A revolutionary demolition tool turns 50!

Darda GmbH from the Black Forest has been known for its special-purpose hydraulic demolition equipment worldwide for decades. Now there is a special reason to celebrate in 2017 - 50 years ago the revolutionary Rock and Concrete Splitter was introduced to the market.

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“It takes a keen spirit and a lot of heart and soul to realize such a groundbreaking invention. It caused my father quite a few sleepless nights at the time," says Burkhard Darda, son and successor of the pioneer of the Darda Rock and Concrete Splitting Cylinder, Helmut Darda. ”Such a creative idea is something extraordinary - it continues to drive our business to this day."

The Darda Rock and Concrete Splitter is a hand-held demolition tool that splits any kind of stone and even concrete in a controlled way using hydraulic pressure. Powered by a hydraulic unit, there are four sizes available on the market today depending on the application.

According to the inventor’s sons, the idea for the demolition tool came to their father while visiting a quarry, where the management was looking for a mechanical solution to replace the hard work of driving in wedges by hand. And so Helmut Darda set out on the design work and before long was able to increase the productivity in the quarries by a factor of ten with his new idea, the "hydraulic splitting principle". Worldwide patents were granted. Initially, the splitting cylinder was designed for rock demolition. Soon, however, the first successful operations in the area of concrete demolition took place. The invention had a revolutionary character as it offered a true alternative to explosives. Atlas Copco, a well-known company in the industry, had also heard about the ingenious invention and offered the inventor support in worldwide distribution. This turned out to be a stroke of luck for the newcomer at the time, as his revolutionary idea caused a sensation worldwide.

The many years of experience continue to guarantee the quality and uniqueness of the Darda splitting cylinder, which is unsurpassed to this day. The device is particularly convincing when conventional demolition work with large machines that produce dust, flying debris, vibration, exhaust fumes and noise, is ruled out. “Today, we are mainly active in the demolition industry. Keeping pace with the constantly growing needs and requirements in this industry presents us with new challenges every day,” emphasizes Burkhard Darda.

After the re-establishment of the company in 1993 and its transformation from the former KG into a limited liability company, Helmut Darda’s two sons started the design and construction of a concrete shear. In 1997, they introduced to the market the first attachment tool in Darda's history. At that time, it had already been recognized that the trend towards carrier-mounted demolition equipment was on the rise. Since then, the inventors from the Black Forest have continued to develop and produce new attachments for mini-excavators and special demolition robots, thereby serving a niche market with worldwide sales. Today, the company has around 60 employees.

What is remarkable about the Darda success story is - in addition to the company's steady growth - the continuing popularity of its "oldest" product, namely the handheld Rock and Concrete Splitting Cylinder: The foundation stone of 50 years ago and the good reputation of the tool remain unchanged to this day. Unlike many companies, the demolition equipment manufacturer has succeeded in maintaining the product’s quality and the advantages of its hand-held hydraulic stone and concrete splitting cylinder over time. “In the meantime, we have been able to optimize some of the weight in relation to the splitting force,” says Burkhard Darda. "But the operating principle and the basic unit have remained the same and are still in great demand."

And we can also look forward to the latest development from Darda: A carrier-mounted rock splitting cylinder that combines the ingenuity of the splitting principle with the possibility of attachment to a carrier device, such as an excavator or demolition robot.