ThyssenKrupp Hoesch Bausysteme GmbH is to supply 80,000 square meters of Thermodach construction elements with Triplex joints for a new plant of the South African chipboard manufacturer PG Bison Ltd. The elements will be used to build the roofs of a multi-section building complex for the plant's production facilities. A key factor in the choice of the product was the innovative sealing concept of the Triplex joint offering improved protection against condensation among other things. The first delivery from the Leipzig plant of ThyssenKrupp Hoesch Bausysteme GmbH will arrive on the construction site in South Africa in October.

PG Bison is a subsidiary of the Steinhoff group and South Africa's largest manufacturer of wood products. The new plant costing around 150 million euros is being built near the town of Ugie in Eastern Cape province. It will produce some 1,000 cubic meters of board a day. During production, the heat and humidity levels in the buildings are high, which can lead to condensation on the underside of the roof. Dripping water would seriously affect the production process. The Thermodach roofing elements from ThyssenKrupp Hoesch Bausysteme prevent this with first-class insulating properties and a new three-part sealing concept.

Thermodach sandwich elements consist of a rigid polyurethane (PUR) foam insulating core and outer and inner panels made of galvanized steel sheet. A sealing strip attached to the outer panel ensures that surface water cannot penetrate. Minor tolerances of the kind that can always occur in building are offset by a central sealing strip on the rigid foam core. A third sealing strip on the inner panel completes the vapour barrier and prevents condensation from forming in the joints between the elements.

Another advantage of the Thermodach elements is that the PUR core is slightly bevelled in the joint area, allowing them to fit together easily during installation and be subsequently bolted to the substructure. Previously, sandwich elements of this type had to be pressed against each other with a special tool and bolted under pressure - a complicated and hazardous job especially at such a height.

ThyssenKrupp Hoesch Bausysteme is supplying Thermodach elements with a 40 millimetre thick PUR core and a total height of 75 millimetres for the new PG Bison plant. The elements are coated with the corrosion-resistant aluminium-zinc alloy Galvalume. Staff from ThyssenKrupp Hoesch Bausysteme will be on site in South Africa to supervise the start of construction.

This press release is also to be found under www.thyssenkrupp-steel.de