Ready for the future: Spesa carries out extensive hall renovation for long-distance energy pipe producer

• Plastic sheath pipe manufacturer BRUGG Pipes invests in Nordhausen location
• Conversion of warehouse to production hall
• SPESA Spezialbau und Sanierung GmbH tasked with professional rehabilitation of hall pillars and ceilings

Nordhausen, Germany – They are a key component for the energy and heating revolution in Germany: Plastic sheath pipes. These are used to construct long-distance energy lines and entire district heat networks. The market is growing, and so is the demand for pipes for network expansion. To meet this increasing demand, the internationally leading long-distance energy pipe producer BRUGG Pipes relies on investments and modernizing. The company, which has its headquarters in Switzerland and plants in Wunstorf near Hannover, the town of Aargau in Switzerland as well as Poland, is currently investing in an extensive expansion and rehabilitation of the Nordhausen location. The capacity of the plant in Thuringia will be more than doubled in the future.

Conversion instead of new building

Instead of costly investments in a new building, however, the company is sustainably converting an existing warehouse into a production hall. In the course of these works, the first stage was to carry out roof insultation and rehabilitation. During this process, damaged sections with corroded reinforcement were detected on the hall pillars as well as defective spots on the underside of the ceiling. In order to correct these damages and ensure the stability and structural integrity of the production hall over the long term, SPESA Spezialbau und Sanierung GmbH was tasked by BRUGG German Pipes GmbH with the repair of the hall pillars and the underside of the ceiling.
 

Pillars and walls

First, more than 90 supporting pillars were extensively rehabilitated. After chiseling out damaged spots and preparing the subsoil with solid blasting, the edge formwork was constructed. Then sprayed mortar was applied in a thickness of 3 cm. The work concluded with a surface protection coating to increase durability. “The scope of services also included the structurally functional connection of several double pillars with a total of 14 wall slabs,” remarks Lars Prokosch, Project Manager at SPESA Spezialbau und Sanierung GmbH. “After the pillars were prepared, the interstitial space was filled with a concrete replacement system. Then – with additional structurally functional reinforcement – shotcrete was applied in a thickness of 7 cm as well as sprayed mortar in a thickness of 3 cm. Because the double pillars are reinforced with wall slabs, heavy wind loads arising in the future will be safely diverted.”
 

Extensive rehabilitation

Along with the hall pillars, particular attention was paid to the rehabilitation of the hall ceiling. Over an area of 1,300 m², the subsoil was prepared with solid blasting, corrosion protection was applied for the exposed reinforcements and reprofiling work was carried out on the damaged spots. The work concluded with troweling and a surface protection coating. An additional ceiling area of 2,600 m² with isolated damage spots and 500 m² of truss area were prepared with high-pressure water jets and then covered with a surface protection coating. “One particular challenge on this project was the extensive cleaning of the protective and working scaffolding after applying the sprayed mortar,” remarks Lars Prokosch in conclusion. “The demolition works on the old floor slab and the excavation of the new floor slab were also carried out in parallel. All work phases had to be coordinated optimally.” The work began in early July 2024 and successfully concluded in early December.