“Keep on schedule, that is our motto, short and simple! We only accept jobs if we know that we can meet the deadline,” says Denny Gebhardt, Construction Manager at the Süß Bau GmbH, self-confidently. And rightly so, because his team expanded the Porsche works (Panamera G2 project) in Leipzig by 183,000 square metres in barely three months.
Porsche invested 500 million euros in the new factory for building its Macan SUV. The biggest construction project in the history of the sports car manufacturer started in September 2011 with the Macan project and was expanded with the Panamera G2 project in June 2014. The new factory was officially opened in February of this year. The entire underground engineering work for the new car production facilities was carried out by the Süß Bau GmbH from Taucha. “Our job for the Porsche Panamera project was to stabilise the base level and at the same time to regulate the terrain in two layers,” says engineer Denny Gebhardt, construction manager for the project. “Parallel to that we moved 600,000 m³ of earth and stabilised 380,000 m³ of soil on the construction site. Right over there where the new building is located now.” The crux of the job was in the very short construction period. The engineers from Süß Bau had to plan in advance how to manage this immense construction project within the narrowest time frame. “ To increase the speed, two low-dust soil stabilisers did the preliminary work, followed by another big stabiliser. Top priority: absolutely no formation of dust, so that the production of new Porsches is not impaired in any way. We have to work without producing any dust in this area,” says Denny Gebhardt, explaining the self-defined procedures.
A Fendt 930 Vario with a low-dust Stehr soil stabiliser SBF 24-6 and a Fendt 939 Vario with the newest model, an SBF 248, were used. The Stehr stabilisers work the lime-cement mixture into the ground directly within the milling drum housing. Dust is only produced within the housing and therefore remains contained. “We have been using these low-dust soil stabilisers for 15 years now and we were the first to use them in Germany at that time,” says the civil engineer. “The power of our tractors must match the soil stabiliser, because it rotates against the driving direction in order to dig itself into the ground. If I don’t have enough engine power, I can’t go forward and have frequent downtimes on the construction site.” The Fendt 930 Vario already racked up 9,250 operating hours since it was delivered in September 2007 – without any major breakdowns. The Süß Bau GmbH bought the new Fendt 939 Vario in 2014 for the soil stabiliser model SBF 24-8. The tank for the binder agent on the SBF 24-8 can hold 8.5 m³ of mixes. These can be worked into the soil with a rotor that can be lowered to a depth of 500 mm. Of course, this demands a lot of tractor power.
“Choosing a machine is a question of quality. We have chosen Fendt,” explains construction manager Gebhardt. “We also tried other brands, but had too big losses with them. Because we are a performance-oriented business, we cannot afford to have machine failures. We need powerful tractors and that is why we have chosen Fendt, because the machines fit to our implements and we hardly have any breakdowns.”(Photo: Daniela Müller)
In addition, the Süß Bau GmbH has reliable dealer in Saxony, the BayWa Wurzen. “Service is also a decisive factor for a brand. The BayWa is our service partner and has to react quickly. We have scheduled all of our machines, so they all have to work. Service partners just have to be flexible and even come to the construction site, if necessary. It is of no use to me, if I have to wait a week until somebody finally turns up to look at the machine,” says Gebhardt, expressing his demands on his service partner. (Photo: Daniela Müller)
Thanks to the Süß Bau GmbH, the Porsche factory was put into operation right on schedule. “We have been working for Porsche since they first opened the location here in Leipzig, since the foundation stone was placed. We have been part of every one of their bigger earthmoving projects since then. We are quasi the foundation of Porsche,” he laughs. And then he already has to go, because he wants to check on a current project. A new parking area for commercial vehicles still has to be built this month in an industrial park in the northern part of Leipzig. (Photo: Stehr)
Engineer Denny Gebhardt has been working at the Süß Bau GmbH since 2010. The construction manager is always there for all the big construction projects.
Father and son, Carsten (right) and Christopher Schräpler (left) drive the 900 Vario: “The comfort and performance of Fendt tractors have convinced us. The suspension and springs are really good on Fendt tractors. And the power transmission to the ground is very important for our work. You don’t get stuck!” Klaus Voigt (centre) from the BayWa Wurzen is the sales consultant for municipal operations.
The family-run business Süß has been in Taucha for nearly 30 years. It was founded during the time of the German Democratic Republic and expanded successively to a company with 100 permanent employees. Today it is managed by Thomas Süß (jr). (Photo: Süß Bau GmbH)
Furthermore, we work with five Fendt tractors from the 700 to 900 series and most recently, with a Katana 65 forage harvester.
Furthermore, we work with five Fendt tractors from the 700 to 900 series and most recently, with a Katana 65 forage harvester.
