Peak performance by KRINNER
18.07.2014An unusual building site: At almost 3,000 metres above sea level, in the middle of a natural reserve and with shale as the substrate. An unusual structure: A temporary camp for climbers that needed to be mounted quickly, accurately and fully sustainably. No extraordinary challenge for KRINNER: Within just three days, the ground screws for 32 shelters were screwed in without concrete, heavy machinery or harming the natural surroundings. The camp is intended to provide mountaineers from around the world with accommodation while the “Hörnlihütte” mountain inn undergoes general refurbishment. The base camp will already be completely dismantled by the end of September 2014 without leaving any remains – environmentally harmful concrete is a thing of the past.
Right in time for the anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn 150 years ago, the Hörnlihütte mountain inn is being fully renovated until July 2015. A temporary base camp has therefore been constructed to provide the climbers with shelter and protection on the mountain of mountains during this year’s climbing season. KRINNER offered a particularly time-saving and cost-effective solution for the foundations: environmentally friendly ground screws anchor 28 prism-shaped shelters made of aluminium and wood, which each provide accommodation for two people. In addition, four larger buildings were constructed for the kitchen, laundry and eating areas.
An exceptional environment requires exceptional design
The galvanized screws were mounted within a very short time using an electrically powered manual ground screw driver developed by KRINNER. “Our special machines enable us to work quickly and accurately. The KR E 20 can also be easily used in unusual places without harming the environment in any way,” explains the Managing Director of KRINNER Switzerland, Dominik Züger.
It was neither necessary to transport heavy machinery to a height of 2,880 metres above sea level nor use environmentally harmful concrete in order to anchor the alpine base camp into the shale. Even the rough terrain did not pose any major challenges. “We originally scheduled ten working days for the installation, but we were already finished after three and a half days,” says Züger. Outstanding values were achieved in example stress tests: two tonnes of tension load with only three millimetres of movement.
High-tech machines for sustainable solutions
Only the location was unusual for KRINNER: on the Matterhorn, in the middle of a nature reserve with particularly stringent environmental protection regulations. For KRINNER, however, this did not present any major problems because the family-owned business constructs its foundations in a one hundred per cent sustainable manner, regardless whether it concerns kilometre-long photovoltaic systems in deserts or tree houses in the middle of forests. Company founder Klaus Krinner has revolutionised the construction industry with his reusable ground screws since the mid-1990s. The company from Lower Bavaria, Germany, develops the required special machinery itself and has already filed more than 150 patents. “We save time, protect the environment and are incredibly efficient,” says Krinner and emphasises that his company has tailor-made solutions for all customers. “Innovation is our daily business,” explains Klaus Krinner, who continues to work on new inventions.
From construction site fences to photovoltaic power plants
The environmentally friendly screws can be screwed into almost all soil types and support installations such as traffic signs, containers, carports or huge solar power plants. With ground-mounted photovoltaic systems, special machines survey the terrain fully automatically using GPS and robots install the foundations in the ground by screwing them firmly into place. Internationally, KRINNER Schraubfundamente GmbH is now focussing on the worldwide installation of photovoltaic systems and has to date installed more than 1,500 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar power. This corresponds to a larger nuclear power plant or five coal-fired power plants.
After all, the aim is to help generate energy that is as economic, ecological and sustainable as possible, says Klaus Krinner in summing up. KRINNER is currently concentrating on the growing solar power industry in North and South America, Asia and Europe, whereby the current focus is particularly on large-scale solar power plants in France, Japan and Chile.
