Tag Archive for: News

Cologne Cycling Centre

Donges SteelTec manufactures and assembles the roof structure of the cycling center in Cologne-Müngersdorf

The ‘Radsportzentrum NRW’ is being built next to the RheinEnergieSTADION in Cologne-Müngersdorf as part of the expansion and modernisation of the Cologne cycling stadium.

Donges SteelTec was awarded the contract for the manufacture, delivery and assembly of the sophisticated self-supporting roof structure of the cycling centre.

From mid-2025, we will be manufacturing the approx. 2000 tonne steel structure for the roof of the cycling stadium at our plant in Darmstadt. Erection of the steel space frame made of round tube profiles is planned for early 2026.

The construction of the cycling stadium will also close a gap in  Cologne’s sports landscape that has existed for decades, as a playing field for basketball and volleyball is planned for the interior.

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Summer party at Donges SteelTec

Last Friday, the company premises of Donges SteelTec GmbH in Darmstadt were a hive of activity.

Around 300 current and former employees and their families met in the company’s courtyard in the afternoon to discuss current projects and reminisce about the many successfully completed buildings in recent years. The current projects were presented during a tour of the factory halls and the heavy steel structures for the Pfaffendorf Bridge, the Lufthansa Visitors Centre and the Salzgitter Fireproof Hall were shown up close.

The works council, above all its chairman, Ercan Kaya, who had organised the event and provided the food and drink, was highly praised. After the official opening by the Managing Director, Dr Wolf Cornelius, in the early afternoon, the ‘Donges family’ celebrated carefree and with many personal conversations and memories until late in the evening.

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New trainees at Donges SteelTec

In southern Hesse, countless young people start their apprenticeships in September, including at Donges SteelTec in Darmstadt.

On Tuesday (2 September), 8 trainees in 3 professional fields celebrated the start of their vocational training at Donges SteelTec. For years, training in our traditional company with its own steel construction production has been in great demand.

Four construction mechanics, three technical system planners and one industrial clerk are familiarised with the processes in steel construction production, the use of 3D/2D CAD programmes, the creation of workshop drawings, parts lists and NC data for the production machines as well as the commercial and business management processes of an industrial company during their three and a half years of training. Company training projects and a comprehensive training programme round off the apprenticeship.

We regularly offer trainees permanent employment contracts and are keen to be able to retain young talent within the company in the future.

“We have been building steel bridges and innovative steel structures for over 150 years. Each construction is individual and a small masterpiece. Getting young people excited about it is both a claim and a challenge for us” says Thomas Kloose, head of training in the technical office at Donges SteelTec.

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A3 Steigerwald Motorway

Successful pylon installation on the Steigerwald motorway

Another milestone was reached on the A3 Steigerwald motorway last Wednesday: the pylons of the BW314a structure were successfully moved into position by the Donges installation team. This bridge is the twenty-first of a total of 22 planned steel structures and the first cable-stayed bridge in the project.

The pylons are technically challenging as they are inclined in two directions when viewed from above. The cross-section tapers towards the top. The pylons were assembled using two mobile cranes. Thanks to a hinged construction, the mobile cranes were then able to erect the pylons safely and precisely. There was a critical tilting moment during which the pylon swung through on the crane hook. This method made it possible to bring the pylon into a vertical position in a controlled manner and at the same time anchor it to the intended attachment points.

The bridge was planned almost exclusively with the help of 3-dimensional models, which made the construction and assembly planning much more precise.

In terms of steel construction, the BW314a structure is probably the most beautiful and challenging bridge on the Steigerwald motorway. As a cable-stayed bridge, it will attract attention above all through its architectural aesthetics.

With the successful erection of the pylons, the major project is nearing completion, at least as far as the steel construction is concerned.

The A3 Steigerwald motorway is a major infrastructure project that is of great importance for both local and national traffic.The expansion and modernisation of the route is expected to significantly improve road safety and traffic flow.

The client and the companies involved can look back with pride on the work carried out so far, which has paved the way for a modern and efficient transport artery through the Steigerwald.

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BW3-1 Overfly

Penultimate shifting cycle of the Overfly bridge over the Nuremberg East motorway junction successfully completed

The penultimate shifting cycle of the Overfly bridge structure was successfully completed by the Donges SteelTec assembly team.

The so-called extradosed bridge was moved into its final position using the incremental launching method. The steel superstructure of the bridge is prefabricated in sections at one end of the bridge on the pre-assembly site. From there, it is then moved to the opposite end of the bridge.

The incremental launching method makes it possible to avoid interfering with traffic as far as possible, as the bridge is moved across the motorway junction above the clearance of the lanes.

The Overfly bridge, including the already installed pylons and cables, is shifted in 6 cycles with a maximum shifting distance of 115 metres. The 50-metre-long stem spade bridges the free spans during the shifting process and compensates for the deflection of the bridge due to its own weight when it hits the next pier. Shifting takes two days per cycle. It takes place on special shifting rockers and is carried out with the aid of special shifting plates that allow the steel structure to slide forwards successively. This allows the shunting load that the hydraulic presses have to apply to be reduced accordingly.

The composite steel construction, which is 588 metres long in total, spans the individual support spans of 115 metres impressively with a total of 5 pairs of pylons. Up to 55 stranded cables form the cables of the stay cables. A total of approx. 8,600 tonnes of steel will be used for the 588 m long bridge.

The components of the 6th cycle will be assembled over the next few months. The final shifting will take place in autumn 2024.

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Engineering performance at its best!

Bar arch bridge for the western regional bypass in Frankfurt lifted into place with great precision.

Darmstadt, 03.06.2024. In a spectacular operation, the 1300-tonne tied-arch bridge with a span of 113 metres was installed in its final position over the railway tracks of the Frankfurt-Mannheim line at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt am Main on Friday. This makes the future route of the Regional Tangent West (RTW) clearly visible for the first time: its light rail vehicles are scheduled to run over the bridge from 2028.

The Donges SteelTec assembly team began preparations for the final assembly of the bridge on Wednesday. In order to hoist the steel colossus into position, it was first stored on two huge mobile platforms (SPMT) in the days leading up to its installation. The self-propelled modular transporters with their 288 individually steerable wheels were set in motion late on Corpus Christi evening and manoeuvred the bridge as close as possible to the tracks. A lattice boom crawler crane then took over on the opposite side of the tracks and gently lifted the steel giant over the tracks.

A total of 500 tonnes of counterweights were needed so that the crane monster could hold half the bridge load of 680 tonnes. These were brought in by 20 articulated lorries, while 70 lorry transports were needed to erect the crane. For hours on Friday morning, the bridge was suspended from the crane on one side while it was attached to the eastern abutment. At midday, the crane then lowered the striking tied-arch bridge onto the western abutment, accompanied by applause from the numerous spectators. The work seemed slow, but the time pressure was great. Deutsche Bahn had only closed the railway line between Niederrad and the airport for 24 hours.

The Donges team on site was visibly satisfied and proud of the smooth installation process. ‘On a lift like this, it’s important that everyone knows what their job is and that everyone communicates well with each other. We are an experienced and well-rehearsed team and recognise our responsibility for the safety of those involved and the structure. A big thank you to everyone who made this great engineering achievement possible,’ says the responsible Donges project manager, Aaron von der Heyden.

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Ground-breaking ceremony for the Mainflingen Bridge

On Thursday, 2 May 2024, the official start of construction of the Mainflingen Main Bridge took place. Over the next 7 years, the replacement construction of the 450 metre long bridge will be realised by the consortium Adam Hörnig Baugesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and Donges SteelTec GmbH. The current bridge is a three-span tension chord construction with a span of 62.5 – 135 – 62.5 metres. It is followed by a 190 metre long foreshore bridge in prestressed concrete construction.

The federal government is investing around 192 million euros in this construction project. It is due to be opened to traffic in 2031

A 3D model of the Mainflingen Main Bridge, which was created on the basis of BIM planning, gave the guests on this day an impression of this challenging bridge construction project.

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EÜ Erbach – New project for our bridge construction team

A new tied-arch bridge will be built near Bad Camberg in 2025

Congratulations to our bridge construction team on the new contract! Together with the construction company Albert Weil AG, we have been commissioned by DB Netz AG to build the new Erbach railway overpass near Bad Camberg.

Approx. 720 tonnes of steel are required for the 2-track tied arch superstructure with reinforced concrete abutments. The entire steel structure will be manufactured at our plant in Darmstadt and then transported to the construction site in central Hesse using heavy goods vehicles. There, the components will be welded together at the pre-assembly site to form the approx. 60 metre long bar arch and then the supporting structure will be driven into its final position in October 2025 using SPMTs (Self-Propelled Modular Transporters). A particular challenge for our assembly crew will be to install the bridge precisely during a shutdown period.

 

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Lifting in the new foot and cycle path bridge over the B426 in Mühltal

Special geometry of the bridge requires a high degree of precision from our welders

After 10 weeks of production, the foot and cycle path bridge over the B426 in Mühltal, Hesse, was lifted into place in the night of 16 to 17 February 2024. The bridge has created a publicly accessible footpath and cycle path between Rheinstraße and the Ruckelshausen business park, which also provides access to the Riese & Müller company car park.

The biggest challenge when lifting the centre section of the bridge was to simultaneously insert the 4.5 m wide and 23 m long steel structure into six differently orientated supports with the help of two cranes during the lowering process. The two stairway sections were placed to the north and south of the bridge during the night and will be welded in place over the next few days. A total of 114 tonnes of steel were used for the bridge, including the superstructure, stairs, supports, railings and steps.

Special praise is due to the welding specialists at Donges SteelTec. They met the special welding requirements of the geometrically demanding steel bridge with great precision.

 

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International welding specialist” training course

Donges SteelTec is once again involved in training international welding specialists this year.

Darmstadt, 19.02.2024. Donges has been building steel bridges and innovative steel structures for 150 years. Each structure is unique and a small masterpiece. To ensure that the high quality requirements for steel structures can continue to be met in the future, well-trained specialists are needed. With this in mind, Donges SteelTec not only trains construction mechanics and system planners in its own company in Darmstadt, but is also involved in training courses at the Hessen Metal College in Oberursel.

Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Schade, head of quality management/assurance and welding engineer at Donges SteelTec, once again took on part of the theoretical training for the “International Welding Specialist” course at the Hessen Metal College. The practical knowledge of the course participants was deepened during an excursion to Darmstadt in the production halls of Donges SteelTec GmbH.

We congratulate the 18 participants on passing their exams and wish them every success in their future careers.

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