TOGE Dübel GmbH & Co. KG awarded CNA Innovation Prize
Künzelsau/Nuremberg. The companies TOGE Dübel GmbH & Co. KG, which has been part of the Würth Group since October 2014, and Prof. Feix Ingenieure GmbH were awarded the 13th CNA Innovation Prize "Intelligence for Traffic and Logistics" of the Center for Transportation & Logistics Neuer Adler e.V. (CNA) for their new concept for the reinforcement of concrete bridges. Every year, CNA e.V. honors companies or scientific institutions and their development of innovative products or services that make a special contribution to sustainable economic growth and the safeguarding of jobs.
The poor condition of the approximately 120,000 roads and 30,000 railway bridges in Germany accounts for losses running into billions of euros already today. Besides high financial and material expenses, road closures or detours may cause enormous disturbances in roads and freight traffic as well as public transport. "You have your finger on the pulse of the time with your concept on the reinforcement of concrete bridges, as in the years to come Deutsche Bahn will have to renovate numerous railway bridges", Bavaria's Interior and Transport Minister Joachim Herrmann praised the innovation in his speech at the award ceremony in Nuremberg. Norbert Schäfer, Chairman of the Board of CNA e.V., underlined the economic and ecological savings potential of the concept: "The engineers have developed an innovative solution for the transport infrastructure, which will help to ease the burden of future federal budgets massively."
The reinforcement concept does not only allow cost savings of 80 to 90 percent compared to new construction, it also increases the load-bearing capacity and service life of existing bridges. The concrete and bonded anchor screws already used in connecting technology will be used for this purpose for the first time. The action principle of bonded anchor screws is based on a special thread that cuts into the sides of the drill hole when being screwed in and is finally sealed. The combination of mechanical and chemical fastening leads to a heavy-duty, safe and lasting fastening.
Within the framework of a pilot project of DB Netz AG, the method was already applied successfully: the service life of a bridge scheduled for demolition was extended by 25 years.
About the Würth Group
The Würth Group is the world's market leader in its core business, the trade in assembly and fastening materials. It currently consists of more than 400 companies in over 80 countries with more than 67,000 employees on its payroll. Approximately 30,000 of them are permanently employed sales representatives. In the business year 2014, the Würth Group attained a worldwide sales volume of EUR 10.13 billion.
In the core business, the Würth Line, the product range for trades and industry comprises over 100,000 products: from screws, screw accessories and anchors to tools, chemical-technical products and personal protective equipment.
The Allied Companies of the Würth Group, which either operate in business areas related to the core business or in diversified business areas, round off the range by offering products for DIY stores, material for electrical installations, electronic components such as circuit boards as well as financial services. They generate more than 40 percent of the Würth Group's sales volume.
