Originally purchased in 1996 for the German plant in Melle, the ball mill has been used to crush or grind sand. It operated there until the Melle plant closed in 2002 and the mill was relocated to Wedel. When the Wedel site closed at the end of 2023, the question arose: what would happen to the mill? Should it be scrapped or can it be reused? Josef Rohlf, Project Manager Technical Department at Xella Baustoffe, together with Andreas van Briel, CTO Market Area NWE & Head of Group Plant Engineering & Technology, had the idea of repurposing the mill.
An idea becomes a plan
During a visit with our French team in the AAC-plant in Mios in early 2024, the idea developed further into a plan: the ball mill should be used as a replacement for the local, “aging” machinery. “Together with our French colleagues Patrice André, project lead, and Cédric Beaubois, Maintenance Manager Xella France, we found a solution that allowed us to reuse the entire mill setup, including the building and crane”, Josef Rohlf, who has led the project on the technical site, reports. This was only possible because the building was originally constructed using prefabricated components, especially Hebel wall panels, which can easily be dismantled and reassembled without causing any damage or generating waste. And thus, the sustainable idea became a reality thanks to intelligent Xella products and international cooperation.