around 50 tonnes.
Common cause
THE OBERNDORF PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANY AND THE KLEINER HEUBERG WATER SUPPLY ASSOCIATION REPLACE DRINKING WATER LINES
Indonesia’s industry is booming. The forecasts for
the cement market alone are expecting doubledigit growth in the coming years. Within the last
four years, one of the world’s biggest manufactur-
In Baden-Württemberg, collaboration between the
Oberndorf public utility company and the Kleiner
Heuberg water supply group turned out brilliantly
in the matter of choosing pipes, laying pipelines
and good scheduling. Both drinking water suppliers favoured BLS® ductile iron pipes with cement
mortar coating. As Duktus Sales Manager Alexander Bauer knows, for some time now Oberndorf
am Neckar has made ductile iron pipes with cement mortar coating pretty much mandatory.
“What we wanted here was the best quality for
lasting security”, says Willi Ruderisch from Flammer Rohrleitungsbau, the company responsible
for the laying work. The pipeline laid by the Kleiner
Heuberg water supply group is 750 m long, running from the Aistaig South elevated tank to the
Aistaig waterworks. Replacement was necessary
because the old DN 200 line could no longer cope
with the delivery volumes. It has been replaced by
a DN 300 line of Duktus pipes, making delivery
volumes of 75 litres per second possible. The association distributes around 1.5 million cubic metres
of drinking water to its members in the region. For
the main part the water comes from the surrounding karst springs and is processed in the Aistaig
waterworks. The Oberndorf public utility company,
which draws its raw water from the Dieselbach
source, processes it in the Mühlberg waterworks
and supplies the entire town centre plus a few outlying districts, took the opportunity of replacing an
ailing DN 150 local network line, in part running
along the same route, over a length of 450 m while
at the same time renovating the storm drains and
service lines in the public domain.
In the Tuban cement works (the kiln equipment is pictured here)
extinguishing lines in ductile iron pipes ensure safety
Flammer Rohrleitungsbau laid both the DN 150 local network line
(right) and the DN 300 transport line
The line from the Aistaig South elevated tank to the waterworks is
750 m long; all the ductile iron pipes were laid in just four months
The 624 m long fire extinguishing line in ductile iron pipes in the
Scheidwald tunnel was laid above ground next to the rails
Tuban in Java/Indonesia
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 13
Duktus favoured
BLS® PIPES WITH CEMENT MORTAR COATING FOR THE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY TO WÜRZBURG-HEUCHELHOF
The DN 300 Duktus drinking water pipes could be pulled into the tunnel without issue using a pre-assembled roller system with fixing brackets
The A3 motorway between Würzburg Heidingsfeld and the Randersacker bridge over the Main is
being widened to six lanes. A pipeline of BLS®
cement mortar coated pipes from Duktus has
been laid in a new supply tunnel to ensure the
uninterrupted supply of drinking water to the district of Würzburg-Heuchelhof.
The expansion of the A3 is a subject which has
been under much discussion for years now. Miles
of narrow lanes have been fraying the nerves of
holiday-makers and lorry drivers for what seems
like eternity – a situation which is now going to
change. The North Bavarian motorway authority
hopes that, by 2019, the main road will have been
widened to 6 lanes over a 94 km stretch, at a cost
of 240 million euros. In the vicinity of the extension, infrastructure must be provided for supplying
the local community. Thus it is necessary, for example, to secure the supply of drinking water to
Würzburg-Heuchelhof. Both the traffic and drinking water must continue to flow – and without interruption. Standstills in the water supply are simply not an option. Therefore, in the run-up to the
new traffic measures, an accessible supply and
disposal tunnel in reinforced concrete was constructed in an exposed location at Katzenberg
under the A3 motorway. The concrete pipe, with a
diameter of 2 m, is 130 m long and houses gas,
electricity and water lines. For the drinking water
line, the client - Würzburger Versorgungsbetriebe
(WVV) - favoured DN 300 ductile iron pipes from
Duktus. From a nominal width of 200, in Würzburg
they essentially rely on ductile iron pipe materials
for their drinking water supply. As Ernst Zellmer,
Construction Manager at Mainfranken Netze
GmbH, knows, it was the high safety reserves of
BLS® pipes with cement mortar coating that were
the convincing factor for this special application in
a supply tunnel. “Not least, the bending capacity
of 4 degrees in the BLS® socket also played an
important role in planning and awarding the contract”, emphasises Oliver Knippel, Project Manager at WVV. Construction company SAG GmbH
from Karlstein am Main laid the new lines and
Construction Manager Bernhard Albert was impressed by Duktus plug&play®: “Uncomplicated
and fast! We were able to lay the new line in less
than two weeks. Installation was done using the
single pipe mounting technique. A roller system is
pre-assembled on steel supports with fixing brackets and the pipes are inserted into this and gradually pulled into the supply tunnel. The line has
been in operation since August 2014”.
The 130 m long drinking water line in Duktus BLS® pipes with cement mortar coating was laid using the single pipe mounting technique by the construction company SAG GmbH from Karlstein
PAGE 14 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Reform of the law on renewable energy
RIGID LIMITS PREVENT ANY EXEMPTION FOR DUKTUS – INTERVIEW WITH STEFAN WEBER
came into effect, we at Duktus were counting on
an exemption for 2015. Since the amendment,
only energy-intensive companies whose energy
costs make up a proportion of at least 16% of
their gross value-added get a rebate on the renewable energy levy. Previously it was 14%. This
increase will be upped again in 2016, when it will
then be 17%. Duktus, with an energy cost proportion which is currently around 15%, can therefore abandon its hopes for any future relief.
Since 1st April 2000 the European Renewables
Directive has been regulating the expansion of
renewable energy sources in Germany. In addition to encouraging the supply of renewable energy into the electricity grid the renewables law also
guarantees producers a stable remuneration for
years to come. The resulting production and feedin costs will be spread across all energy consumers – both households and businesses – via a
charge on their electricity bills. Under certain circumstances, energy-intensive companies can
have recourse to a special equalisation scheme.
The editorial department of inform has conducted
an interview on this subject with Stefan Weber,
Duktus managing director and chairman of the
Hessenmetall employers’ association in Mittelhessen.
Inform:
The amendment to the renewable energy law
which came into effect on 1st August 2014 has
raised a huge number of problems affecting a
whole string of energy-intensive companies and
confronting them with a situation from which, to
some extent, there seems to be no way out.
Stefan Weber:
Duktus is one of the victims of a recoverable energy regulation which is badly organised and
scarcely fair. Until shortly before the amendment
Inform:
As we can see from the regional press, Duktus is
fighting! Fighting against an obviously poorly
conceived regulation and against an assessment
ceiling which is too narrow. What initiatives have
you taken?
Stefan Weber:
As it was the politicians who prepared the ground
and finally took the decision to bring about the
reform of the renewables law this year, it is naturally at this level that we started our campaign. We
wrote to the relevant representatives of all the major parties before the reform was adopted and
drew their attention to the consequences of the
planned reform for Duktus. At first we received no
reaction at all from the politicians. After that we
turned our attention to the public. By doing this,
we above all wanted to point out to members of
the public just what the reform of the renewable
energy law means for industry. Secondly, it was
important for us that people should know how
little interest the politicians are showing on this
subject. It was only when this subject got a critical
reception from the media that the parties and
politicians reacted.
Inform:
You have mobilised politicians from different parties, and also the local government decision-makers. Do you see any concrete prospects of a successful outcome?
Hartmut Weber, Works Council chairman, Klaus Emrich, works manager (left) and Duktus managing director Stefan Weber (2nd right)
accompany guests Jan Boddenberg, Michael Boddenberg, chairman of the chairman of CDU party in the Hesse State Parliament and
State Assembly member Clemens Reif (left) on 4 September 2014 on a tour of the works
Stefan Weber:
We had some concrete requests for changes to
the wording of the law to offer; however they were
not taken into account in the legislative procedure. Hence, for the first time we are confronted
with a situation which can no longer be altered, at
least in the short term. In the medium term we will
continue to fight for a reform of the reform, in the
hope that a sufficient number of members of parliament recognise the existence-threatening weaknesses of the renewables law and support an
amendment. In particular the local politicians
have understood very well the threat which this
law represents for jobs in the region.
Inform:
Duktus is not alone. Many businesses are saying
that their existence is threatened and are thinking
about the question of location. What does a possible scenario for Duktus look like? Can Duktus
survive a lean period?
Stefan Weber:
As with all hurdles which the regulation frenzy
places in our path, being located in Germany, we
will have to find a way to get around the recoverable energies law as well. The scenarios here
range from an increase in power consumption in
order to meet the criteria of the new compensation scheme with respect to the recoverables law,
to organisational changes and finally to measures in the area of personnel (as the renewable
energies law does indeed target the creation of
value, i.e. what is generated by our own employees, as a basis for the compensation scheme
and hence penalises companies with a high added value such as ourselves). At the same time we
will continue with the political work. I cannot and
will not believe that we, along with many other
businesses, will be left to cope with this regulation alone. However, if nothing changes then the
businesses concerned will also be looking at the
question of location.
Works manager Klaus Emrich explains the internal lining of ductile cast iron pipes to Michael Boddenberg (right)
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 15
Die blasting system goes into operation
INVESTMENT IN BETTER QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY
The new die blasting equipment helps to optimise work flow and improve quality
The new die blasting system at Duktus went into
operation in August 2014. It is capable of blasting the inside and outside of dies simultaneously.
Previously this had to be done using two separate pieces of equipment. The new investment
means that the logistic flow within the company is
further optimised and the efficiency of cast iron
pipe production is increased. Possible quality
defects are reduced or avoided because effective blasting produces a metallically pure interior
surface. The condition of the inside surface of the
die has a decisive influence on the quality of the
surface of the cast iron pipe produced in the die.
The external blasting of the dies removes layers
of rust and scale and so results in an improvement in the transfer of heat from the die to the
cooling water of the casting machine. In addition
to the condition of the inside surface of the die,
this represents a further essential requirement for
the product quality of the cast iron pipes. Because of the lower occurrence of defects and the
better cleaning of the surface, this also means
that the dies can be expected to have a longer
working life, thereby reducing rejects and increasing productivity.
The former die blasting equipment used for blasting internal surfaces dated back to the seventies.
Also bearing in mind the lack of preparation of
the blasting material, the efficacy of this equipment was no longer meeting the considerably
higher requirements of today. With the increasing
pollution of the blasting material with soft surface
scale, the casting result was also getting worse.
The situation was much the same with external
casting. This can no longer happen with the new
system, as the blasting material undergoes continuous filtering.
Germany’s most beautiful drinking water pipe
WESTFALEN WESER NETZ AND PADERBORN WATERWORKS – PUTTING SOME ART INTO THE PIPELINE
It’s 6 metres long, has a diameter of 30 centimetres, weighs 400 kilograms, it’s a ductile drinking
water pipe from Duktus – and it’s probably
unique in Germany. As part of the “125 years of
drinking water in Paderborn” celebrations, an
anniversary water pipe was incorporated into the
municipal water supply system. But not just any
old pipe. Paderborn artist Gennadi Isaak de-
signed the cast-iron “emblematic pipe” for Wasserwerke Paderborn and Westfalen Weser Netz
as a watery landscape in shocking blue, lagoon
blue and avocado green.
His brief comment after the pipe had been laid:
“I’ve always wanted to exhibit my work underground.” And Duktus marketing manager Silke
Hackl added: “The pipe will be part of the Pader-
Employees of Wasserwerke Paderborn and Westfalen Weser Netz celebrate the colourful anniversary pipe together with Duktus
marketing manager Karl-Wilhelm Römer (centre) and the artist Gennadi Isaak (second from the right)
born water network for a very long time to come.
We have supplied ductile drinking water pipes for
the modernisation of the supply network and are
happy to think that, by the next anniversary in 125
years’ time, around 125 million cubic metres of
water will have been safely and reliably transported through the lines, and that the only piece of
pipe art in Germany is a Duktus pipe.”
Silke Hackl is proud of the “most beautiful drinking water pipe in
Germany”; in the background, Michael Bernemann, technical
manager of Wasserwerke Paderborn
PAGE 16 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Well connected and committed
DUKTUS PLAYS ITS PART, OFFERS NEW IDEAS AND TAKES A STAND
Duktus is well connected and has been for decades. In sectorial and cross-section organisations
and associations, which are all opinion forming, while simultaneously appreciating new ideas from their members. And Duktus does indeed offer new ideas. Ulrich Päßler, as Chairman
of the professional association for iron pipe systems, FGR®/EADIPS®, as well as Stefan Weber
as Chairman of HESSENMETALL Mittelhessen
are both examples of this.
For example, as a member of the DVGW
(Deutsche Vereinigung des Gas- und Wasserfaches e.V., the German association for the
gas and water industry), time and again, Duktus takes on the task of publishing specialist articles in the association’s publications. Duktus is
committed. Therefore in July 2014, 30 members
of the Mittelhessen regional group of the DVGW
took up the invitation to attend a technical training and works visit session. “We benefit from the
organisations and associations and are happy
to pass on expert knowledge to their members”,
says Ulrich Päßler. This event enabled the visitors to get some insights into the different joint
systems and coatings for ductile iron pipes. They
were given an idea of the areas of application
for cast iron pipe technology, in particular the
trenchless installation process. “An exchange of
experience is important for everyone and creates
networks”, reckons Stephan Hobohm from Duktus Applications Technology, who gave a presentation on ‘Long-term experience with the active
protective effects of cement mortar lining and cement mortar coatings for ductile iron pipes’.
bers of the group set up a touring exhibition ‘all
about drinking water’ for which Duktus provided a model which shows a cast iron pipe in the
trenchless laying process. The aim of the exhibition is to bring people closer to “their” water supply and clearly explain what is involved, from
catchment to final supply at the tap, in order to
ensure that fresh drinking water reaches the
consumer at all times. The first exhibition was
held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of
the Adelburg group water supply association on
14th September 2014.
Duktus is also a member of the DWA (Deutsche
Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und
Abfall e.V., the German association for water,
wastewater and waste). In Germany, the DWA is
the body which speaks on all questions concerning water and it works intensively for the development of a secure and sustainable water industry.
As the Chairman of FGR®/EADIPS® Ulrich Päßler,
together with Raimund Moisa, the Executive Director of the association invited a delegation from
the DWA under the leadership of Federal Chairman Johannes Lohaus to Wetzlar in October
2014 in order to inform leading figures and employees of different departments about the world
of ductile iron pipes. ‘Ductile iron pipes create
value’ was the guiding theme of Päßler’s presentation, which was followed by Steffen Ertelt’s talk
‘Secure in the future. Ductile iron pipes – the use
of innovative installation processes’.
“We see ourselves as providers of ideas and
pathfinders within a sector which is responsible
for quality of life in the supply and disposal of water”, is how Marketing Manager Silke Hackl explains the commitment of Duktus at the roadshow of the Schwaben regional group of the
DVGW. With the support of suppliers, the mem-
Duktus Managing Director Stefan Weber is a strong advocate for
the campaign of the metal and electrical industry “We are the
heart of the economy”
Stefan Weber is not only representing the interests of Duktus in the discussions about the controversial amendment to the renewable energies
law (see page 14) but he is also involved in the
campaign “We are the heart of the economy”.
More than 3.6 million employees, almost 200,000
apprentices, more than 37 billion euros of investment in research and development, more than
23,000 companies and over 950 billion euros in
turnover. No other sector in Germany is as significant for economic growth and wellbeing in
our country as the metal and electrical industry.
We provide secure and well-paid jobs. We are innovative and always in pace with the times. We
guarantee prosperity and we train our junior staff
ourselves. We are the heart of the economy and
Duktus is part of this. We appreciate the work of
our personnel and are proud of the products and
the reputation of our sector. With our participation
in the ‘Heart of the Economy’ campaign we want
to show how much we at Duktus value the performance of our employees and also how important our contribution is within the M+E industry
for the wellbeing of our society. On the campaign
website, www.herz-der-wirtschaft.de, employees
describe their jobs and recount their personal
stories from the heart of the economy. Along with
Duktus there are already more than 100 companies acting as ambassadors in the campaign in
support of German industry.
DWA delegation visiting Duktus. FGR® /EADIPS® Executive Director Raimund Moisa (2nd from the right) accompanies the group
The Mittelhessen regional group of the DVGW visited Duktus. Stephan Hobohm (third from the right) accompanies the guests
on a tour of the factory
More about the commitment of Duktus to “We are the heart of the
economy” will be available shortly on www.herz-der-wirtschaft.de
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 17
A warm welcome
NEW COLLEAGUES AT DUKTUS
Thomas Hinze
Tobias Hoppe
Eric Friedrich
Since April 2014,
Thomas Hinze (born
1962) has been the
Managing Director at
Duktus Pipe Systems
in Dubai. The graduate in mechanical engineering, who previously held leading
positions at Hilti and
Saint-Gobain Baustoffe among others, has set
himself the target of developing the Arabic market for Duktus from his base in Dubai to make it
profitable on a sustainable basis. Thomas Hinze,
a native Berliner, has two grown-up daughters
and in his free time he loves riding his motorcycle, skiing and playing the saxophone and guitar.
Tobias Hoppe has been
on the Duktus Development and Technology team (PWT) since
1st February 2014.
The 32-year-old chemistry graduate who, at
the end of 2014 will
complete his doctorate degree at the Justus
Liebig University in Gießen, is principally responsible for the development and optimisation of pipe
coating systems at Duktus. Tobias Hoppe was
born in Nordhausen and grew up in Linden bei
Gießen. As a House DJ and producer, he “works”
very successfully in his free time and his secondfavourite hobby is playing football.
Eric Friedrich, born
in 1988 in Wetzlar,
completed his training as an electronics technician for industrial engineering in the company
between 2004 and
2008. After finishing
his dual study programme in electronics at the Mittelhessen Institute of Technology he was employed in software
development for special-purpose engineering. In
June 2014, Eric Friedrich came back to Duktus
and has taken on the management of automation
in the Maintenance Department. His hobbies are
home and garden, hiking and motorcycling.
From the geological experience trail
to the ox-fest
LOTS OF VARIETY AT THE DUKTUS FAMILY DAY
Not one but two highlights were offered by this
year’s Family Day on 5th July – a geological experience trail and an ox-fest. Two experiences
which were both exciting and instructional and
gave a great deal of pleasure. 90 people started
out in the early afternoon “into the ground”, learn-
ing a great deal during this tour through Hessen’s
first geological experience trail at the Wetzlar nature protection centre about what is going on underground. Dr. Thilo Klein from the Office for the
Environment and the Protection of Nature led the
groups and at four soil profiles along the trail provided them with information on different themes
to do with soil science and soil conservation. But
fun for the kids was not forgotten. A playground
area had been set up and a balloon modeller
conjured up some fun and games. And with feet
still firmly on the ground, they moved on to the
ox-fest. The traditional event, a highlight of the
Wetzlar festival scene, was a welcome occasion
for more than 100 Duktus employees with their
families to have a party and enjoy the special atmosphere of this feast. The good home cooking
delighted everyone and a tombola for the benefit
of the Albert Schweitzer Children’s Village attracted much interest. A ticket cost just one euro. By
the end more than 400 euros had been collected, which was topped up by the management to
a round 1,000 euros.
Personnel Manager Stefan Pohl handed this
donation over in August during the Children’s
Village Summer Festival to the head of the
institution, Christian Scharfe. The money will help
support a new children’s group in the region.
A cheery and festive atmosphere at the Wetzlar ox-fest
Cheers to the Duktus Family Day!
The balloon modeller came up with some funny things
for the kids
At various points along the geological experience trail, Dr. Thilo
Klein explained what is going on underground
PAGE 18 | INFORM NO. 2 / 2014
Pilot trip for Duktus bikers
FROM THE LAHN TO THE RHINE
Six men and one woman of stone: Uwe Weckert, Andreas List,
Dieter Ludwig, Michael Deg (standing, left to right), Peter Mletzko
(left) and Andreas Mantz, the initiator of the tour, in front of the
Loreley statue
Starting out on 24th May 2014 on the first tour along the Rhine: the new Duktus biker community
Andreas Mantz from the Quality department had a
good idea: getting Duktus motorbike fans together
to go on a tour. So he sent emails to all the motorcycle enthusiasts known to him among his colleagues and made some concrete suggestions for
dates and itineraries. Andreas, himself an ardent
biker who has been on the road in Germany for
years on his Yamaha FJR 1300, had huge success
with his proposal. 15 bikers got in touch spontane-
ously and so the group met on 24th May 2014 in
front of the Duktus gatehouse and set off on a 230
km long round trip via Hahnstätten, the Loreley,
along a section of the Rhine, through the Lahn
valley and the Gelbbach valley, the lake at Hertha
and then back home via Braunfels. The motorbike
community was enthusiastic and even when it
started to rain they remained unperturbed. The
group dynamic was quickly established. Everyone
found the pilot trip to be very harmonious and at
the end they agreed that a repeat event – with a
different, interesting itinerary – is an absolute must.
It was clear to Andreas Mantz that his initiative had
paid off because such activities turns work colleagues into leisure-time friends.
If anyone has ideas for some other great trips,
please get in touch.
Contact: Andreas Mantz, tel.: 0 64 41 / 49 2671
Order is called
DUKTUS ACTION DAY BRINGS A SHINE TO THE WORKS
“We party together, work together and have fun
doing it”. This is how Alexander Bronn sums up the
team spirit at the Action Day on 27th September
2014. Around 50 Duktusians got together in order
to clean, to clear up, to sweep, to organise and to
paint – and not just in the factory, but also in administration, up in the attic, down in the cellars,
absolutely everywhere. Susanne Lorz explains why
joining in and getting things straight is so beneficial: “It’s just like at home, when you have managed to get things in order. It simply makes you
feel better!” The fact that some people had aching
muscles the next day was a small price to pay.
Action Days are like a very particular form of sport.
Organiser Alexander Bronn (right) thanks all his helpers
Getting rid of countless documents no longer needed – Elvira
Sames-Dickopf from Marketing
Viktor Wagner, Gregor Riemel and Doreen Koppel (left to right)
cleaning the die measuring table
“Grill-master” Georgios Moutroupidis (left) and Stephan Hobohm
INFORM NO. 2 / 2014 | PAGE 19
All along the riverside
THE “IRON EIGHT” ON A TOUR OF DISCOVERY
For the last 15 years, Duktus Sales Manager Lutz
Rau from Berlin, together with his wife and three
couples who are friends of theirs from Berlin/
Brandenburg and Saxony, have been spending
several days riding high in the saddle through the
most beautiful regions of Germany. For the “Eisernen Acht”, or the “Iron Eight” as the troupe calls
itself, the valley of the Lahn in Hessen was on the
agenda for this year. Lutz Rau tells us all about
what the touring cyclists found along the River
Lahn: “We met up at the beginning of July 2014
close to Marburg and had a very pleasant ride
around the university town, having the beautiful
old town with the Elisabethkirche and its fascinating history explained to us by a tour guide. We
enjoyed the student atmosphere of Marburg very
much but we wanted to get further on this first day
and so started on the 68 km stretch via Gießen to
Wetzlar. The historic old town with its cathedral,
the many half-timbered houses and, naturally, the
Lahn with its lovely riverside walks were impressive. The highlight for my seven colleagues came
the next day: a guided tour of Duktus! Standing
next to the imposing cupola furnace, watching the
red-hot liquid iron flowing out and feeling the heat
of it – that is something which will long stay in the
memory. After the factory tour it was clear to all of
us just how much technological effort is necessary
in order to produce ductile iron pipes to a consistently high quality.
After the heat of the iron, it was refreshing to feel
the cool wind in our hair again. We pedalled on
through Weilburg with its Renaissance castle over
the high rock faces to the famous diocesan town of
Limburg, going past Selters which gave its name
to the sparkling mineral water, and to Runkel with
its impressive hilltop castle. We all agreed that this
central valley of the Lahn is really something special, offering many opportunities to get off our
bikes and explore. Despite “buzzing” thighs after
60 km we didn’t balk at the idea of taking a stroll
through the town of Limburg. Well rested, the next
day we embarked on the last stage to Bad Ems.
We cycled these 65 km away from the traffic, always following the twists and turns of the Lahn,
through unspoilt valley landscapes, passing Dietz,
Nassau, Balduinstein, Arnstein Abbey and Nassau
Castle. The chic spa of Bad Ems, where emperors
and czars have taken the waters, provided a convivial end to our cycling tour with its interesting
buildings. Bad Ems is at the beginning of the
Limesweg which, according to archaeological
findings, marks the boundary line between Germania and the Roman Empire almost 2000 years ago
Comment from the Berlin contingent on this cute little bear:
“This is what looks like an
ordinary mortal Hessian in the
guise of a bear. With the Berlin
bear, incidentally, you can see
that he at least looks a bit
grumpy. But this Hessian bear
looks rather as though he has
been kidnapped from a kids’
TV programme.”
with all its edifices and transport routes. Here
again, the Lahn was the geographical focus for the
population. Maybe, we thought, this could also be
the focus for our next cycling tour. To summarise
our “Tour de Lahn”: back refreshed after three
brilliant days in the Lahn valley and at Duktus.”
Anniversaries
CONGRATIONS TO
25 years
Frank Bullmann, 1.12.2014
Hasan Demirboga, 8.1.2015
Marek Grabowski, 14.2.2015
Bruno Coletta, 2.4.2015
Jan Lazar, 2.5.2015
Richard Schmeida, 2.5.2015
Ramazan Yetim, 2.5.2015
Martin Henrich, 7.5.2015
Whoops!!
SOMETHING HAS GONE
WRONG HERE
This Skoda driver in the Czech Republic has
ended up where only ductile iron pipes belong,
namely in the pipe trench. Why? Because he did
not want to turn his gaze away from the truck
with the blue Duktus pipes.
Across the roofs of the old town of Marburg
A highlight of the excursion along the Lahn valley: the works visit
to Duktus
In the old part of Limburg: fountain statue and monument to the
former robber baron Friedrich von Hattstein
Waiting at the end of the cycle tour was the once prestigious spa
of Bad Ems with its beautiful riverside walks
He simply found the pipes so beautiful that he landed in the pipe
trench. Luckily, nothing happened to the Skoda driver!
Duktus S.A.
Duktus
Rohrsysteme Wetzlar GmbH
Duktus
litinové systémy s.r.o.
Duktus
Pipe Systems FZE
Innsbrucker Straße 51
6060 Hall in Tirol
Austria
Sophienstraße 52-54
35576 Wetzlar
Germany
Ružová 1386
252 19 Rudná
Czech Republic
South Jebel Ali Free Zone
JAFZA View 18/Office No. 909
Dubai/U.A.E.
T +43 (0) 5223 503-215
T +49 (0) 6441 49 2401
F +49 (0) 6441 49 1455
T +420 311 611 356
F +420 311 624 243
T +971 (0) 4886 56 80
F +971 (0) 4886 56 40
www.duktus.com
www.duktus.com
www.duktus.cz
www.duktus.com