Fit for the future with ceramic building material solutions

Photo/Foto: Anett Fischer

»1 Ralf Schwung with a section of a Poroton block filled with perlite. Clearly visible are the chambers filled with the mineral volcanic rock

Photo/Foto: Anett Fischer

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Gerard Halama

»2 Distinctive roof geometry: Koramic Actua 10 design tile in the shade noble graphite for an unusual house with a clay roof

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Gerard Halama

»3 Quality control at the Koramic Roofing Tiles Plant in Eisenberg/Palatinate

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Gerard Halama

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Jens Krüger

»4 Timeless beauty in an array of colours and surface finishes: a selection from the Terca facing brick range

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Jens Krüger

Picture/Bild: Wienerberger

»5 Overview map showing Wienerberger locations

Picture/Bild: Wienerberger

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Gerard Halama

»6 Modern new-built office in Gooiland, Netherlands. Architect van Velsen chose to use sand-coloured Terzo facade panels from the Argeton range. With two to three dummy joints, they provide additional accents.

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Gerard Halama

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger

»7 Clay pavers appear to particularly good effect in a mix of materials. The anthracite-blue Sylt pavers provide a beautiful contrast to the brick-built water basin, for which the Keitum orange multi water-struck bricks from the Terca range for Wienerberger were used. Wienerberger’s LED pavers are effective for special lighting situations

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Johannes Vogt

»8 Building shell of the two apartment buildings in the Merton quarter of Frankfurt am Main. For cost reasons, prefabricated balconies were erected in front of the walls and to avoid thermal bridges in the superior energy-insulated brick exterior wall connected at individual points

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Johannes Vogt

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Jens Krüger

»9 The wall materials for this integrated solution for double-leaf walls are the Poroton-T8-MW in a thickness of 24 centimetres and facing bricks from the Terca range. With ten-centimetre-thick insulation in WLG 035, a U-value of 0.16 W/m²K is achieved and at the same time the exterior wall is thinner than monolithic structures with the same insulation levels. A part of the system is a two-part cavity wall tie made of stainless flat steel that ensures the stability of the structure

Photo/Foto: Wienerberger/Jens Krüger

This view of the future was formulated by Dipl.-Kfm. Ralf Schwung, sole Managing Director at Wienerberger GmbH since 1 September 2013, during our talk at the company’s headquarters in Hannover. Read here about the challenges the company is set to face in the future and the plans Wienerberger has.

According to the Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, in the first quarter of 2014, 15.3 percent more housing units were approved than in the same period in 2013. This is a continuation of the positive trend in building approvals for housing units (2013: + 12.9 percent on the previous year). How has 2014 started for Wienerberger Deutschland? What forecast can you give for the year overall?

R.S.: 2014 has started very well. We have experienced a superb first quarter, with enormous growth rates compared to the previous year, which, however, was hit by a very severe winter. I take a more...