News

New Timber Warehouse has been put into Operation

On 21.11.2008 Poppensieker & Derix enthusiastically celebrated that the new warehouse for kiln-dried timber has been put into operation.

After having successfully brought into service the new »Expressline«, the throughput of the Velpe production plant has more than doubled. As it is a well-established Poppensieker & Derix strategy to supply their customers with glued laminated timber in various strengths classes and surface qualities upon short notice, it has been necessary to keep a certain number of kiln-dried and graded lamellas on stock. This is why Poppensieker & Derix have decided to enlarge the existing warehouse considerably and to build a separate hall with a supplemental storage area of 2.250 m² so that an additional amount of up to 5.000 m³ lamellas could be held available on stock.

Further to the construction of the new warehouse, an outdoor timber storage facility of approximately 5.500 m² and a new embark point of 4.000 m² for the finished material have been set up. Moreover, the commissioning hall, the CNC processing hall and the »Expressline« have been extended.

Thanks to the realisation of these infrastructure arrangements it has been possible to perfect the flow of material and the internal transportation in the plant. Further to that, the routes for the forklifts from the truck unloading area to the warehousing in the halls have been optimised and this helped to reach the grading routes easily.

Due to fire protection guidelines it has been necessary to build the new hall with a separation distance of 10.00 m to the existing hall. Of course, this has also helped to optimise the material flow.

As the architect Wilhelm Bökenkamp from Planungsgruppe Mesum has realised successfully many interesting projects for the Derix Group, he has been entrusted with this interesting and challenging project, too. As an expert with a longstanding experience Mr. Wilhelm Bökenkamp once again succeeded in realising an eye-catching construction by combining an extraordinary architectural design with economically efficient solutions.

With regard to the completion of the hall construction and the additional infrastructural arrangements Messrs. Brüninghoff from Heiden have been in charge as the general contractor.

The construction of the new warehouse complies with traditional structural engineering: Ferro-concrete columns with clamped supports are arranged in the exterior axles and fish-bellied beams rest on the ferro-concrete posts. The distance between the beams is 6.00 m and they have a span length of approximately 24.00 m. In the middle axle of the hall there are three ferro-concrete columns in order to bear the distance of approximately 15.75 m between the main beams. Hence it follows that the storage possibilities are limited by three columns only. In accordance with fire protection regulations, these three columns have been located in an area which is separated from the storage area. As it is necessary to resist the bound load of the 10t-forklifts, ferro-concrete sandwich panels have been assembled up to a height of 3.00 m.

In order to realise a natural exposure to daylight, 1.00 m areas with green-coloured 50 mm RODECA have been installed at the gable of the building. As a matter of fact, these natural light areas can also be used to provide fresh air and they serve as fire protection requirements, too. Next to the light areas, the end walls have been closed with micro-lined Fischer sandwich panels, which have been arranged in front of the ferro-concrete panels and help to realise the curvature of the 'ears' smoothly.

The 'ears' as a striking feature at the centre lines of the building have been realised very easily: Circularly cut glulam blocs have been anchored as substructure above the ferro-concrete panels. The trapezoidal steel sheet roof covering, the insulation and the water-bearing membrane have been drawn from the roof and the substructure towards the facing of the building. At the top of the building an additional curved profile has been sealed in order to absorb the zinc-plated convolution that proceeds in longitudinal direction along the face of the building. Furthermore, it has been necessary to cut the fish-bellied beams circularly in order to get the impression of a curvature, which is directed towards the roof.

The glulam supporting system for the roof complies with fire resistance grade F30. With regard to the stiffening it is interesting to note, however, that the shear strength has been realised by trapezoidal steel sheets. In accordance with the fire protection requirements the new warehouse is cable-connected with the company fire-sprinkling system. As far as the fire-insurance coverage according to CEA 4001 is concerned, this new warehouse has been allowed a class 1 maximum rebate.

With only a few architectural design features it has been possible to build a warehouse with a unique and spectacular appearance. As the new warehouse is located near the highway A 30 with a direct access road towards the company premises, this warehouse definitely serves as an eye-catcher and helps to make a unique contribution to the company's image.

It is interesting to note that it has not been necessary to find a compromise between the architectural design of the building and its economic use - on the contrary: The extraordinary architectural design of the warehouse has emanated smoothly from the process of continuously reflecting on and improving the framework requirements.

The construction costs including extras, building services and fire sprinkling system have added up to 350 EUR/m² floor area of the building, which is very cost-effective, indeed. The additional charges for the architectural design elements have averaged out at 5% of the construction costs.

It's a well-known fact that architecture is an important part of our culture and gives distinction to our social environment for many decades. As a result of this, it might be a good idea to revise one's opinion not only with regard to the construction of municipal and private buildings, but also concerning the construction of industrial buildings and business facilities.

General Information concerning the Construction

Length of the hall: 48,25 m
Width of the hall: 46,50 m
Clear height:   6,00 m

Construction Companies and Partners:

New Timber Warehouse has been put into Operation

This article in PDF format.

Download (1,73 MB)

back