A New factory for old paper

GASS: Quickly erected, quickly dismantled,

The “paperless office” is not the only concept that turned out to be mere wishful thinking. In actual fact paper, including cardboard, is and remains omnipresent and indispensable for many practical functions: As a carrier of Information, packaging, ubiquitous service material and daily preserver and preparer of our culture.

Varel (Frisia / Germany)

The papermill “Papier- und Kartonfabrik Varel GmbH Co. KG (Varel)” had decided to expand one of their paper machines into a multi-functional production plant. This necessitated the construction of a new storage hall (20.000 m²) and a further extension (5.000 m²) of existing structures including the 3.600 m² large processing hall. Due to historical circumstances and for logistic reasons the new hall is situated in the center of the cramped factory site. There is constant traffic by heavy trucks carrying pressed paper bales weighing tons to storage halls or to the processing plant. Under these circumstances expansive construction space is out of the question.

On-site activities

Construction activities started on 16th August 2010 with excavation work.
Due to the “river” Leke which empties into the nearby Jade Bay, the ground water table reaches a depth of 1.5 meters below ground level. The soil consists of clay and sand. Therefore Centrum-conrete piles had to serve as a stable basis for the construction work.
Work on the construction shell began on 18th August 2010.
Storage and production buildings were predominantly constructed from large-size pre-fabricated concrete modules: slabs, columns and beams including semi pre-fabricated slab modules. This was done with the aid of a supporting shoring system.
Erection of the shoring system was to be effected quickly and efficiently and the considerable loads to be carried were to be supported safely and reliably.
The contractor E u. H. Brunken GmbH & Co. KG (Varel) opted for the GASS Great Aluminum Shoring System from PASCHAL.
It is the aluminum system with the highest carrying capacity (up to 140 kN per leg) and even surpasses many steel systems. It is stabilized by a
stiffening frame and this way it forms a tower structure. The cross-section of the support is nearly circular and has a statically optimum shape which can carry heavy loads. The top and bottom plates are of identical design.
Their checkered surface provides an accurate fit, which allows higher and more stable support structures.
Fine adjustment of height for the top or the bottom plate is done quickly and safely by simply turning swivel nuts on a spindle. This is an important feature when working on uneven surfaces or dealing with varying overall heights.
Compared with other systems, fewer supports are required and fewer system components have to be used. Simple and fast handling due to the lower weight and easy to understand assembly of fewer parts along with increased load-bearing capacity ensures that GASS offers many advantages in comparison with similar systems.

Gaining advantages

The deployment of the GASS system was so successful that it will also be used for the second construction stage starting June 2011. The first stage was successfully concluded in March 2011, and production began end of July 2011. Up to 800,000 tons of waste paper will be recycled per year.


Rapid set-up: loads up to 140 kN per leg: The “GASS” shoring system. That pleases Dipl.-Ing. Raschke, the site engineer.