Info 1 2008 Engl - Buderus Edelstahl Gmbh

The Company
Classic water tower makes way for progress
The old water tower in the water supply area of the Buderus Edelstahl site was
demolished at the end of last year. The tower was shuttered and constructed in concrete
at a central location on the site in 1923, and has been out of service for more
than 20 years, latterly surrounded an all sides by water treatment plant. Its function
at the time was to maintain pressure in the company’s water circuits. The structure
was built in the contemporary style, incorporating aesthetic aspects as well as functional
features. Curves and struts gave the tower a balanced and harmonious appearance.
Strips running horizontally around the tank refl ected contemporary concepts of
architectural decoration for such a conspicuous location.
As the component cross-sections suggest,
the structure had signifi cant statical tolerance,
which was customary at the time.
However the use of reinforced concrete was
sparing. The tower was restored several
times over the decades, but damage had
gradually accumulated that would have
necessitated fundamental renovation.
The central water supply plant had historically
always been located at this point.
This central location had the advantage of
short pipe runs and low energy demand.
The demands on the output of the water
treatment plant have increased many times
since it was built, because of the increased
production volume. There was also a need
to constantly improve the quality of the
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EDELSTAHL Info 1/2008
service water to be treated and disposed
of. A large cooling plant had to be installed
and constantly expanded over the years to
achieve constant low output temperatures
to ensure reliable technological parameters
for production. This enabled the strict
limits for service water discharged directly
into the river Dill to be reliably complied
with. Environmental aspects have gradually
become more important over recent
years, leading to further intensifi cation of
water treatment. Consequently the central
water treatment plant has increasingly encroached
on the water tower, fi nally completely
surrounding it on all sides. The
tower was then standing in the way of any
further expansion.
The decision to demolish it was not an
easy one. The tower was a familiar sight,
and was a distinctive visual feature of our
works; it was associated with history. The
conservation authorities also reviewed the
demolition application very critically and
thoroughly.
Before the tower could fi nally be demolished,
some very diffi cult problems had to
be solved. It could not be demolished in
situ, because of the surrounding plant and
pipework that had to remain in operation.
We enlisted the assistance of ATR, which
developed a concept that was both safe
and spectacular. The tower was to be lifted
off completely in two parts.
After thorough long-term project planning,
statical studies and model trials, work
commenced in mid December 2007. A
mobile crane with a load rating of 600
tonnes was delivered and assembled with
20 low loaders.
Each chain of the crane alone weighed
over 40 tonnes. It took four days to assemble
it, and required its own auxiliary crane
just for this purpose.
In the meantime ATR constructed a
supporting framework at the tower below