Rockwool Neuburg: Construction in Record Time – Despite the Pandemic

Conversion Under Full Operation

The project began inconspicuously on a gray February day in early 2018.

The two of us, Peter Struck and Moritz Bundschuh, drove to a new client to discuss geotechnical investigations and potentially provide further support. It quickly became clear that this project would be larger and more challenging than initially expected. The client was Rockwool, who wanted to comprehensively modernize a site while production was ongoing. The company produces, among other things, stone wool, which is used for insulation purposes.

The schedule was tight, the conditions demanding, and there was no lead time for the project. When asked whether we could start immediately, we had to swallow briefly – and then got going with full force. No sooner said than done: we submitted our references and met less than two weeks later with Rockwool’s newly installed project management in Copenhagen. The company’s goal was to start production with the new facilities in spring 2020. However, a production hall and its storage areas were still in operation on site. We had to operate on an open heart and also saw several challenges for Rockwool.

We asked Rockwool’s project manager whether they were aware that they would double production but also lose 80 percent of their storage space. They replied with a smile that it would actually be 100 percent of the storage space. At that point, it was clear that we understood each other. We began the conversion together with combined efforts. At the same time, we were competing with a sister project in the US. The rule was: whoever finished first would go into production. However, the sister project had a head start of six months.

We quickly took on the following tasks:

Geotechnical investigation and planning Demolition planning for buildings and storage areas Redesign, expansion, and modernization of existing storage areas and their more efficient use Finding partners for the client Developing and coordinating logistics concepts Creating and coordinating schedules without disrupting ongoing production Redesignating storage areas and integrating them with existing production Preparing and submitting permits, creating compensation areas Finalizing planning Preparing bills of quantities Conducting bidder discussions and selecting partners Managing the construction site And not least: communication, communication, communication

In December 2018, the time had come: the construction site was cleared, contracts were awarded, and in January 2019 the construction company began its work. By May, the first steel beams were in place. The topping-out ceremony for the first hall was held six weeks later. In October, the first halls were heated and installation of the equipment began. By February 2020, we were on the home stretch. Initial production test runs were successful. No one was talking about COVID yet.

In mid-March 2020, our Danish colleagues were suddenly no longer able to enter the country. The construction site quickly emptied, as the workers, mainly from Eastern Europe, understandably wanted to return to their families – preferably without having to spend two weeks in a quarantine camp. In the end, however, COVID was just another challenge that we were able to tackle and solve as a team.

English, German, and Danish were spoken on the construction site – yet communication worked. A certain amount of humor, as well as persistence, experience, innovation, and state-of-the-art technology, helped bring the project to a successful conclusion. From HPC AG’s side, we supported our colleagues in Denmark with regular drone flights, among other things. With a phone to our ear, we shared detailed photos of the construction site and reported on the progress of the work. We flexibly adapted the construction process to comply with COVID-19 regulations. For example, we completed outdoor facilities when the site was temporarily quiet due to partial lockdown.

In May 2020, we received the following message from our project manager, along with images of the first Rockwool produced at the new facility.