Durability meets naturalness.
ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTION
We give planners EPDs for our products in order to enable them to assess sustainability aspects. An EPD describes building materials, products, or components in terms of their environmental impact and their functional and technical properties. This quantitative, objective, and verified information relates to the entire life cycle of the building product. When it comes to sustainable construction, buildings are examined and assessed in terms of their environmental, economic, and social aspects. Thanks to the EPD certificates for building materials, products, and components – which meet the standards set out in ISO 14025 and EN 15804 – the environmental aspect can be included in the sustainability assessment of buildings.
+ EPD Ceramic FacadesPHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS INTEGRATED INTO THE FACADE
We see ourselves as an architecture partner. Turning the planners’ ideas into reality is our number one priority. Our team of technicians and developers is constantly working on optimizing our production processes and installation systems. For example, we have recently improved the design of our fastening systems so that they can accommodate photovoltaic panels instead of tile elements.
+ Photovoltaic integrationVALUE RETENTION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Besides the various design possibilities, the best insulation values can be achieved with our tile facades. The thickness of the insulation material beneath the brick tiles can be varied in any number of ways, making it possible to meet all standards of a KfW Efficiency House or a similar passive house. A well-insulated building shell cuts heating costs and helps to reduce carbon emissions, thereby mitigating climate change. Unlike other forms of exterior insulation, the rear-ventilated facade with rainscreen cladding allows the wall to breathe, helping to create a healthy climate in the building’s rooms.
“Up to 80% of our raw materials come from the immediate vicinity. All areas will subsequently be renatured. For us that means: Restoring agricultural land, converting it into a biotope or creating areas for local recreation.”
Walter Riebesecker, environmental and water protection officer
REWILDING AFTER CLAY MINING
Approximately 1,000 metric tons of raw material are processed in our plant every day. The clay and sand used in brick production primarily come from local deposits. When mining clay, the fertile topsoil is stripped away. The clay layers are extracted and used for local production. Once a field is no longer producing a high yield or the quality of the clay is no longer sufficient, the rewilding of the area can start immediately. The pits are recultivated. Various options are available here. The most suitable is chosen based on the location. For example, the mined areas can either be replanted to restore them to their original condition, used as agricultural cultivation areas, or transformed into valuable biotopes or recreation areas in consultation with the local environmental authorities.
Regenerative Energy
Energy is a significant production and cost factor for us. We need various energy suppliers, including electricity and gas. Our long-term aim is to produce as much of the required energy as possible ourselves. We currently need 22 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year in our plant. In an initial step, we have therefore installed photovoltaic panels with an output of 4,718 kWp on our factory roofs in recent years, enabling us to generate around 5,350,000 kWh per year.
We also always try to reduce our energy needs by optimizing processes. One such example involves internal heat recovery. This is the result of the efficient conversion of our plants. In this process, the warm exhaust air produced during firing is drawn away at the end of the roller kiln. The exhaust air is then fed into the drying chambers via pipes, which means that no additional energy is required to heat them. This heat source is also used to heat our plants.
Energy from wind power
One current major project involves the construction of a company-owned wind turbine, which could generate 8.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The project is currently in the planning and approval phase and is set to be realized in accordance with environmental and species protection regulations. The planned turbine is approx. 250 meters tall, while the diameter of the rotor blade is 160 meters. The envisaged location is within the industrial park on our company premises. It is a rewilded clay mining field that is currently used for agriculture.
The company would use around 85.1 percent of the electricity, with the remainder being fed into the local grid because generation and consumption are not 100 percent synchronous. In the long term, the energy is expected to be used entirely for production with the aid of electricity storage systems.
“In the past three years we have installed PV modules on all available roof areas. The next step is to start building a wind turbine. Our short-term goal is to cover up to 60% of our electricity needs with our own regenerative energy.”
Claus Girnghuber, Owner
Zero Waste Production
Another important aspect is the avoidance of production waste. Bricks that break during manufacture are returned to the production process according to type. Alternatively, broken bricks can be used for numerous other purposes.Further use is possible as aggregate in concrete, as filling or bulk material in road construction and civil engineering, as a substrate in landscape gardening, as a material for refilling pits and quarries, as a component in the construction of noise barriers, and as brick powder and sand on tennis courts. Our plant is also registered under the Interseroh disposal system as number 25055. By recycling materials that are needed for production and logistics, such as paper and mixed plastics, it is possible to save around 290 metric tons of resources per year, while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 43,822 kilograms (according to the certificate for 2020).
Reuse and replacement possible
With straightforward handling during installation, durable materials (brick tiles and aluminum substructure), and maintenance-free systems, the MOEDING ceramic facade is particularly efficient and suitable for constructing new facades and renovating existing ones on all types of buildings. If the facade suffers any damage, individual tiles can always be replaced. All data on colors and shapes are recorded in detail by MOEDING, making it possible to reproduce new tiles at any time. The simple installation concept allows the tiles to be individually removed and replaced. Accordingly, it is also possible to reuse tile elements that have been detached from a building on another facade in the exact same form – together with the aluminum substructure.