At bauma 2004 The Hess Group introduced the “linear Concept” to the concrete block making industry. This machine was truly a concept machine, a vision of the future from one of the major block machine manufacturers. This was the first time that a concrete block machine manufacturing company has gone public on their technical aims and aspirations. The machine’s pallet size was based on the standard American block machine producing 6 - 4 inch (100 mm) blocks on a steel production pallet. After bauma the machine was displayed at several other shows before it came back to the Hess headquarters for further development, dry test runs and production trials. The next stage in development came in 2007. Forticrete Limited (part of the CRH group) in Thornley, (in the North East of England), was in need to replace their machine, and Hess needed a partner to operate the machine in a production environment. The decision was taken to install the Hess linear concept in Thornley. The challenge was to install a genuine prototype which had worked well, but only in test conditions, in a demanding production environment. The, already, close working relationship between Forticrete and Hess was an important element in the project. At Thornley Forticrete makes close textured colored architectural blocks, many of which are shot blasted or polished afterwards. These processes are unforgiving and expose any flaws in the productions. Much useful information for subsequent machine development was gained from this corporation.
Contact
Hess Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG Freier-Grund-Straße 123 57299 Burbach-Wahlbach, Germany T +49 2736 49760 F +49 2736 497620 info@hessgroup.com www.hessgroup.com Forticrete Ltd Thornley Station Industrial Estate Salters Lane Shotton Colliery Durham, DH6 2QA, UK T +44 1429 838001 F +44 1429 836206 www.forticrete.co.uk info@forticrete.com
