1/2010 - Sievert AG

1/2010 Informative entertainment from Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

Sievert Baustoffgruppe: 

Natural gas / liquefied petroleum 

gas (LPG) – 

a real alternative? 

quick-mix: 

Inaugurating the plant in Noginsk 

sht: Getting started in 

intermodal transport 

sibo: Schellenbergbrücke, 

the second bridge 

Sievert Baustoffgruppe China: 

EXPO 2010 Shanghai 

hahne: New business partners 

in Europe 

Dry mortar for the Russian 

market. More on pages 8 - 11. 

1

2 

S T E F A N E G E R T 

S P E A K E R O F T H E B O A R D O F S I E V E R T A G & C o . K G 

We are living in a time 

of transition. As recently 

as April 2000, nearly all 

economic experts were convinced 

of the fundamental 

paradigm shift brought 

about by the Internet. They 

had no idea that only one 

month later the “Internet 

bubble” would burst. The 

crisis on the financial markets, 

which in 2008 was at 

first perceived and assessed 

as a crisis limited purely to 

the banking sector, quickly 

affected the real economy. 

As far as countries are 

concerned, this meant 

giving banks bailouts and 

ensuring their liquidity to 

an extent not yet seen in 

history. Many companies 

are feeling the consequences, 

because it is becoming 

more and more difficult 

and expensive to get credit. 

Another source of insecurity 

is the question of how 

long the Euro will remain 

stable in view of the high 

level of debt in many EU 

countries. This high level of 

national debt is making it 

harder to predict economic 

development in the short 

and medium term and the 

consequences for German 

companies. Substantial 

currency fluctuations due to 

the weak Euro complicate 

the situation. In addition 

to these problems, the 

German building materials 

industry has had to suffer 

through a very long winter 

in early 2010. It is hard to 

foresee how far it will be 

possible to catch up the 

The crisis as an 

opportunity 

arrears left from the long 

winter, what sort of effects 

the economic stimulus 

packages will have and 

when commercial construction 

will increase. The environment 

in which Sievert 

Baustoffgruppe has been 

doing business in recent 

years can therefore undoubtedly 

be considered to 

be difficult and turbulent. 

Despite these conditions, 

Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

was able to achieve higher 

profits in 2009 than in 

the previous year. One of 

the primary factors in this 

success was the fact that 

the employees of Sievert 

Baustoffgruppe were able 

to maintain a balance 

between preventive and 

expansive measures. All employees 

were and still are 

aware that lowering costs 

is necessary for survival in 

a recession. The employees 

therefore managed to optimize 

costs and processes 

in the company by being 

attentive, adaptive, quick to 

respond and ready to take 

courageous action, so that 

the company was able to 

hold its ground in spite of 

the difficult environment. 

Here, the specific logistics 

and energy costs can 

serve as an example. These 

preventive measures had 

to be complemented by 

expansive action, however. 

Investment in new technologies 

and opening up 

new markets are indispensable. 

By investing in China, 

Russia and Slovakia, good 

opportunities for growth 

in interesting, growing 

markets are expected to 

emerge in the coming 

years. At the same time, 

intensified R&D is going 

to generate new, innovative 

products to strengthen 

business at home. 

Preventive measures combined 

with expansive action 

will ensure that Sievert 

Baustoffgruppe will continue 

to hold its ground in the 

years to come, as well. The 

high level of commitment 

of the employees of Sievert 

Baustoffgruppe will help us, 

so that when the markets 

at home and abroad 

increase, we will have the 

products, structures and 

processes to be a leading 

player in the consolidation 

phase after the crisis.

On the sale of the 

sibo division 

In January 2010, it became known that Sievert 

Baustoffgruppe would be separating itself from its 

activities in the ready-mixed concrete line of business. 

Speaker of the Board Stefan Egert explains 

why. 

Stefan Egert: "A new, basic strategic orientation for the 

company is behind this decision. We will concentrate our 

activities on the dry mortar, construction chemistry and 

logistics businesses in the future.” 

Does the cartel authority have to approve the sale? 

“The Federal Cartel Office has already approved the 

sale.” 

Who were Sievert’s shares in the ready-mixed 

concrete division sold to? 

“The new strategic orientation is linked to a change in 

the ownership structure of Sievert Baustoffgruppe. Prof. 

Dr. Hans-Wolf Sievert will be chairman of the supervisory 

board and sole partner of the holding company. The 

former co-partners, August Oppermann GmbH & Co. 

KG and Dyckerhoff AG, will withdraw and in return take 

over the ready-mixed concrete division of Sievert Baustoffgruppe. 

Up to now, the Oppermann company has 

held a good six percent of Sievert’s shares, and Dyckerhoff 

AG a bit more than 30 percent. Prof. Dr. Hans-Wolf 

Sievert will remain chairman of the advisory board of the 

sibo companies.” 

Sievert Baustoffgruppe is now concentrating on 

three divisions. What does this means in concrete 

terms? 

“As we all know, the situation on the German market is 

still difficult. That is why we will continue to intensify our 

commitment to the dry mortar, construction chemistry 

and logistics businesses in foreign markets. Our 

quick-mix plant in Russia will soon be serving the local 

Russian market, hahne has started interesting cooperation 

schemes in several European countries, and sht has 

also pushed the door to Europe wide open with the acquisitions 

of i4Transportation and N.T.M. By getting into 

the intermodal transport business – truck, train and ship 

– sht is going to become a leading construction materials 

logistics player in Germany. In general, you have to keep 

clearly in mind that all our actions also serve to stabilize 

our German sites.” 

Oppermann and Sievert: 


Still good friends 

There have been close business relations between August 

Oppermann in Hedemünden und Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

for years now. In addition, the Sievert and Oppermann 

families have been good friends for decades. As Prof. 

Hans-Wolf Sievert puts it, “Nothing about these long-time 

friendly contacts is going to change after the sale of sibo 

Kurhessen/Leinetal to Oppermann. There will still be a 

cooperation between our companies through sht.” 

So it was a matter of course for Prof. Sievert to accept 

an invitation to the Oppermann company headquarters 

in Hedemünden on May 29. On this day, the new roundabout 

in the center of Hedemünden was to be christened 

“August Oppermann Platz”. The site now bears the 

name of the founder of the Oppermann company, which 

celebrated its 150th anniversary in early May. From the 

very beginning, Hedemünden – now a part of the town 

of Hann. Münden – has housed the headquarters of this 

long-established company. 

The formal unveiling of the stone by Mayor Klaus Burhenne 

and Managing Director Wilhelm Oppermann was also an 

opportunity for Prof. Sievert to meet up again with Theo 

Niemyt, the long-standing managing director of sibobeton 

Kurhessen/Leinetal, and talk to him about old times. 

Prof. Hans-Wolf Sievert, Chairman of the Supervisory Board 

of Sievert AG; Theo Niemyt, Managing Director of sibobeton 

Kurhessen/Leinetal, and Wilhelm Oppermann, Managing Director 

of August Oppermann GmbH & Co. KG (from left to right) 

3

4 


Does not pay off at the end. 

Natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – a convincing alternative 

to diesel? 

In 2009, Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

sent off two gas-powered company 

cars on an extensive test with 

the goal of appreciably lowering 

fuel costs. Rolf Gerwald, field 

service worker for the quick-mix 

hardware store program, tested 

a VW Passat running on liquefied 

petroleum / gasoline (75 kW). 

The VW Touran EcoFuel of Sven 

Henke, quick-mix field service 

worker in the Kaltenkirchen 

sales territory, runs on gasoline / 

natural gas (80 kW). Here is a first 

impression. 

Rolf Gerwald: “The technology is 

great. It practically runs like a gasoline-driven 

car and 75 kW of power 

is enough even if you drive a lot. The 

actual drawback is that the gas tank 

is much too small, holding only 40 

liters. Since it uses exactly 9.89 liters 

for 100 kilometers, I have to tank up 

every 380 km if I don’t want to switch 

over to expensive gasoline. Although 

there are enough filling stations, hav- 

ing to stop and get fuel so often is still 

rather inconvenient. The price for a 

liter of LPG has gone up considerably 

since the test began. Nonetheless, if 

the gas tank was twice as big, I could 

well imagine LPG as an alternative to 

diesel.” 

Sven Henke: “The network of filling 

stations for natural gas is very limited, 

even in Hamburg. You have to plan 

your trip more around the closest filling 

stations than the closest customer. 

One tank full is enough for around 

250 km. For a field service worker, 

this means filling up every two days 

at least. Better every day! Looking for 

filling stations forces me to make unnecessary 

detours which cost us about 

4 - 6 hours a month. The car also 

has less power and acceleration with 

natural gas than with diesel. When 

loaded, the radius on the highway 

sinks to 150 km. There is no problem 

with the technology, it is perfectly 

reliable. Using this vehicle will not be 

good for the field service until there 

are enough filling stations.” 

Volkmar Templin, manager of 

quick-mix sales in the northern region 

says, “This vehicle is not suited to 

the region of Schleswig-Holstein, 

Hamburg and Lower Saxony. You 

constantly have to check where the 

next natural gas filling station is and 

how to go by it on the way to the 

next call. The reduction in CO 2 emissions 

is offset by having to drive the 

extra distance. Therefore any possible 

savings on the cost of fuel are wiped 

out by having to drive farther, and 

that involves more working hours, to 

boot. If this obstructs us to visit one 

customer in a day, then this car is no 

longer efficient!” 

Uwe Herbold 

Uwe Herbold, manager of the Sievert 

Baustoffgruppe vehicle fleet: “Both 

cars are okay on fuel. But overall it 

is not worth it for us to use them. 

Although the fuel costs of natural gas 

and LPG are still far below those of 

diesel, the overall costs are financially 

no better than the latest generation 

of BlueMotion diesel models. And 

ranges of up to 1,300 km per tank of 

diesel fuel simply can’t be beaten for 

our colleagues in the field service.”

quick-mix 

LOBATHERM 

on the move 

Germany stops heating costs – 

now for the third year in a row 

Consumers have nothing to say, unfortunately, about the 

constantly rising prices for heat. But they nonetheless have 

one trump up their sleeve, another way to effectively lower 

heating costs: reduce heat loss. 

Effectively insulating house facades 

can save up to 70 percent on heating 

costs, whether in new houses or 

when older homes are renovated. 

This is a huge market for LOBATHERM 

composite heat insulation systems, 

a potential which quick-mix is determinedly 

exploiting with the aid of 

these marketing activities. The successful 

LOBATHERM composite heat 

insulation system offensive, “Germany 

stops heating costs”, is now in its 

third year. 

Perfectly presented: this way the energy 

savings book and calculators fi t on every 

counter. 

On-site visit in Lastrup near Oldenburg: 

Michael Blömer (right), domestic sales manager 

of Böckmann Fahrzeugwerke, presents the fi rst 

trailer from the LOBATHERM composite heat insulation 

system campaign to Robert Heiden. 

The gimmick to this year’s campaign 

is a trailer. Using the slogan “Get 

business moving”, quick-mix is offering 

specialized construction materials 

dealers and tradespeople a high-quality 

trailer with a customized company 

logo on the back as part of the campaign. 

This is a clever marketing idea, 

because the rolling advertisement not 

only has a practical benefi t, but is also 

guaranteed to be an effective eyecatcher 

at building sites, specialized 

construction materials stores or simply 

on the street. 

The trailer is only one element of this 

year’s LOBATHERM composite heat 

insulation system campaign, however. 

Robert Heiden, quick-mix product 

manager for composite heat insulation 

systems explains, “In May we 

sent a mailing to specialized construction 

materials retailers and tradespeople 

encouraging them to order the 

LOBATHERM campaign package free 

of charge. It promotes sales with 

energy savings books, energy savings 

tips, pocket calculators and a 

promotion manual. And in addition 

there is a practical dispenser enabling 

the whole package to be presented 

on the counter of the sales rooms 

where it will attract lots of attention. 

Of course, there are still large-scale 

advertising banners for construction 

sites, as well.” 

5

6 

quick-mix 

Making up ground! 

Since April 1, 2010, Dr.-Ing. Maik 

Wefer has been a member of the 

team in the quick-mix marketing 

department, where he serves as 

product manager for “tiles/floors” 

and “innovative building materials”. 

These fields are expected 

to be considerably expanded in 

the coming years. 

Dr.-Ing. Maik Wefer (34) studied 

construction engineering at Leibniz 

University in Hannover (LUH) from 

1996 to 2001 and then worked at the 

North German Center for Material 

Science of Cultural Objects (ZMK) 

until 2005. In that year, Dr. Wefer 

moved to the Institute for Building 

Materials at the LUH, where he was 

working on hardened and readymixed 

concrete technology until 

joining quick-mix. Dr.-Ing. Wefer is 

married and the father of three sons 

(6, 4 and 2 years of age). In his free 

time, he likes to play soccer and study 

historical structural designs. 

Renovation work is among the most 

frequent, as well as most difficult, 

areas of construction work. Building 

up or evening out substrates are 

especially demanding tasks because 

they often call for tailored solutions. 

In addition, time for work on existing 

buildings is often very limited, so that 

fast and sure products are needed 

for such jobs as producing screed, 

for instance. An excellent product for 

“making up ground” is the new quick 

setting binder for screed, ESB Estrich- 

Schnellbindemittel spezial. You can 

walk on it after about eight hours and 

lay ceramic floor tiles after only about 

three days. ESB Estrich-Schnellbindemittel 

screed binder meets the demands 

of specialist tradespeople and 

building materials retailers for keeping 

construction times down to 

a minimum. 

“The opportunities on the market 

for our new product, ESB spezial, 

are quite good,” says Dr.-Ing. Wefer. 

“Both for renovation as well as for 

construction sites with deadlines that 

would otherwise be nearly impossible 

to meet. 

One current example of this is the 

fire brigade building of the Dierdorf 

association of municipalities (VG) in 

Rhineland-Palatinate. Built around 35 

years ago, the screed in the vehicle 

hall had been severely worn down 

by heavy mechanical loads. Together 

with the composition floor layer and 

representatives of VG Dierdorf, our 

Salesmen Heinz Knieper and Sascha 

Schoblocher provided some on-site 

consultancy. The challenge of this 

project was that the fire engines have 

to be ready to go at all times. Hence 

the construction time had to be kept 

as short as possible. 

Despite this requirement, the existing 

screed was first completely teared out. 

Due to the thickness of the existing 

screed (28 – 50 mm), it was planed 

to produce the new composite screed 

using ESB Estrich-Schnellbindemittel 

spezial and our H4 bonding bridge. 

This way, VG Dierdorf only had to 

wait about a week, despite this complicated 

procedure, before applying a 

special coating to the screed produced 

with ESB spezial in the vehicle hall and 

then move their fleet of vehicles back 

into the fire station.” 

Two pros when it comes to tiles and natural stone: Heinz Knieper (at left) is a master bricklayer 

who has been working for quick-mix for 28 years with a great store of experience in 

solid construction and screed laying – TVB at tubag in Kruft until the end of 2003, and since 

2004 TVB for quick-mix in Kruft in the field of tile and natural stone technology as well as 

standard mortar and bulk goods. Sascha Schoblocher (right) is Dipl.-Ing. Landespflege (graduate 

in landscape architecture) and a trained landscaper. He has been working as TVB for 

tubag gardening, landscaping, road building and natural stone technology since 2009.

tubag.nl 

tubag products have been well known in the Netherlands for many 

years. New is that tubag is now marketing its trass products for restoration 

and renovation, laying natural stone as well as gardening and 

landscaping on its own and has been very successful at it. 

In 2007, tubag sales manager for the 

Netherlands Christoph Dörr began 

systematically working the Dutch 

market with a rather small product 

range to start off with. He was helped 

by Christian Leimkühler (quick-mix 

marketing) with brochures, packages 

and, of course, a website in Dutch. 

Since September 2009, Dutchman 

Erwin Benschop has been the team’s 

on-site sales consultant. His offi ce is in 

Nieuwkoop in the province of South 

Holland. 

Together they have already been able 

to supply a large number of highclass 

properties in cooperation with 

Walter Simon, manager of application 

engineering for tubag trass sales. 

One outstanding example is surely 

the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. In the 

course of a comprehensive renovation 

of the building it was also necessary 

to renew around 29 kilometers of wall 

joints. After submitting a variety of 

sample joints, tubag won the contract 

from the Commission for the Protection 

of Historical Monuments and 

thus by the end of 2010 will have 

supplied approx. 50 metric tons of 

trass mortar to the masonry company, 

Bauer-Bornemann from Bamberg. 

And while we are in Amsterdam, 

there is another famous sight being 

renovated with tubag trass in the immediate 

vicinity of the Royal Palace: 

the Lutherse Kerk (Lutheran Church). 

Asked about perspectives, Christoph 

Dörr replies, “Of course, we are happy 

to have been able to get such a good 

foothold on the Dutch market and 

are going to continue expanding our 

product range here.” 

quick-mix 

The Royal Palace – built between 1648 

and 1665 to serve as a city hall during 

Amsterdam’s Golden Age – is now used 

as a showcase for the Dutch royal family 

and to accommodate guests of state. 

The Lutherse Kerk – here is tubag trass 

also being used for renovation. 

Have more than one building site in Amsterdam: Christoph Dörr, tubag sales manager for 

the Netherlands (left), and sales consultant Erwin Benschop. 

7

8 

quick-mix 

Dimitri Komardenkov, General Director of ZAO 

quick-mix (at left) and Anatolij Artamonov, 

Deputy General Director of Fels Kalk Russia. 

A red-letter day 

for quick-mix 

Official inauguration of first plant in Russia 

“Good things come to those who wait,” said Prof. Hans-Wolf Sievert 

in his speech at the inauguration of the first quick-mix plant in Russia, 

referring to the fact that it had taken longer to build the plant than 

originally planned. However, this could not diminish one bit the 

delight at having it all finished. Quite the contrary, spirits were high 

and everyone on hand unanimously agreed that quick-mix has once 

again decisively improved its already good chances on the promising 

Russian market by setting up the new plant. 

“For the Russian quick-mix 

company, the inauguration of 

the first plant in Russia means 

moving into an entirely different 

sort of quality. As early as this 

summer, after the equipment 

has been fully assembled and 

mounted, we will proudly be 

able to call ourselves a Russian 

manufacturer.” 

Dimitri Komardenkov, 

General Director of ZAO quick-mix 

More than 250 invited guests came 

to Noginsk on June 10 to inaugurate 

the biggest foreign quick-mix plant so 

far. Noginsk is the newest of a total 

of 24 quick-mix location sites, along 

with 15 production plants in Germany 

and plants in Luxemburg, Poland, the 

Czech Republic and China. “The volume 

of investment was also big,” said 

Prof. Sievert, “quick-mix invested 20 

Euro million in Russia. That is a lot of 

money for a medium-sized company 

like ourselves. But we are sure that 

this investment in the Russian market 

will pay off.” 

The inauguration of the plant in 

Noginsk is the high point so far of 

quick-mix’ business on the Russian 

market, which began four years ago. 

Moscow-based ZAO quick-mix was 

founded in April 2006. In the same 

year, the company decided to acquire 

the property in the Noginsk cluster, 

around 60 kilometers east of Moscow. 

Apart from quick-mix, other wellknown 

German companies have set 

up production or storage facilities in 

today’s “Noginsk Technopark”. 

The grounds cover around 3.64 

hectares. The dry mortar plant was 

set up for a capacity of up to 100,000 

metric tons per year (capable of being 

enlarged to 150,000 metric tons). 

When building the plant, special 

attention was also paid to the low

Photos: Gerrit Sievert 

Prof. Hans-Wolf Sievert, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sievert AG; 

Dimitri Komardenkov, General Director of ZAO quick-mix, and Vladimir Laptev, District 

Administrator of the Noginsk District (from left) 

temperatures prevailing during the 

Russian winter – sometimes as low 

as minus 30° C. Hence sand drying, 

including the sand bunker, has been 

accommodated for the first time in 

a separate hall. The warehouse and 

production facilities can be heated. 

The tower rising 59.2 meters in 

Noginsk is currently the highest 

quick-mix dry mortar plant. 

The plant has nine silo sites of 100 m³ 

each, and eight of them are multichamber 

silos, each with a volume 

of 50 m³. 

The production hall and warehouse, 

technical school, laboratory and staff 

facilities cover an area of 4,258 m² 

in the first expansion stage, of which 

around 2,500 m² are storage space. 

The big, fully equipped laboratory 

enables the plant to conduct extensive 

testing on its own. Owing to 

the peculiarities of Russian building 

standards, an additional structure had 

to be built: the plant’s fire prevention 

system has a huge pumping station 

with two reservoirs. 

In the first year of operation, 

eleven people will be 

employed in production and 

storage, working single shifts. 

In addition, seventeen members 

of staff are employed at 

ZAO quick-mix (management, 

sales, technical application, 

marketing, bookkeeping, 

controlling). The company 

is headed by Dimitri Komardenkov 

and Niklas Sievert, 

the son of Supervisory Board 

Chairman Prof. Hans-Wolf 

Sievert. 

Dr. Christian Seebode, Embassy Counselor 

of the Business Department of the German 

Consulate in Moscow. 

Production will be run in accordance 

with the most recent Russian GOST 

standards, taking account of European 

EN and German DIN standards, 

as well. All Russian quick-mix products 

are manufactured to the same high 

internal quality standards of the quickmix 

group. Starting in September 

2010, production will also be certified 

in compliance with ISO 9001. 

All product groups of the quick-mix 

program are going to be manufactured 

on site, except for high-grade 

mineral plasters. In detail, this means 

mortar systems, especially V.O.R. 

masonry mortar, joint mortar and 

lightweight masonry mortar, tubag 

trass systems, especially mortar for 

landscaping and gardening construction, 

plaster and renovation systems, 

such as machine-applied plaster, lightweight 

plaster, hand-applied plaster 

and primers. The offer also includes 

thermal insulation composite systems, 

concrete and renovation systems, as 

well as tile and sealing systems. 

9

10 

quick-mix 

Wolfgang Bauer, Chairman of the Board of Dyckerhoff AG; 

Georg Kleger, President and CEO of Sibirskiy Cement; 

Stefan Egert, Speaker of the Board of Sievert AG (from left) 

“In contrast to the German 

economy, the Russian 

economy has clearly picked 

up speed. This also applies 

to the Russian construction 

business. This positive development 

will also benefit 

quick-mix. Thus we are looking 

confidently to the future, 

a future we will be able to 

shape for the better together 

with you, our Russian cooperation 

partners.” 

Prof. Hans-Wolf Sievert, 

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of 

Sievert AG 

The four different V.O.R. masonry 

mortars, whose application depends 

on the ability of the stones to absorb 

water, the tubag trass system for 

gardening, landscaping and laying 

natural stone, as well as the plaster 

systems matched to the subsurface, 

are all unique products on the Russian 

market offered exclusively from 

quick-mix. 

After beginning operations, the plant 

has to apply for a so-called hygiene 

certificate for the products it makes. 

Successively, all products are certified 

in order to obtain the Russian GOST-R 

Certificate of Conformity. 

Only the mixtures, trass powder, foam 

glass and anhydrite are imported from 

Germany to supply production. Using 

local raw materials enables offering 

attractive prices by saving on logistics, 

customs and import duties. Local 

production also means an improvement 

in service through quicker ex 

warehouse delivery. 

Additionally to the strong demanded 

professional quick-mix products 

(which have been imported to Russia 

by ZAO quick-mix exclusively since 

2007) running production in Russia 

makes it possible to meet the growing 

demand of end consumers for “simple” 

products at hardware stores and 

Niklas Sievert, Deputy General Director of ZAO quick-mix; Prof. Hans- 

Wolf Sievert; Alexander Lanzov, Facility Manager of Roto Frank, 

Noginsk; Wilhelm Rolfes, Plant Manager of Roto Frank, Noginsk; 

Sascha Wagener, Member of the Board of Sievert AG; Stefan Egert, 

Speaker of the Board of Sievert AG (from left) 

“In an age when virtual business 

is becoming ever more 

important, I am happy to live 

in a country where what is 

real and genuine prevails. 

‘What you see is what you 

get.’ There is energy coursing 

through Moscow that you 

only really notice when you 

go back to Western Europe, 

where everything plods along 

in its accustomed way. There 

is nothing artificial about Russia, 

it has soul. Russia is the 

opposite of virtual. 

Niklas Sievert, Deputy Director of ZAO 

quick-mix (left)

Evgeniya Sokolova, Technical Sales Consultant of ZAO quickmix; 

Inna Bocharova, Managing Partner of Brickford; Eduard 

Prytkov, Sales Manager of ZAO quick-mix; Denis Laritshev, 

Managing Partner of Brickford (from left) 

bazaars. Business with industrial customers 

can also be built up through 

domestic production. 

By setting up the plant in Noginsk, 

quick-mix is now in the very best position 

for successfully expanding its Russian 

business in the growing markets 

of the Volga region (Samara Oblast), 

including Tatarstan (Kazan) and the 

southern districts (Rostov, Krasnodar). 

In Russia, quick-mix stands for quality. 

So it is now increasingly able to place 

quick-mix products in the planning 

and RFP (request for proposal) stages. 

Domestic production also makes it 

easier to survive the hard price competition. 

Business institutes are forecasting 

five percent growth in Russia for the 

production of dry mortar, to 5.41 

million metric tons in 2010. Growth 

amounting to another 15 %, up to 

6.22 million metric tons, is expected 

in 2011. 

The grand opening of the plant was 

welcomed by all customers, with 

firm confidence in an expansion and 

broadening of mutual business. 

Product presentation: Michail Floridov, Application Engineer at ZAO 

quick-mix and Application Engineer Manfred Beuche in action (from left) 

Christening with 

champagne and best 

wishes for a good start 

in Noginsk. 

11

12 

sievert handel transporte 


is consistently following 

its strategy of expanding 

its logistics business. The 

objective of the takeover 

of Kircher Logistik 

in 2008 was to intensify 

efforts at opening up 

markets in the southwest 

region of Germany. By 

acquiring Mannheimbased 

i4Transportation 

and its Dutch subsidiary 

N.T.M., sht is now taking 

aim at the European 

market. Rui Macedo and 

Manfred Himmelbach, sht 

Managing Directors, talk 

about the reasons behind 

all this. 

getting started in 

intermodal transp 

sht takes over i4Transportation and N.T.M. 

Rui Macedo: “By acquiring i4Transportation 

– i4T for short – we are getting a start 

in intermodal transport. This expansion is 

now giving sht every opportunity to become 

one of the leading building materials 

logistics enterprises in Germany.” 

Intermodal transport – what is the 

logistics concept behind it? 

Manfred Himmelbach: “Intermodal 

transport makes use of all modes of 

transport and is the best possible supplement 

to mere road transport. As in combined 

freight transport, special hopper-like 

containers are fi lled right at our customers’ 

plants and then transported for long distances 

by block trains. By combining various 

kinds of transport – truck, rail, ship – 

we are able to offer transport that is low in 

CO 2 . This is a competitive advantage which 

is becoming more and more important.” 

What does this require? 

Rui Macedo: “First, you need to be able to 

work without truck pre-carriage. Loading 

directly into the special i4T containers is 

the best solution here. Secondly, transport 

routes of less than 200 km are normally 

not suited to intermodal transport. The 

equipment needs to be turned over quickly, 

yet quantities of less than 50,000 metric 

tons per year are interesting. Thirdly, the 

on-carriage should as a rule not exceed 

50 km.” 

Manfred Himmelbach: “Using intermodal 

transport is particularly interesting when 

different markets with widely differing 

prices have to be supplied. Earnings that 

cannot be obtained in the immediate vicin 

ity of a manufacturer are possible under 

certain circumstances in other markets.”

ort 

What are the main advantages? 

Manfred Himmelbach: “Intermodal transport 

is very fl exible and enables very short 

response times. Thus our customers can 

respond to changes in the market quickly 

and profi tably. The delivery radius of our 

customers can be considerably extended. 

For instance, entirely new sales territories 

which could not be supplied economically 

using conventional truck transport open 

up. Here the specially developed containers 

are used not only as a means of transport, 

but at the same time for storage, as well.” 

Rui Macedo: “Intermodal transport of 

bulk materials is not only sensible from an 

ecological point of view, but also politically 

desirable. Keeping processes cheap and 

fast is also good for the economy. Reliable 

delivery and quality are additional advantages.” 

What is intermodal transport like in 

practice? 

Manfred Himmelbach: "The transport 

container is loaded right at the plant. This 

usually takes 10 to 15 minutes per container, 

depending on the bulk goods being 

transported. The best kind of shipment is 

to run the main leg by rail, on a block train, 

if possible. Intermodal transport is distinctly 

more economical than conventional truck 

transport for routes longer than 200 km. 

Block trains can be unloaded at any container 

terminal, ideally right onto the truck 

ready to make delivery. As a rule, the containers 

are fi rst kept at the terminal. Special 

silo terminals are not necessary because the 

containers can be used for storage, as well. 

Then trucks deliver the goods to the target 

region. Thanks to the short delivery routes, 

you can respond quickly to fl uctuations in 

customers’ demand.” 

Rui Macedo (43) came to sht 

as head of shipping in May 

of 2008. Now he is bringing 

nearly 20 years of experience 

managing a building materials 

company to bear on his new 

job as Managing Director of 

sht, i4T and Sievert Logistik. 

13

14 

sievert handel transporte 

Manfred Himmelbach (45), 

Group Logistics Manager 

of many years’ standing at 

Dyckerhoff AG, has wide-ranging 

experience in the industry. 

Since January 2010, he has 

been Managing Director of i4T, 

N.T.M. and sht. 

What are the i4T’s capacities? 

Rui Macedo: “Already, i4T is moving more 

than 340 containers. N.T.M. has 45 modern 

semi-trailer tractors and around 65 tanker 

semi-trailers, all of which are equipped 

with state-of-the-art telematic systems. 

Our strength has traditionally been in bulk 

goods logistics. i4T hauls bulk and dry bulk 

freight in powdered or granulated form, 

such as cement, ashes, lime, limestone 

mortar, pigments, sand, salt and much, 

much more. Of course, all containers are 

cleaned and, if necessary, rinsed before being 

loaded.” 

Manfred Himmelbach: “The container 

system we developed ourselves for intermodal 

transport of bulk freight plays a 

decisive a role here, as well as the reliability 

and high training standard of our employees. 

After all, it is precisely this team, 

made up of machines and people, that is 

important to ensure that every cargo arrives 

reliably – just in time.” 

does business? 

Manfred Himmelbach: “Our headquarters 

are on the premises of the port of 

Mannheim, Rheinvorlandstraße 5, where 

we fi nd ideal conditions for intermodal 

transport. From there, we manage 

projects and plan and coordinate logistic 

solutions tailored to specifi c customers’ 

requirements. The Dutch subsidiary N.T.M., 

Nederlandse Transport Maatschappij B.V., 

is located in Nieuw Amsterdam, a district 

of the municipality of Emmen in Drenthe 

Province. Here is the control center of our 

truck traffi c. In addition, we are involved 

in the Euroterminal in Coevorden, also on 

the German-Dutch border. It is laid out as a 

trimodal terminal – rail, water, road. From 

here, we primarily take care of fi nal leg 

transport in certain regions of the Netherlands."

sht is also opening up completely new 

markets. How is this potential intended 

to be used? 

Rui Macedo: “The new management – 

Mr. Himmelbach, Mr. von Hahn and myself 

– will pay close attention to working the 

markets, each with his own emphasis. My 

main job is first of all to integrate the new 

lines of business, continue to cooperate 

with partners of many years’ standing and 

optimize the flow of goods through circular 

transport. 

All managing directors will consistently pursue 

a strategy of growth. Mr. Himmelbach 

is primarily in charge of increasing the intermodal 

business. Mr. von Hahn will further 

expand the areas of warehouse management 

and tarpaulin truck transport. What is 

important to us on the whole is to extend 

our customer and product portfolio. With 

this goal in mind, we are going to continue 

to expand our decentralized marketing organization 

and strengthen our sites, one of 

the most important of our tasks. We have 

already added personnel to our field service 

team in order to meet the demands of the 

new marketing concept.” 

Speaker of the Board Stefan Egert sees 

sht following the takeover of i4T and 

N.T.M. as a pan-European enterprise 

with the perspective of being present 

on every market that shows a promising 

future. As far as 2010 is concerned, 

he expects the 340 members of staff at 

more than 20 sites in Europe to generate 

around 85 Euro million. Egert affirms that 

sht is capable of reaching all European 

sales markets in the cement industry 

with low process costs, quick handling 

and the highest level of flexibility. Along 

with the existing routes, primarily in 

northwestern Europe, additional largescale 

projects are planned on the northsouth 

and east-west axis. 

Henk Batterink (51) comes 

from a family with a long 

tradition in transport. After 

finishing his training, he served 

in various functions in this line 

of business. Henk Batterink has 

been working for Nederlandse 

Transport Maatschappij B.V. 

since 1979 and has been its 

Managing Director since September 

of 2007. 

15

16 

Schellenbergbrücke, the second 

bridge sibo working on an architectural jewel in Osnabrück 

In Osnabrück, work is currently ongoing 

on a bridge that is expected 

to enhance the city’s architectural 

sights by July 2011. The new, 

130-meter Schellenbergbrücke 

spans the entire railroad shunting 

yard, including two main lines running 

between Amsterdam and Berlin. 

It also extends over the Hase 

Canal and one of its backwaters. 

Around 500 m³ of concrete nonstop: 

putting concrete into the northern 

abutment on May 8, 2010. 

The former Schellenbergbrücke was 

one of the oldest bridges in the 

Osnabrück metropolitan area. Large 

portions of the structure were built in 

1913. For quite some time, however, 

traffic over the bridge was limited due 

to its poor state of repair. As early 

as the mid-nineties, it was clear that 

renovation would not be enough here 

in the long run. A new bridge would 

have to be built as a replacement. 

As part of a Europe-wide tender in 

2004, a competent partner for building 

the bridge was found: the Tilebein 

engineering office in Osnabrück. The 

old Schellenbergbrücke is being 

replaced by a four-span pre-stressed 

concrete structure. The superstructure 

is designed as a double-webbed tbeam 

with rounded webs (haunches) 

in the supporting areas. The foundation 

consists of bored piles made of 

in-site concrete for all superstructures. 

It was possible to begin deconstructing 

the old bridge in the spring of 

2009. Two companies, Hofschröer 

in Lingen (Ems) and Dieckmann in 

Osnabrück, were contracted to handle 

all the construction work, including 

the demolition of the existing bridge. 

Once an auxiliary bridge had been set 

up for cyclists and pedestrians, the 

deconstruction work started in May. 

“In order to be able to demolish the 

old bridge, 550 metric tons of steel 

superstructures and three concrete 

superstructures, as well as four bridge 

piers with 2,600 m³ of concrete had 

to be dismantled. It took 350 m³ of 

concrete for the foundations of the 

three new abutments alone,” says 

Lutz Vorreyer, also in charge of bridge 

building in the municipal city plan-

ning department. Germany’s biggest 

mobile crane was needed to dismantle 

the bridge. Only with the aid of 

this piece of heavy machinery (maximum 

hoisting capacity 1,200 metric 

tons) was it possible to lift the various 

parts, some weighing several hundred 

metric tons, out of their anchorages 

and load them onto special vehicles to 

take them away. 

Trains continued to run during the 

construction work so that it was 

necessary to be very careful despite 

the vigorous activity on the site during 

all three shifts, even on weekends. A 

total of around 4,400 m³ of concrete 

were required to build the two 

abutments, three supports, including 

foundations, and the pre-stressed 

concrete superstructure of the new 

Schellenbergbrücke. Some parts also 

called for class SB3 exposed concrete. 

The concrete was supplied by sibo in 

Osnabrück and Georgsmarienhütte, 

as well as by a supply association 

partner. 

“In spite of the hard winter, we are 

still ahead of schedule,” foreman 

Leonhard Lühn exults, “Even minus 

16° Celsius couldn’t keep us from 

laying concrete. Lutz Vorreyer says, 

“We heated the boarding and took 

advantage of the chimney effect, so 

the concrete turned out very well." 

The wood for the boarding: more than two metric tons of 

nails were used here to reproduce the negative form according 

to the model made by Tilebein engineering offi ce. 

Thinks there is good chance to fi nish the 

construction work ahead of schedule: 

foreman Leonhard Lühn of the Hofschröer 

construction company. 

Stefan Timmermann of sibobeton 

Osnabrück says, “What makes this 

site special is most certainly that it 

was quite diffi cult to pre-plan the 

individual concrete sections because 

the railroad made us keep interrupting 

work. So we often had to lay concrete 

on Sundays or at night. One 

sibo 

outstanding example was the delivery 

of the bored piles on January 10, 

2010, when we had to start at 2:00 

on Sunday morning, in the middle 

of a heavy blizzard and temperatures 

of minus 4° C, and didn’t fi nish 

until Monday morning at around 

4:00. There weren’t really any roads, 

because everything had disappeared 

under a thick blanket of snow. Our 

drivers, in particular, did an excellent 

job in this case.” 

“The superstructure,” Stefan Timmermann 

continues, “is expected to 

be concreted in July and will alone 

take approx. 1,400 m³ of concrete, 

which we will handle from our plants 

in Osnabrück, Georgsmarienhütte 

and Melle with two pumps boasting 

a boom length of 52/55 and 

approx. 14 transit-truck mixers. All I 

can say about working together with 

Hofschröer and Tilebein is that all 

concrete sections were discussed with 

us beforehand and were very well 

organized.” 

The concrete work on the bridge, 

including the superstructure and road 

construction in a consortium with 

Dieckmann, is intended to be completed 

by November 2010. The bridge 

as a whole is planned to be fi nished in 

July 2011. 

17

18 

EXPO 2010 

in Shanghai 

Four national pavilions built with quick-mix 

First-class references on 

a booming market 

German national pavilion 

• Tile cement 

• Mineral slurry-type seal coating 

• Enough building materials supplied for an area of 

230 m² 

“We supplied a total of around 43 metric tons of dry building 

materials and around 2,400 m² of reinforced fabric to 

the EXPO building sites,” says Duan Ling, General Manager 

of quick-mix. “Here in China, our building materials are ordered 

by regional merchants through agents from our sales 

Irish national pavilion 

• Tile cement 

• Mineral slurry-type seal coating 


200 m² 

© Yovohagrafie, Deutscher Pavillon

Now there is a reference that is hard for companies in the construction industry 

to beat. Up to October 31, the world’s eyes are going to be on EXPO 2010 in the 

eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai. Under the motto, “Better city, better life”, 

242 participating countries and international organizations are expecting around 

70 million visitors to the exhibition. Along with the five central theme pavilions, 

there are also national pavilions looking for visitors’ attention, of course. Four of 

these pavilions – Ireland, Korea, Morocco and Germany – were built using quick-mix 

products. 

team in Shanghai. What particularly benefited us on this 

building site was that many applicators came from Europe, 

were already aware of our products and appreciated their 

quality, especially their quick processing time. Word of this 

soon got around this huge building site, with the result 

Moroccan national pavilion 

• Primer for thermal insulation composite system 

• Reinforced fabric • Filling and adhesive mortar 

• Fine finish plaster coating 


2,360 m² 

Sievert Baustoffgruppe China 

quick-mix sales team at the 

Shanghai site. 

that the EXPO in Shanghai is not only a good reference for 

us, but also an excellent multiplier.” 

Korean national pavilion 

• Masonry mortar 

• Mud mortar for tiles • Cement plaster 

• Tile adhesive mortar 


1,000 m² 

19

20 

Osnabrück visits Hefei 

Business delegation hosted by Sievert plants 

Roughly 100 companies in the Osnabrück-Emsland 

region already have business contacts in China. In 

April, a delegation of 22 people traveled from Osnabrück 

to China with the objective of making new 

contacts and preparing the way for more business cooperation. 

Along with Beijing and Shanghai, a visit to 

the sister city was also on the itinerary. The delegation 

visited Sievert plants in Hefei on April 14. 

Gerhard Schulze, General Manager of fdu, explains how prefabricated 

ceilings are made. 

Matthias Gelber, Maleki 

GmbH, Osnabrück; Prof. 

Hans-Wolf Sievert, Chairman 

of the Supervisory Board of 

Sievert AG; Boris Pistorius, 

Mayor of Osnabrück; Ms. 

Li, Deputy Mayor of the 

city of Hefei; Gerd-Christian 

Titgemeyer, President of the 

Osnabrück-Emsland Chamber 

of Commerce; Uwe Kestel, 

DUHA-Fertigteilbau GmbH in 

Haselünne (front row, from 

left) 

Gerhard Schulze, Country Manager for China, welcomed 

the guests, presented the joint ventures of Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

in Hefei and expounded the offer of products and 

services, as well as the capacity of the plants. In doing so, 

he also touched upon the subject of the market potential 

for building materials. “In 2009 alone, 150,000 apartments 

were built in Hefei and surroundings, while 145,000 were 

built in all of Germany.” 

Afterward the guests, led by Osnabrück Mayor Boris 

Pistorius and Gerd-Christian Titgemeyer, President of the 

Osnabrück-Emsland Chamber of Commerce, had an opportunity 

to inspect the quick-mix plant and the fdu plant 

and have the production process explained. 

Duan Ling, General Manager of quick-mix, during the presentation 

of the thermal insulation composite systems.

fdu Hefei: a promising start 

into the new year 

Bicycle halls ... 

In China, large numbers of people from the countryside 

are still streaming into the big cities. Most of these new 

arrivals go to work by bicycle or motorcycle. So-called bicycle 

halls are being built at centralized spots in residential 

areas especially for these means of transport. And, 

of course, this can be done particularly fast and economically 

using the fdu building element systems. Owing 

to its quality and durability, this building system is also 

superior to that of the traditional buildings. 

The production of three bicycle halls was one of the first 

contracts of the new year. Two halls between 50 and 80 

meters long and 10 meters wide have already been set 

up. 

... and an office building 

An office building complex in the high-tech zone is another 

property of the city of Hefei supplied by fdu. The prefabricated 

ceilings for the basement have already been produced 

and in part mounted. 

In the future, the grounds of the High-Tech zone are going 

to be colonized by innovative companies which, of course, 

require appropriate office buildings. To satisfy this demand, 

Sievert Baustoffgruppe China 

a huge complex of such infrastructure buildings is being 

built. At least 20 buildings are already under construction, 

and roughly the same number are going to be added later. 

“We hope,” says Gerhard Schulze, Country Manager for 

China of Sievert Baustoffgruppe, “to obtain additional 

lucrative objects by supplying our prefabricated building 

units in this zone.” 

21

22 

Art in the casino 

Petra Höcker: 

in search of 

clues 

Untitled, 2009, 160 x 120 cm 

Untitled, 2009, 50 x 70 cm 

Artist Petra Höcker, born in 1966, 

lives and works in Osnabrück. 

Her artistic career describes an arc 

from her beginnings as an advertising 

artist, to trying out various design 

possibilities, to free-lance work at the 

Osnabrück art gallery in the field of 

exhibition design, up to attending 

seminars held by Professor Klaus 

Neuper in Nuremberg. Since 2002, 

Petra Höcker has been a free-lance 

artist and now has a presence in a 

large number of German cities and 

European countries thanks to her 

many exhibitions. 

Christel Schulte, independent curator 

in Osnabrück says, “Petra Höcker 

interprets the forms she encounters 

and replaces them with shapeless, 

furrowed materials pushed together 

with brush and spatula and worked 

over again and again like paste. In 

the process, she takes her inspiration 

from the reality surrounding her: 

traces of marks in sand, archaic cave 

paintings, brittle masonry and fossils. 

Petra Höcker searches for a powerful, 

expressive language and finds it 

in a combination of colored priming 

of spirited materiality and graphic 

figures. This artist is interested in a 

searching and finding process marked 

by inventive forms and compositions, 

while at the same time unmistakably 

growing out of an artistic, expressive 

language.” 

A selection of recent works by Petra 

Höcker is currently on display at 

the casino of Sievert AG on Mühleneschweg 

in Osnabrück. More 

information under 

www.petra-hoecker.de

hahne at the 

DEUBAU 2010 

Christa Thoben visits trade fair stand 

Renovating damaged building components, protecting 

and maintaining the value of healthy building 

stock were the main focus of the hahne display 

presented at the DEUBAU construction trade fair in 

Essen from January 12 to 16. 

The instructive exhibits at the hahne stand were particularly 

effective, showing visitors the wide range of applications of 

various construction chemical products for house construction. 

One of the main points presented was the HADALAN ® PUR 

liquid plastic program for balconies and terraces. This is a 

convincing system for renovating balconies and terraces 

because of its excellent properties – very effectively covering 

cracks, very elastic, sealing without seams, resistant to 

UV and weather and extremely long lasting. 

Visitors were also very interested in how inside walls in 

cellars can be quickly renovated using the INTRASIT ® 

instant renovation method. Compared with conventional 

methods of renovating cellar interiors, the INTRASIT ® 

instant renovation method combines several products and 

tasks in one procedure. Its HSP technology is quite convincing. 

Not only do the products feature an entirely new 

quality, but it requires much less time to apply. 

Hubert Looks (center) and Helmut Honermann welcome 

Christa Thoben at the DEUBAU. 

hahne 

The great variety of products and application methods 

were well received by the visitors of the trade fair. For 

instance, the hahne team enjoyed above-average numbers 

of visitors and held many interesting talks. 

The highlight of the third day of the fair was a visit from 

the Economic Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Christa 

Thoben, to the hahne stand. Hubert Looks, Managing 

Director of Hahne building protection, and Sales Manager 

Helmut Honermann informed the minister about the company 

and particularly about the hahne product range 

and how it can be marketed. One thing that particularly 

attracted Ms. Thoben‘s attention was the different decorative 

fl oor coatings available from hahne. 

23

24 

hahne 

New business partners 

in Europe 

hahne is aggressively continuing its sales activities on the European market. Three very different examples 

show how Managing Director Hubert Looks and Sales Manager Helmut Honermann are turning the good 

chances hahne products enjoy on the market into business relationships. 

Poland: VISBUD-Projekt 

Mariusz Jackiewicz, Managing Director 

of VISBUD-Projekt, has been 

selling construction chemical products 

in Poland since 1991. His success motivated 

him to found a new marketing 

company with a new label, VISBUD- 

Projekt. Mariusz Jackiewicz is currently 

working together with fi ve sales 

representatives looking after territories 

in the south of Poland. Nearly all the 

reps come from the construction 

industry and are competent not only 

in customer consultancy, but equally 

in how to work 

with the products. 

Another fi ve 

representatives will 

be hired in 2011. 

VISBUD-Projekt 

sees good market 

opportunities for 

hahne products 

particularly in the 

following product segments: thick 

coating, winter-quality mineral sealing, 

stone and brick-work renovation, 

concrete renovation, renovation of 

industrial fl oors, sealing roofs, as well 

as spraying devices and pumps. 

The fi rst talk between Mariusz 

Jackiewicz and hahne took place in 

September 2009. Since then, Hubert 

Looks has paid several visits to Poland. 

All hahne brochures, data sheets and 

safety data sheets have now been 

printed in Polish and there are even 

Polish tags for the product packages. 

Sales are getting off to a good start. 

The second employee training course 

was held in early June, this time focusing 

on peristaltic pumps and how 

to use them. 

Reports on the cooperation between hahne and VISBUD- 

Projekt in Polish trade journals: Hubert Looks (left) and Mariusz 

Jackiewicz in February 2010.

Switzerland: Klebag Chemie 

Klebag Chemie AG, headquartered in Ennetburgen by 

Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne, produces and sells products 

for fl oorers, pavers and parquet layers. On January 1, 

2010, this company took over sales, storage and logistics 

for hahne products in Switzerland. 

This cooperation enables Swiss customers to be served 

quickly, sales activities to be further expanded and offers 

competent, local technical support. 

A technical training course was held for the Klebag staff in 

Ennetburgen at the end of February, conducted by Helmut 

Honermann. Another training course given by Daniel Neve 

from hahne Technical Sales, was held at the end of April 

for Klebag’s customers. 

Turkey: Uransan 

The Turkish company Uransan belongs to Uran Holding, 

which unites 14 different companies from the construction, 

tourism, service and production industries. For instance, the 

holding company owns and runs a fi ve-star hotel in Antalya. 

At present, a second hotel is being built in Istanbul. 

Employee training at Klebag in December of 2009. 

For a good cooperation (from left): 

Helmut Honermann, Dr. Wolfgang 

Gaede (Manager of Development 

and Production at Klebag Chemie 

AG), Hubert Looks, Gerhard Schwach 

(Managing Director of 

Klebag Chemie AG). 

The contact between hahne and Uransan began at the 

BAU 2009 in Munich. Even back then, there was interest in 

using and selling hahne products. After Hubert Looks visited 

Turkey in early September 2009, Ms. Liza Erçetin, Business 

Development Manager at Uransan, paid a return visit 

to Datteln in late September 2009. They worked intensively 

on compiling a product portfolio for the Turkish market. 

Uransan and hahne signed a distribution contract at the 

end of February 2010, and in March the fi rst technical 

employee training course was held, taught by Rainer Volgmann 

in Ankara. More courses are in planning. 

Also active in the construction 

sector: Uransan is 

building a large housing 

development in Ankara. 

25

26 

About our staff 

sht under new 

management 

Horst Leonhard retires 

On March 25, Horst Leonhard was offi 

cially seen off at a reception attended 

by many of his long-time companions. 

Two relevant moments of 

his 35 years – with interruptions – 

at sht are especially important to 

Horst Leonhard: when sht moved 

from Osnabrück to a new building in 

Lengerich in 1995, and entering the 

Polish market in 1997. 

After Claus Köppa also left as Managing 

Director, and sht took over 

Stefan Egert, Speaker of the Board of Sievert 

AG; Manfred Himmelbach, Managing Director 

of sht; Horst Leonhard; Ulrich von Hahn, 

Managing Director of sht; Rui Macedo, 

Managing Director of sht; Prof. Hans-Wolf 

Sievert, Chairman of the Supervisory Board 

of Sievert AG (from left) 

Horst Leonhard started his career at sht (still called Habadü at that time) 

on July 15, 1963. In 1980 he left the company as plant manager to take 

on a new career challenge. But he came back. Through the initiative of 

Prof. Hans-Wolf Sievert, Horst Leonhard was again taken on as Managing 

Director in 1992 and stayed with the company until he retired in 

March 2010, a universally acknowledged expert in the transport industry. 

i4Transportation in Mannheim, as 

well as its Dutch subsidiary N.T.M. 

Transportgroep B.V., sht is now 

managed by three managing directors: 

Rui Macedo, Manfred Himmelbach 

and Ulrich von Hahn. 

Rui Macedo (43, 2nd from right in 

the photo) came to sht as a shipping 

manager in May of 2008. Now he is 

bringing nearly 20 years of experience 

managing a building materials company 

to bear on his new job as Man- 

aging Director of sht, i4T and Sievert 

Logistik. He sees the focal point of his 

future work in the integration of new 

societies, the expansion of customer 

and product portfolios, and the continuation 

of the growth strategy. Rui 

Macedo is a fan of opera and theater, 

as well as of the 1. FC Köln soccer 

team (home club) and an active badminton 

player. 

Ulrich von Hahn (46, 3rd from right 

in the photo) has been working for 

sht since May of 2001. Prior to this, 

he had already headed major German 

companies in the logistics sector. His 

main sphere of responsibility at sht 

has so far been to expand the warehouse 

and tarpaulin truck transport 

divisions. He will further intensify his 

work in these areas as Managing Director 

of sht and Sievert Logistik. One 

important task for him is to expand 

the decentralized marketing structure 

and strengthen the sites. Ulrich von 

Hahn likes to get around in his leisuretime, 

riding his motorcycle or jogging 

with Carlo, his family dog. 

Manfred Himmelbach (45, 2nd from 

left in the photo) was Manager of 

Group Logistics at Dyckerhoff AG for 

many years and thus has comprehensive 

experience in the industry. He has 

been Managing Director of i4T, N.T.M. 

and sht since January 2010. His 

offi ce is located in the headquarters 

of i4T in Mannheim. From this offi ce 

he is going to accelerate the further 

expansion of the intermodal business 

and, together with his team, develop 

tailor-made logistics solutions to meet 

customers’ requirements. You could 

well say that his hobby is also his passion, 

for Manfred Himmelbach takes 

an active part in the yearly carnival 

celebrations. 

Horst Leonhard will also continue 

to place his experience, professional 

knowledge and contacts at the disposal 

of sht. What is more, he now 

fi nally has more time for his grandson 

Oskar (5) and his hobby, playing golf.


Dimitri Romanenko: 

committed, flexible, technology enthusiast 

From August 2007 to May 2010, 

Dimitri Romanenko trained to become 

a process engineer in the field of 

ready-mix concrete at sibo. “Dimitri 

Romanenko was quite a committed 

apprentice,” says his trainer, Mario 

Hübner. “He is flexible, very interested 

in engineering and for this reason 

has also taken part in several interplant 

courses – one, for instance, on 

the subject of pneumatic controls. 

This kind of young worker is always 

welcome in our plants. That is why 

we took him on after he passed his 

examination and are shaping him 

to be a system supervisor in Greven. 

Here his advanced training will also 

go right into the next round. Dimitri 

Romanenko wants to get his truck 

driver’s license – Class CE – and has 

already applied for funding to do so.” 

Dimitri Romanenko chose his career 

because he was convinced it was 

Congratulations, 

Friedel Leimbrink! 

right for him. “I have always been 

interested in how buildings are built, 

what function the foundations serve 

and how supports for bridges are 

made. Even as a child I often watched 

the cement mixers on the street and 

always had questions come into my 

head about why the cylinder was 

turning and what was in it. During 

my training, I found the answers to 

all these questions. 

I simply find my occupation interesting 

and varied, and I am of course happy 

to be able to continue working in this 

field. My goal is to get to know as 

many different kinds of equipment as 

possible so I can run them all myself 

and be able to be put them to work 

anywhere.” 

One of his hobbies is drawing portraits. 

No wonder his trainers were 

surprised over and over again at the 

Congratulated on 40 years of success at sibo: Speaker of the Board Stefan Egert 

congratulates Friedel Leimbrink. 

high quality of his technical drawings. 

And sports are also included in Dimitri 

Romanenko’s leisure time program. 

“And of course handicraft work on 

my car.” 

Friedel Leimbrink started training to 

be an industrial clerk at sibo in Osnabrück 

on April 1, 1970, and returned 

to the sibo Group after passing his 

examination and completing fifteen 

months of military service on April 1, 

1974. Then he spent around six years 

working for sibo as plant manager. 

He then followed jobs procuring 

vehicles and pumps until he became 

involved in developing and introducing 

EDP programs, primarily for 

scheduling, starting in 1990. Friedel 

Leimbrink sees a particular highlight 

of his sibo career as business in the 

new Federal States was added starting 

in 1990. 

During this time, he was on site for 

up to a year taking care of EDP training 

courses. Today his responsibilities 

focus on controlling in the sibo Group 

and Sievert AG. Asked how he spends 

his free time, he answers, “I like bicycle 

racing and climbing. I like climbing 

in the Alps best.” However, in 2005 

he made an exception and headed off 

for Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa. 

27


Additional training to become China specialists 

Two apprentices at Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

- Julien Bardos and Stephan Sandhaus – are 

currently taking advantage of an offer of 

the Chinese Center in Hanover to take additional 

training as China specialists. Their 

training manager, Matthias Bartke, drew 

their attention to this course, although they 

had already heard of it before. 

– Dong bu dong? 

A few years ago, additional training for upcoming 

industrial clerks to become China specialists would 

have been considered quite exotic. This view-point has 

radically changed with the rapid growth of the Chinese 

economy and the related interconnection of worldwide 

business relationships. Becoming thoroughly prepared to 

work together with future Chinese partners 

now makes plenty of sense. 

bilingual subject teaching covers China’s 

history, geography, politics, law, economics 

and foreign trade. A visit to the Buddhist 

Center in Osnabrück is also scheduled. 

Dong bu dong? 

(Engl. “Do you understand”?) 

– is the textbook 

for the 15-month course 

of training to become a 

China specialist. 

Celebrating an 

anniversary 

in the second 

half of 2010 

Alot to learn. “Yes,” says Julien Bardos, 

“but we decided to do this and now we 

Anniversaries 

intend to pull it through.” “It does take a Congratulations 

lot of work,” adds Stephan Sandhaus, “but on your 25th 

What the two are learning “on the side” in it’s fun too and we get Friday off work to 

anniversary 

fi fteen months of additional training – the attend classes.” 

examination is in May – is quite a demand- 

Axel Feldkamp 

ing program. Mondays from 5:00 p.m. to Both apprentices are currently working for 

Sievert information technology 

8:00 p.m. they take language lessons (writ- quick-mix – Julien Bardos in customer serv- August 1, 2010 

ing, pronunciation, accent) at Pottgraben ice, Stephan Sandhaus in sales – and will 

Vocational School in Osnabrück, and bilin- take their examination in 2011. Their career Friedhelm Steinmann 

gual subject teaching is Fridays from 1:30 plans are also similar, since both may well 

Heinrich Hahne 

p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Of course, preparation follow up by studying business administra- September 1, 2010 

and follow-up work are also needed. The tion. 

Bernhard Müller 

Stephan Sandhaus has also applied to at- 

quick-mix Stockstadt 

tend a two-week Confucius Summer Camp 

September 26, 2010 

in China in 2010. The event is on offer 

from the headquarters of the Confucius In- Congratulations 

stitute in Hanover. At most, 200 applicants on your 40th 

can take part in this exciting tour through anniversary 

traditional and modern China. So let’s keep 

our fi ngers crossed for him! 

Reinhard Bosse 

sibo Rheine 

July 1, 2010 

Udo Speck 

sibo Eschwege 

July 1, 2010 

Horst Mittelberg 

sibo group administration 

October 1, 2010 

Learning Chinese Monday and Friday 

Horst Deutschmann 

afternoons since January: 

quick-mix Kaltenkirchen 

Julien Bardos and Stephan Sandhaus. 

December 1, 2010 

28

Day of the Future 2010 

PUBLISHING INFORMATION: 

dialog is a publication 

of Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

Mühleneschweg 6 

D-49090 Osnabrück 

Telephone + 49 (0) 5 41- 601 00 

Editing: 

Mario Hübner 

Benedikt Kossen 

Horst Leonhard 

Ilse Meyer-Lemke 

Gerhard Schulze 

Helmut Wilke 

Editorial implementation 

and realization: 

, Osnabrück 

Trowel with quick-mix tile adhesive in in hand, and ready to to go go to to work: work on the tiles: 

Michael René Hartmann, Victoria Lanz, Sadie Linz, Lydia Henning, Lina Meyer, Marleen 

Marleen Avermeyer, Avermeyer, Felix Wilke Felix and Wilke Moritz and Thierser Moritz (from Thierser left (from to right) left at to the right) technical at the school. 

technical 

school. 

Full program 

If a full schedule can also provide a taste of what working life will be like, then 

the Day of the Future 2010 at Sievert Baustoffgruppe in Osnabrück on April 22 

was quite profitable for eight young people for that reason alone. The schedule 

was full from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There was plenty for each to see from many 

different types of working life and maybe even an idea or two for choosing a 

future career. 

At exactly 8:00 a.m., the 

pupils gathered at the reception 

in Mühleneschweg 

to first get to know the 

work done in the quick-mix 

Research and Development 

Department under the 

supervision of Laboratory 

Manger Uwe Kielhorn and 

Application Engineer Ulrich 

Boßmeyer. 

At the technical school, 

they were also able to 

check out why there is 

nothing better to put between 

walls and tiles than 

quick-mix tile adhesive. 

Their comment was, 

“They are sure to stick 

forever.” 


After a refreshing lunch 

together in the cafeteria, 

they went to a tour of the 

quick-mix plant in 

Schwagstorf at 12:30 p.m. 

And because quick-mix not 

only develops and produces 

products, but also 

sells them, the program 

finished off with a tour of 

a printing shop. Here the 

students saw at first hand 

how informative flyers are 

printed at ultra-high speed. 

For instance, for quick-mix 

marketing. Development, 

production and marketing 

all in one day. Not bad. 

29

30 


During his final exercises in the 

army, Klaus-Dieter Eberding lost 

his right hand through a hand 

grenade explosion that was no 

fault of his own on September 27, 

1963. He was then a young man 

of 23, had just finished his training 

as tool maker, earned his first pay 

and was about to start studying 

mechanical engineering. Was this 

the end of it all? “At first, it was,” 

says the native of Magdeburg. 

But Klaus-Dieter Eberding would not 

be Klaus-Dieter Eberding if he did not 

take on the situation with his typical, 

down-to-earth determination. Due to 

his handicap, mechanical engineering 

was out of the question. So he began 

an entirely new career. On April 1, 

1965, he began another type of occupational 

training at Sievert Baustoffgruppe 

as an industrial clerk in the 

ready-mixed concrete business, a line 

the company had just taken up. After 

he had passed his examination, his 

boss, Dieter Freese, soon began giving 

him responsible tasks in building 

up new sibo operations. Around 37 

years, he put his skills at the service of 

the company which he left as Regional 

Managing Director of sibobeton Ost 

in June 2002. 

Are you going to retire? “No,” says 

Klaus-Dieter Eberding, “I’d rather 

keep busy. I need something to do, 

a job where I can bring my professional 

experience to use.” And now 

he has found just such a job. Human 

Resource Manager Benedikt Kossen, 

with whom he keeps in close 

contact, drew his attention to the 

“Wirtschafts-Senioren” in Osnabrück. 

Klaus-Dieter Eberding promptly joined 

the organization and has been its First 

Chairman since January 2004. With 

his double-barreled training, his many 

years of experience as an engineer 

and businessman, and not least 

his pragmatic way of dealing with 

situations, we had no doubts about 

considering him perfect for the job. 

His work here keeps him on the move 

Now, what is Klaus- 

Dieter Eberding doing? 

up to three days a week. But what is 

this Osnabrück Wirtschafts-Senioren 

and who can take advantage of this 

association? 

Klaus-Dieter Eberding explains, “We 

have made it our task to help future 

entrepreneurs take that all-important 

first step into self-employment. We 

offer the knowledge and experience 

we have gained in years of successful 

careers as merchants, business administrators, 

bankers and engineers. 

The Osnabrück Wirtschafts-Senioren 

are professionals who have left active 

work and are making their knowledge 

available on an non-profit basis for 

establishing or maintaining a business, 

or for takeovers. To be more specific, 

for instance, we might get together 

with interested parties to help with 

commercial and technical workflows, 

organizational and EDP procedures, 

industry-specific marketing and marketing 

control.” 

What does the entrepreneur have to 

bring along? “We expect competence 

in the field in question, regardless of 

whether they are craftsmen, service 

providers, merchants or producers. 

A positive basic attitude to the project 

is also important, as is the will to 

shape things, especially against strong 

resistance. Our consultancy, however, 

cannot relieve them of the need to act 

and take responsibility on their own. 

We just give the ‘cart’ a push. The 

individuals themselves have to make 

the decisions and take control.” The 

message is clear. 

Does this non-profit work leave you 

any free time? “Sure,” chuckles Klaus- 

Dieter Eberding. “Sometimes I take a 

‘vacation’ and go to the sea with my 

wife, to Cuxhaven, for instance. And 

of course, I always have time for our 

four grandchildren.”

Tegernsee – all the 

charm of Bavaria 

Living in Germany’s most beautiful region is now reality for Rüdiger Gerlach 

of sht Vertrieb Süd in Manching. Since 2007, he has been living with his wife 

by the Tegernsee lake. Martina Gerlach works in tourism here. Obviously, 

Rüdger Gerlach knows the area like the back of his hand. Would he give us 

a few insider tips? Gladly. 

What is it that makes these Bavarian 

Alpine foothills so charming? Upper 

Bavaria is simply lovely at any season 

of the year. Tegernsee embodies the 

proverbial picture-book landscape, 

however you look at it. A little jewel 

that has kept its charm for hundreds 

of years: a crystal-clear, sparkling 

lake, lush alpine pastures, appealing 

historical towns and cozy inns. Maybe 

the secret is simply that here everything 

still has human dimensions, in 

contrast to our hectic age of “faster, 

higher, farther”. 

But that doesn’t mean that Tegernsee 

has nothing to offer but tranquility. 

Quite the contrary: fans of swimming, 

sailing, surfing, golfing (with three 

attractive courses), hiking, mountain 

climbing and bicycling will find a topnotch 

outdoor paradise here. “Summer 

is one of the four most beautiful 

seasons at Tegernsee,” a statement 

Rüdiger Gerlach can only confirm. 

The wintertime recreation on offer in 

the region is also hard to beat. Narrow 

skis or broad boards, Alpine or 

Nordic, Funpark or Freeride, on running 

waters or warm soles, everyone 

can enjoy winter in this valley on their 

own way. Good 30 slopes and around 

150 kilometers of cross-country trails 

are waiting to be discovered between 

Bad Wiessee at Tegernsee 

Gmund and Kreuth, as well as toboggan 

runs for every day of the week, 

including one of the longest downhill 

sled runs in Germany, reaching 6.5 

kilometers from Wallberg. An insider 

Travel tip 

tip among skiers is the Taubenstein, 

where a wide variety of demanding 

slopes invite athletic skiers to test 

their skills without any intrusions. The 

Spitzingsee-Tegernsee ski area is also 

very attractive. 

And what about spring and autumn 

at Tegernsee? The answer is clear, “It 

never gets boring here. Hiking up to 

an old-fashioned Alpine cottage is always 

a treat. One highlight in spring, 

for example, is the traditional Leonhardifahrt, 

the oldest in all of Bavaria, 

in Kreuth on November 6. Gorgeous 

decorated horse-drawn carriages, 

folklore groups in their traditional 

costumes, shooting clubs and music 

bands all parade through the town 

in honor of St. Leonhard. And on 

Rosstag Day in Rottach-Egern, which 

this year falls on August 29, 

the glory of the old wagoners comes 

alive again.” 

And of course, the inevitable question: 

Where can we stop for refreshments? 

“Nobody coming to Tegernsee 

need have any worries about the 

meals. Every few meters you come 

across incredibly cozy, traditional taverns 

as well as excellent restaurants. 

Tip: be sure to visit the Herzogliche 

Braustüberl ducal tavern in the former 

Benedictine monastery and Tegernsee 

castle. Here you can completely enjoy 

a cool, fresh draft beer.” 

31

A poster for quick-mix 

Creative competition at quick-mix locations in Poland 

It is already practically a tradition, 

the pre-Christmas drawing 

competition for children of Polish 

quick-mix employees. And it greatly 

promotes the integration of their 

families into the company. This 

time, the competition’s theme was 

“A poster for a quick-mix product 

of your choice”. 

You can see how much fun the 28 

young artists had in every one of 

the pictures they submitted. They 

went to work with a great deal of 

imagination, skill and sympathy for 

the quick-mix brand. So it was not 

easy for the jury to choose only 

one winner from each age group 

(up to 8 and 9 to 14 years). All 

the pictures were presented at the 

Christmas party on December 11, 

2009. They were also on display in 

the Casino on Mühleneschweg in 

Osnabrück in the spring of 2010. 

Maruisz Gil awards a certificate to Anna 

Goszczynska, whose daughter Hania 

took part in the competition in the age 

group up to eight years. 

Maruisz Gil, Managing Director of 

quick-mix in Poland, who is also 

the initiator of the competition, 

attended the awards ceremony. 

The winner of the age group up to 

8 years and winner of a Lego set 

was Maksymilian Bloch. His father 

is Włodzimierz Bloch, Technical 

32 

“Be up to date – use only quick-mix mortar!” Katarzyna Dziuba (11 years old) 

“Just quick-mix!” Maksymilian Bloch (2 years old) 

Sales Consultant at quick-mix for 

the Gdansk district. Among the 

older children, Katarzyna Dziuba, 

daughter of the Deputy Manager 

of the quick-mix factory in Strzelin, 

was the winner. She won the second 

main prize of a digital camera. 

All contestants received a certificate 

and recognition in the form of 

drawing utensils.

1/2010 - Sievert AG

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