Progress from Mönchaltorf: Construction site, teamwork and sustainable innovations

From hard hats, biodiversity and signage: update from Mönchaltorf

At the Mönchaltorf site of LAEMMLE Produkte AG, something is taking shape over the coming months that will play an important role for the entire LAEMMLE Group: a future centre of excellence for water- and alcohol-based chemistry of the Amstutz, Polyston, Fiesta and Allerno brands. At the same time, numerous smaller and larger works are underway to further develop the site visibly and functionally. An overview – including a few anecdotes from day-to-day project life.

New building signage – visible, modular and without light pollution

The new signage on the building was installed in recent days and strengthens recognition within the LAEMMLE Group. It is deliberately designed to be modular (brand panels) so that individual areas can be flexibly adapted in future – an advantage in a group with several brands, product and service ranges.

One detail you cannot see from the signage: the brand coordination was, to put it mildly, challenging. (Internal legend: “Coordinating the colours and lettering sizes kept us busy longer than some project management meeting.”)

A possible eye-catcher had, by the way, been planned: 3D-printed products that could have been attached to the building. Sounds great – but was not feasible in implementation (costs / stability / weather resistance).

Also deliberate: no additional lighting. The site dispenses with it entirely in order to reduce light pollution and not to disturb regional biodiversity. A rare sentence in industry – but one that is true in Mönchaltorf.

A heartfelt thank you goes to GRAFITEC AG as well as all teams involved for the reliable cooperation and the professional implementation. Such steps show what contribution precise collaboration makes to a coherent and reliable overall picture.

The thing with the entrance sign – or: Why a single sign needs a tonne of concrete

A separate planning permission was required for the entrance signage – plus a foundation of around 1000 kg concrete, to remain stable in wind and weather.

And that was not all: a line-of-sight verification was also required so that traffic could see past the sign and not drive into it. (Welcome to Swiss building law.)

Building site in winter: heat recovery system in PostBus size

A larger project is also running in parallel: the heat recovery system on the roof is being renewed as part of the explosion protection conversion and is approximately the size of a PostBus. The project required three months of preparation – including a detailed site installation plan, to coordinate all work steps, trades and safety requirements cleanly with one another. The system is currently being converted for explosion protection; further information and image material on this will follow in a separate article.

The work is taking place in January and is being accompanied by a well-coordinated team of 11 specialists as well as five external companies. The coordination is challenging, but thanks to clear planning it is proceeding in a structured and goal-oriented way.
But only due to three months of preparation, detailed installation plans and coordination that resembled a Tetris end level.

The reality on every building site: small stories included

That is also part of it:
A damaged lift door, caused by a pallet truck (“Ameise”).
That normally happens to everyone – only very few talk about it.

And one more detail in passing: the chimney sweep gave the team their own lucky coin – apparently a bit of luck between planning permission, concrete foundation and installation plans can never do any harm.

And because good work needs good framework conditions:
All craftsmen involved had warm break rooms, a coffee machine, water and a microwave at their disposal. A detail that is often forgotten – but in times of a shortage of skilled workers is worth its weight in gold and was enormously appreciated by the teams.