VDBUM industry meeting for specialist foundation engineering: “A successful mix of conference, exhibition and friendly get-together”

Schrobenhausen, Germany – The “who is who” of the German specialist foundation engineering industry came together on October 9 and 10 in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria. The occasion was the renowned VDBUM industry meeting for specialist foundation engineering, which was held this time at the headquarters of BAUER Maschinen GmbH. “We are thrilled to welcome that many event participants to our headquarters,” emphasized Dr. Rüdiger Kaub, Managing Director of Bauer Maschinen. Thorsten Schneider, Head of the VDBUM Academy, was also enthusiastic about the strong level of interest which was evident in part from the large number of attendees who signed up in advance. “Apart from in-depth expert presentations, the focus is on networking and dialog among experts in specialist foundation engineering. This industry meeting is the perfect platform for that purpose.”

On the afternoon of the first day, the participants had the opportunity to attend a tour of the Bauer Maschinen plant in Aresing just a few kilometers away. The evening was fully focused on networking, with a get-together at the “Alte Schweißerei,” Bauer’s former welding shop, providing the venue. 

After a welcome from Thorsten Schneider, the second day was dedicated to a wide range of expert presentations all about specialist foundation engineering. First, Dr. Rüdiger Kaub provided a brief overview of the BAUER Maschinen Group. “Urbanization, raw materials, environmental protection or climate change are posing immense challenges for our company. Specialist foundation engineering in particular plays a decisive role in determining whether and how the foundations will be laid for the world of tomorrow. And with our products, we aim to make a contribution in that regard.”

Then Prof. Dr. Sebastian Bauer (BAUER Maschinen GmbH) gave a presentation about reducing CO₂ in specialist foundation engineering equipment using new drive systems, followed by Dr. Andreas Ziegler (BAUER Maschinen GmbH) who discussed various assistance systems with a particular focus on Stability Plus. 

As the day continued, certified geotechnical engineer Dr. Ralf Plinninger (Dr. Plinninger Geotechnik) spoke about geotechnical documentation of pile borings on the site. “Soil improvement measures supported by innovative systems” was the title of the lecture block offered by Martin Walser (Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH) together with Mario Schliefke (Schliefke GEOPIER GmbH) and Philipp Dietrich (Otto Quast Bauunternehmen GmbH & Co. KG) in the form of practical reports. 

Legal expert Prof. Dr. Günther Schalk addressed the risk of construction soil in specialist foundation engineering. He was followed by Roland Pfister (BRC Engineering AG) with his presentation on “Brextor: A quantum leap in pile head handling”. The lecture series was concluded by Markus Helm (Hochtief Infrastructure GmbH) with his remarks on the topic “Specialist foundation engineering – an important component of large-scale infrastructure projects”. 

With more than 160 participants and 15 exhibitors, the event set a new record. In future, the VDBUM industry meeting for specialist foundation engineering will be held annually and at alternating locations among the members of the association. 

And what do the participants have to say? “Personally, I liked the strong involvement of companies and people from the industry,” says Bodo Berendt, Head of Sales & Service for Equipment Technology at terra infrastructure GmbH. “The networking evening here was a great opportunity to talk with customers, partners or specialist colleagues. On top of that, there’s the high quality of the expert lectures, which also addressed peripheral issues such as construction soil risk, as well as the meeting location, which enabled strong dialog among participants. The successful mix of conference, exhibition and friendly get-together made for a relaxed atmosphere.”