Leading textile machinery builder Karl Mayer recently met with state government officials to discuss sustainable construction and how the group can help with its innovative textile technologies.

To protect our environment, we must save CO2. This imperative necessity is now also enshrined in law and is at the top of the agenda of many politicians across all departments, Karl Myer explains. This is also the case for Wolfram Günther, Saxony's Minister of State for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture. The government representative and his head of department for energy and climate protection, Dr Nils Geißler, visited Karl Mayer Technische Textilien GmbH on 7 January 2022 to find out about opportunities for greater sustainability in the construction industry.

The company, based in Chemnitz, manufactures machines primarily for producing textiles for reinforcing composites and concrete. One of its customers in the field of concrete reinforcement, Hitexbau Sachsen GmbH from Oberlungwitz, also took part in the meeting with Wolfram Günther.

The politician was impressed by the potential for innovation in Saxony in the field of lightweight construction, which Karl Mayer Technical Textiles also represents. In particular, the company's role as a driving force in the wind power sector through its technology for producing non-crimp fabrics caught his attention. According to the Minister of State, the Free State expects a significant push in this field in the next few years, especially in view of the explosive dependence of the energy supply on fossil fuels.

In order to exploit the sustainability potential of ‘carbon concrete’, the politician and the industry representatives discussed tangible measures for the market penetration of the innovative building material, in particular the promotion of the use of carbon concrete in public construction projects.

The sustainable building material is to be included in the positive list of the Saxon Real Estate and Construction Management. The state-owned enterprise plans and implements public construction projects of the Free State. At the same time, the evaluation of building materials in tenders for public construction projects must be revised. In addition to the price, the CO2 balance over the entire life cycle and the service life must also be taken into account in future – a procedure in which carbon concrete scores significantly better than reinforced concrete.

During a tour of Karl Mayer Technische Textilien's technical centre, the Minister of State learned how the textile grid structures for carbon reinforced concrete are manufactured. Hitexbau also used production samples to show what is made from them - among other things, reinforcements for the renovation of floors in multi-storey car parks.

A look at the practical applications made it clear that carbon reinforcements can be used in many ways and are economically viable, especially in view of their service life of over 100 years.

www.karlmayer.com