Paving Machine with new Paving Stone Grip at Work in Sindelfingen

The Blue and Yellow Eagle is always on Call - A new parking garage for a company had to be paved in record time. Alas, just when the paving was about to start, the company commissioned with the work, the Verbu-Bau GmbH construction company, experienced difficulties with the old paving stone grip. Just then, the grip failed to hold the paving stones properly and made paving the floor virtually impossible. The company had to find a speedy solution. This was a case for Probst speed and flexibility! Just like the Yellow Angels, the blue and yellow Probst Eagle is there to save the day.

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Just recently, a construction company finished a new seven-story parking structure in Sindelfingen. The professionals working in the Verbu-Bau GmbH in Heinsberg (Germany) specialize in paving large surfaces. They strongly believe in using paving machinery with low emission, which guarantees efficient work but is also gentle on the health of the crew. Before the crew was able to place a single paving stone, the company faced huge obstacles.

As early as this summer, a Company Group in Stuttgart (Germany) planned to offer its employees and customers about 4,000 additional parking spaces in the new parking structure. To achieve this, the Verbu-Bau Company had to pave a surface of 16,000 square meters within a few weeks. Ralf Terporten, the CEO of the Verbu-Bau GmbH remembers, "The principal wanted a first-rate paving pattern and smooth procedures – and that were only two of the many requirements the principal had in store for us and our work."

By the end of April 2016, the Verbu-Bau crew started paving the parking structure floor. The existing paving stone grip quickly proved inadequate for the task. The somewhat dated grip with no special features did not generate the necessary grip power to carry the heavy floor stones. The layer of paving stones sagged making a clean floor installation impossible.

Finding a quick solution was of the essence. The engineers remembered their past good experiences with the Probst Company. Therefore, the Verbu-Bau Company contacted the Swabian Mechanical Engineering Company directly. All parties quickly realized that the job required nothing less than the paving machine VM-301-K-PAVERMAX in combination with the hydraulic grip HVZ-UNI-II.

The main domicile of the Swabian 'blue and yellow eagle' is located right in the neighborhood. Delivering the paving machine plus paving stone grip to the parking structure was just a hop and jump.

The choice of Probst equipment turned out to be excellent. Good working conditions are particularly important in parking structures and underground garages. Probst machines definitely meet this requirement. The combination of carrier and attached device guarantees clean and efficient paving with heavy stones.

The situation on the construction site was difficult because dozens of columns support the parking structure. These columns obstruct the paving stone installation. In such a case, the compact design of the VM-301-K-PAVERMAX is an extra advantage, which the crew most certainly appreciated. It is easy to maneuver the paving machine with grip in the smallest of spaces. The machine operator has an unobstructed 360-degree view. This facilitates smooth operations considerably. The height of the machine (2 meters) also fits the available space in covered passages, a quite important aspect in Sindelfingen. Removing the paving stone layers from the pallets immediately underneath the low ceiling joists was also quick and easy. Probst experts engineered the arm of paving machines particularly to accommodate such tight working conditions.

The delivered Probst paving machine also featured a Diesel particulate filter. This protects the paving crew from inhaling health damaging dust particles. Thanks to the modular design, older models can be retrofitted with Diesel particulate filters. The filter retains more than 97 % of all particles in compliance with TRGS 554 regulations [TRGS, technical rules for hazardous substances]. The filters are used in many underground garages, halls and buildings. CEO Ralf Terporten reports, "Our principal was positively impressed with the fact that we do not only consider economic factors but are first and foremost concerned with the health of our employees. The Diesel particulate filter helped us to improve the working conditions".

The paving machine is part of paving by machine. However, the 'superstar' and 'savior in an emergency' on the construction site in Sindelfingen was without doubt the hydraulic paving stone grip HVZ-UNI-II. The crew used only one paving machine with paving grip on the construction site. This was efficient and sufficient for the floor space with the machine working all day long. Still, quick yet precise work was essential. The new Probst paving stone grip is universally suited for the installation of all commercially available composite stone units. Installing even the heaviest of stone layers is child's play with this grip. The powerful grip prevents sagging of the stone layer. The operator is able to set the main grip tension via spindle. Even when the paving machine moves quickly, the paving grip hangs down steadily and swings only slightly when the machine stops. This makes paving very efficient.

Until now, when crewmembers had to install an only 1-meter wide stone layer instead of the usual 1.2-meter wide layer, they had to tediously mount a shorter grip jaw. This process has become simpler and faster with the Probst HVZ-UNI-II. Now, the crew has to remove only the outer segments and one adapter on each side.

Due to the low shifting power of the side tension, it can often be difficult and take some effort to shift the usually ungeared stone layers using traditional grippers. This is different with the Probst HVZ-UNI-II for which the shifting power of the side tension is three-times higher than in traditional paving grippers. To enable operators to set up the paving stone gripper with ease and without 'slip-sliding' sideways even though it may be sitting on a stone layer, the height adjustment on the front ground level side is retrofitted with steel supporting disks and twist-safe telescope guides.

The 10 cm thick composite stones were another paving challenge in Sindelfingen. Fitting these stones into a level pattern often required repositioning stones using a rubber hammer. This is no longer necessary thanks to the automated down-press device (ADV device) of the Probst gripper. The stones are now pressed down into the supporting layer with considerable force and no longer move out of plane.

Despite the challenging conditions and the many hurdles for the pavers, the crew managed to meet the tight deadline.

"Good quality is important to us. Therefore, we feel that Probst is the right company for us. The Probst state of the art technology, excellent customer service and the proverbial Swabian reliability convinced us 100 %“, summarized CEO Ralf Terporten.