Hünnebeck, a company group belonging to ThyssenKrupp Serv AG and one of Germany`s biggest and longest-standing formwork and scaffold companies, has received the National Innovation Award of the German Federal Minister of Economics for its "Gekko" mastclimbing bracket scaffold. The award was conferred for the 15th time and presented by Dr. Alfred Tacke, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economics and Social Affairs, to Hünnebeck General Manager Martin Grunert during a ceremony at the International Trade Fair for SMEs (IHM) in Munich on March 19, 2003. "We are very proud of this award. It pays tribute not only to the high level of development work by our design engineers, but also to our enterprise in going new ways. In the shape of Gekko we are now offering our customers a scaffold that consistently eliminates all the obstacles that a conventional frame scaffold inevitably has for design reasons. The outcome is a scaffold that is perfectly adapted to the needs and requirements of painters, façade workers and stucco craftsmen", enthuses Martin Grunert.

Both craft and industrial enterprises that develop and produce capital goods were eligible to compete. This year, 59 companies went into the running for the National Innovation Award. Worth a purse of 5,000 euros, the purpose of the award is to sharpen the performance and competitiveness of crafts and trades.

Gekko - flexible, yet uncomplicated

The Gekko working and protective scaffold developed in Hünnebeck`s think-tank and designed for scaffold classes 3 and 4 dispenses entirely with inner posts. It consists of aluminum masts, to which brackets can be suspended at any desired height, without fixed distances between levels - even on both sides of the mast, if desired.

For painters, façade workers and stucco craftsmen, this offers the unique advantage of continuously unobstructed access to the wall. Unlike a conventional frame scaffold, the Gekko working levels can also be changed at any time and varied in height from one field to the next. This degree of flexibility pays off particularly if different working heights are required by different trades. Moreover, roofing specialists will be happy to see that they only have to lay planks in those areas where they are really needed, i.e. only at the top. This saves time and scaffold materials. Since there are no inner posts on Gekko, but only the outer columns, even articulated façades can be scaffolded with ease.

Because of its straightforward handling and assembly, Gekko is particularly suitable for craftsmen who don`t have day-to-day experience with scaffolds. No Gekko element weighs more than 20 kg and all the scaffold components are joined together with simple plug-and-socket connections.

Universal applications

Its flexibility is also demonstrated by the varied applications of the Gekko scaffold. Oriels, corners and projections do not need to be built around with the otherwise usual extra and special parts. Where the supporting surface has different heights, e.g. roads on steep slopes, cellar steps or shafts, the scaffold can be adapted with base jacks without the need for any extra parts. Buildings protected as monuments benefit particularly if scaffolded with Gekko. Gekko, for instance, has been used for the restoration of the entrance façade of Hermsdorf Art Palace near Dresden, in the construction of which Dresden`s legendary city architect George Bähr was involved. For this, Gekko materials were used to construct a 19 m long and 18 m tall working scaffold with each level at precisely the demanded height.

On a project in Gütersloh, Gekko also demonstrated its strengths on a building listed as a monument. Here, the timber frame of old half-timbered school was restored, with virtually all of the beams having to be replaced. The craftsmen, working at just the right heights, were able to handle the wooden beams quickly and with ease, without being impeded in their work by inner posts.

Contact:
ThyssenKrupp Serv AG
Ulrike Grönefeld
Phone. +49(0)211/967-5792
Fax +49(0)211/967-5483
Email groenefeld@tkserv.thyssenkrupp.com