Issue 47 ∙ December 2017 The latest news magazine from the Group

Dear readers of the 47thNAUE News, The photo shows the cur-rent state of our construc-tion projects at Espelkamp-Fiestel, Germany. We have now moved into the new QC building with its fl oor area of 800m², and all the test equipment for Bento-fix® geosynthetic clay lin-ers (GCL), Secutex® and Ter-rafix® nonwovens and Car-

bofol® geomembranes is up and running. The new building for theCarbofol® geomembrane isalready in use. The innovative7.50m wide, fl at extrusion line and the proven 5.10mwide geomembrane line have been put up and are running in regular shifts. All impor-tant certifi cations for our wide range of geomembrane products have been issued. The results of

the friction tests on our newlydeveloped, structured geo-membranes exceed expec-tations. They confirm their superb frictional behaviour against interfaces such as ele-ments as different as drainage composites, protective layers, GCLs and even mineral layerssuch as sand and clay. To achieve very good creep-rupture behaviour with the new structure too, the surface

texture is based on theregularly arranged embossed structures of the well proven Carbofol® products.The photo shows the for-mation layer for the ex-tension to the storage areacurrently under construc-tion for our geomembranes.When the work is com-pleted at the beginning of December, a further 5,000m² of storage areawill be available.Next year we are planningto demolish the last ofthe old buildings to makespace for a further admin-istration building and forroofed storage areas. Sincehigher inventory levels willthen be possible, we willbe able to reduce lead times significantly and thus en-sure better product avail-ability, especially during thesummer months.We would like to take this opportunity to thank in particular all involved staff members for their hard work

in the relocation of theTönisberg site to Fiestel. We were only able to meet this challenge jointly, and with their extraordinary support.On 1st December 2017 wecelebrated the 25th anniver-sary of the production site in Adorf, Germany. We ac-quired the former VOWETEXspinning plant in Adorf direct-ly after the reunification ofthe two German republics.The textile know-how in Adorf, and many new productideas, have been responsiblefor the very satisfactory de-velopment of the site. Adorf today employs 97 people.And the next major invest-ment is planned for 2018. Due to the great demand forour Secugrid®/Combigrid® rein-forcement products, a newSecugrid® production line isbeing added to increase capac-ity at Adorf. Construction work will begin in the spring of 2018. This year the environmental management system for our production sites in Germany

was successfully certified by the TÜV Nord according to DIN EN ISO 14001:2015. We are now one of the approximately 8,000 companies/organizations in Germany for which inde-pendent verification confirms that environmental concerns are observed systematically and with the necessary care. So not only do our products protect the environment and significantly contribute to areduction of CO2

in comparison to conventional constructionmethods, but the manufacture of the products also ensures that the environmental impact isreduced to a minimum.

After this eventful year we would like to wish all readers of NAUE News a relaxing,peaceful Christmas and a good start in 2018. We would like to thank all our customers for the trust they have placed in us, and all our employees for their dedication and commitment.

The Management

Preamble

CONTENTGCL-sealed detention basins enable townto continue growing

Three-dimensional drainage composites secure bridgeabutments

Better landfi llengineering inShenzhen with NAUE

Revitalizing Minden’s lock system with soil reinforcement

Competence and vision

Landfi ll temporary cover geomembranes reused on another site

Further information:www.naue.com

Terrafix® sand mat protects world cultural heritage underwaterThe pile dwellings in upper Lake Zurich, Switzerland originated 4000 years ago and were awarded the status of a UNESCO World HeritageSite in 2011. Natural ero-sion and the turbulence creat-ed by the busy shipping wereendangering these unique structures in the shallow wa-ter zone. With the help of Terrafix® geotextile filter and protection sand mats they were secured for posterity.Prehistoric buildings are anirreplaceable source for re-search work. At Lake Zurich it became clear that only if we are successful in protecting these sites in the long term will

future researchers also have a chance of using new technolo-gies to shed further light on the history of mankind. The archaeologists of the Can-ton of St. Gallen were there-fore looking for ways to se-cure the pile dwellings over an area of 1,400m² in the long term without damag-ing delicate objects in the lake mud. After numerous in-vestigations and loading teststhe solution was found at SYTEC Bausysteme AG, the Swiss partner of NAUE GmbH & Co. KG: the Ter-rafix® sand mat. This geo-composite material with its geotextile components and a

sand ballast layer was easily placed directly from the roll over the areas to be protect-ed. It was then covered with 20cm of gravel.

New applicationTerrafix® is a fibre-rein forced, polypropylene sand mat which is mechanicallybonded over its entire surface area. The sand entrapped be- tween two nonwovens is held firmly in place by the fibres. The high specific weight of the encapsulated sand layer is responsible for a good sink behaviour, enabling speedy, controlled placing under wa-ter and ensuring high posi-

tional stability. In addi-tion, the Terrafix® sand mat has excellent fil-ter characteristics. Thisgeocomposite was originallydeveloped for the preventionof the underwater erosionof slopes and of river, lake and sea-beds, especially underturbulent fl ow conditions.

Thanks to an impressive rangeof products for a wide va-riety of applications, and the expertise and experience ac-quired over many years with countless projects, here too, SYTEC was able to propose a practically feasible and af-fordable solution for this un-

usual challenge.

Location:Pile dwellings atRapperswil-Jona

Client:Archaeology Section ofthe Canton of St. Gallen

Project Management:HSR University of Applied Sciences, Rapperswil

Competence centre forplastics in construction KIB

Contractor:Kibag Bauleistungen AG

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Three-dimensional drainage composites secure bridge abutmentsThe long development history for Münster’s bypasses is finally drawing to a close

Bypass roads often have a long history, and this has certainly been the case for Münster’s southeast bypass in Germany. Bridges make up the main structures, and a premium has been placed on longevity in performance.Secudrain® WAS 7 has provided substantial value here. The three-dimension-al drainage mats, installedagainst the soil-filled bridge abutments and wing struc-tures, ensure protection against water damage.

The first plans for a Münster bypass go back to the 1930s. The B51 road was opened in 1962 and was already over-loaded by 1965. In 1967, the present-day alignment of a southeast bypass was decidedupon; the implementation wascarried out in stages: 1994, 2001, and since 2015. This third and final section of work is scheduled for com-

pletion in the early 2020s at a cost of 98.2 million euros. A section of the existing B51 will be widened to 4 lanes, and a new northern extension (B481n) will be built.

Protection for structures in contact with soilThe most complex structures along the ring road are the bridges. The intersection of the B51 with Wolbecker Road provides a strong example. There, the widening to four lanes necessitates a com-pletely new bridge struc-ture with several ramps and entry/exit lanes. The anchor points of all the brid-ges are the abutments. These are soil-filled and thus dif-ficult to access if repairs arerequired. At the same time,they are particularly vul-nerable, because rainwater fl ows off the road and seeps through the soil into the area around the structure.

In the long term, water infiltration could damage the concrete structure and jeopardize the structural strength of the bridge. For this reason, precipitation must be effectively and permanently led away. Thereference drawing "Drain-age at soil-structure interfacesand backfi lling of struc-tures”, WAS 7" (German title:Entwässerung erdberührter Flächen und Hinterfüllung von Bauwerken), of the Federal Highway Research Institute describes how this is to be achieved.

The basic task is per-formed by a three-dimension-al drainage composite. The

drainage core is protected by a nonwoven filter lam-inated to both faces. For the B51 – Wolbecker Road junction bridge, Secudrain® WAS 7 has been used.

This product was developed specifi cally for applicationsgoverned by WAS 7 guide-lines. In Münster, this unique type of Secudrain® was in-stalled in the bridge abut-ments and wing structures.To meet the requirementsof WAS 7, the Secudrain®was specified at ≥ 5mmthick and with an ensureddrainage capacity of q ≥ 0.3l/(s·m). The highly weather-resistant drainage com-posite offered an effec-

tive opening size of thenonwoven fi lter of 0.09mm and the water permeabil-ity was 100 times that of the backfi ll soil (per requirement).

Secudrain® WAS 7 evenexceeded some of these re-quirements.

Easy to installSecudrain® is easy to in-stall. Panels are placedwith their drainage cores butt-jointed and affixed with shot dowels. The prescribedoverlap is ensured by an approx. 10 cm wide nonwovenoverlap strip. At the edges,this strip is simply foldedover, thus ensuring the re-quired full-area filter. This

saves time and money. Each panel is laid fl at to the foot of the abutment and joined thereto a collector pipe which is connected to the outlet pipe. Where it is permissible for the water to seep into the subsoil, no such joining is necessary.Another special feature ofSecudrain® WAS 7 is the core with its pressureresistant un-dulating structure. This pro-vides the required drainagecapacity of 0.3l/(s·m) for bridge abutments up to ap-prox. 12m in height.

2,000m² of Secudrain® were installed in Münster. They en-sure a long-term, controlled dis-charge of any seepage water.

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Did you know…?Environmental managementsystem ISO 14001

As a company whose products are used throughout the world, NAUE has practised a respon-sible approach to the environ-ment for nearly 50 years now. In order to be well prepared to confront future environmental challenges, we had set our-selves the target of introduc-ing NAUE into a system of en-vironmental management inaccordance with the ISO 14001 standard. In June, the TÜV Nord confirmed that we had achieved this. ISO 14001 is the globally accepted and ap-plied standard for environ-mental management systems. The standard was published in 1996 by the International Standards Organisation and last amended in 2015. We are pleased that NAUE is now one of more than 8,000 organisa-tions in Germany and 320,000 organisations throughout the world which have implementedan environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001! With this, we extend our existing quality and energy processes to include the topic of environment and strongly emphasize our values as a green company in the truest sense of the word.

GCL-sealed detentionbasins enable town to continue growing

Horley, which is located near the border of Surrey and West Sussex in the United Kingdom, has drawncontinual development in-terest due to its convenientconnections to major met-ropolitan areas and trans-portation options. It also has its own thriving econ-omy and local amenities.The town is five minutesfrom Gatwick Airport and45 minutes from the southcoast resorts. With fast,round-the-clock railway links to London, it remains a big draw for commuters.To support the next phaseof Horley’s development, a proposal for a major new de-velopment known as WestVale was accepted. The sitewould support 1,500+ homes,a new primary school, and a neighbourhood centre with shops, pubs/restaurants, and other community facilities.A consortium of four main partners – Crest Nicholson, A2Dominion, Taylor Wimpeyand Persimmon – secured over£40 million for infrastructureand service improvements on the 99 hectare development.Phase I of the project inclu-ded roughly 600 residential properties, but the irregular

crescent-shape land area of the overall development, which was an undulating, former arable field in near proximity to the River Mole, presented fl ood planning concerns. Final approval forPhase I was contingent uponthe development team be-ing able to demonstrate asatisfactory control of po-tential fl ood waters.The Borough Council requesteddrainage works that could store and gradually release fl ood water at the same rate as water had discharged in the area prior to develop-ment. WSP Parsons Brincker-hoff, serving as the consulting engineering firm, proposeda system of four detentionbasins to provide attenuationwith water quality treatmentand a fl ow control device ineach basin to manage dis-charge into the river.A geosynthetic clay linersystem was specified to pro-vide the essential seal in each basin. The ponds, which were excavated to an averagedepth of around 6m, were proposed with 20 – 25%inclines. NAUE carried out the slope stability analysis to ensure the lining system was compatible with the site’s

engineering needs. Factoring in the underlying geology (Alluvium, River Gravels, and London Clay) and the planned usage of cement stabilised fill materials, Bentofix® X2 NSP 4900 was chosen.This type of Bentofix® GCL is characterized by a uni-form layer of natural sodium bentonite powder encapsu-lated between two strong and durable polypropylene geotextile layers – one layer woven and the other non-woven. Importantly, a poly-ethylene coating is bonded to the woven layer. For Horley, it meant thatprior to hydration an imme-diate low permeability barrier would be created and coun-

teract any incompatibility between the sodium bentonite and the cementitious backfill.The 5m wide Bentofix® rolls were delivered to site andinstalled quickly and effi-ciently with 30cm overlaps by Breheny Civil Engineer-ing, the project’s contractor. Though the GCL solution was significantly thinner than a conventional compacted clay layer would be — 6mm thick-ness for the GCL versus 500 mm thickness for a compa-rable compacted clay layer — the GCL provided equiv-alent or greater sealing performance. The uniquefibre-bonding process with the needlepunched nonwo-ven fibres of Bentofix® also

provided high internal shear strength and creep resistance that secured the GCL on the slope in ways that a com-pacted clay system could not match. Furthermore,each truckload of GCL in-cluded 4,000m2 of material; whereas, a truckload of a traditional clay lining would cover just 25m2. In these ways, the GCL saved con-siderable time and moneyfor the construction works, as well as providing a bet-ter carbon footprint for the development.Roughly 30,000m2 of Ben-tofix® X2 were installedduring West Vale’s Phase I activities.

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Three-dimensional drainage composites secure bridge abutmentsThe long development history for Münster’s bypasses is finally drawing to a close

Revitalizing Minden’s lock system with soil reinforcementProject historySince 1914, the shaft lock in Min-den, Germany has made possible the ascent and descent of ships between the Weser and the intersecting Mit-tellandkanal, which is 13m higher. However, the waterways’ increas-ing traffic and the ever-larger in-land-waterway vessels using the lock made it clear that the original design, which had provided a strong technical service life for 100+ years, had finally reached its limit. The old lock was preserved and transitioned into a monument. A new, parallel Weser lock was designed to improvethe navigability of the waterway junction for large motorized freight ships. Contractor Johann Bunte Bauunternehmung GmbH & Co. KG was charged by the New Construc-tion Office in Hanover with the con-

struction of the Weser Lock in Min-den (at a cost of approximately 70 million euros). For the construction of a new access road over the exist-ing and the new lock area, subsoil improvement was necessary in the area of a planned bridging ramp to the old shaft lock. Excessive defor-mation of the original, cantilevered retaining walls meant those struc-tural elements needed to be demol-ished. Supplementary soil investiga-tions determined the primary cause of the deformation in the old walls: soft layers at depth in the subsoil.

Project boundary conditionand design conceptDue to the geometrical conditions on site and the planned soil im-provement method, the installation of a geogrid-reinforced load-dis-

tributing layer over piles had to be carried out at two different eleva-tions. The lower reinforcement lay-er was located at 41m a.s.l. in the area of the bridge abutment, and at 44m a.s.l. around 11m in front of the bridge. The planned maximum embankment height of 46.5m thus results in an overburden height of 5.5m or 2.5m. On account of the construction schedule, a 50cm thick crushed aggregate sub-baselayer was placed as a working platform for the piling rig, and an approximately 15cm thick level-ling layer was to be installed on top of the piles below the geogrid. Reinforced-concrete bored piles from Botec Spezialtiefbau GmbH were used as soil improvement in the area of the bridge approach ramp in front of the old shaft lock.

These bored piles were 0.75m in diameter and were placed at a max-imum centre-to-cent-re distance of 2.6m in pile axis. The uniaxial geogrid reinforcement was placed crosswise in both longitudinal and transverse direction of the structure on a 15cm thick sand levelling layer on top of the pile caps.

DesignThe geogrid reinforce-ment was designed tak-ing EBGEO (2010) into account for the determi-nation of the maximum stresses. The method de-scribed in EBGEO (2010)

is based on fundamentals set out by Zaeske (2001), which details both a complex verification procedure and a simplified solution for a catenary equation on which the loads are concentrated. The load which “pene-trates” the soil arch, acts initially as a uniformly distributed load on top of the membrane. The loads are then redistributed to a reinforcement strip between the vertical bear-ing elements. In the EBGEO model, this results in a triangular-shapedloading function for the reinforce-ment strip. For the simplified me-thod, Zaeske (2001) gives an ex-ample as well as a nomogram based on evaluations of the simplifieddifferential equations, with which the stresses and strains in the geo-synthetic can be determined for thecase of infinitely rigid vertical sup-port elements. As already men-tioned, this method has been adoptedin EBGEO, and the nomogram can be found there. For normal traf-fic loads in road construction, themethod already leads to conservative results. The subsoil bedding can be taken into account when this methodis used. The boundary conditions for the application of the method are defined by a relationship between the bedding modulus of the bearingelement ks,T and the modulus ofsubgrade reaction of the soil ks as follows: ks,T / ks > 75.

Execution of construction worksTo reduce the settlement of the em-bankment, a geogrid reinforced soil body was constructed over the ver-tical bearing members. Secugrid® HS laid and welded geogrids made

of high tenacity polyester multi-filaments with an extruded poly-ethylene protective sheath were used as the reinforcing elements. Against non-reinforced embank-ments the carried out solution with Secugrid® HS offers the advantage that consolidation processes of the soft subgrade layers have almost no infl uence on the settlement of the embankment and settlements in gen-eral are rather small. A further ad-vantage of the carried out solution is, that time- and cost- intensive trans-port of additional fill material as preload or for compensation of dif-ferential settlements can be omitted. In the direct vicinity of the bridgeabutment with a planned maxi-mum embankment height of 5.5m, the lower reinforcement layer con-sisted of a laid and welded geo-grid with a short-term strength of 1200kN/m (Secugrid® HS 1200/100 R6) installed transverse to the em-bankment axis and a laid and welded geogrid with a short-term strength of 800kN/m (Secugrid® HS 800/100 R6) placed parallel to the axis. In the area with a lower over-burden height of 2.5m, a laid and welded geogrid with a short-term strength of 800kN/m (Secugrid® HS 800/100 R6) was placed in both longitudinal and transverse direc-tions. At the edges of the reinforced area, the geogrids were wrapped into the embankment with the de-signed anchorage length. With the described and executedsolution the soil improvement mea-sure could successfully be comple-ted and the project was finally han-ded over to the client in due time.

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Better landfill engineering in Shenzhen with NAUEShenzhen is one of Chi-na’s many cities on a fast modernization track. Notunexpectedly, the city’s rapidindustrial and residential growth has created numer-ous environmental quality challenges. The Hong Hua Ling Landfill is a unique piece of Shenzhen’s devel-opment, for the landfill exemplifies not only the challenges of the city's past waste practices but how its future is being protected.Hong Hua Ling has operated for years, accepting many types of waste streams, in-cluding types of wastes con-sidered more sensitive (e.g., medical wastes). To correct this old approach, a modern expansion was called for. The subsequent 140,000m2

expansion design has enabledthe site to handle nearly half of the total waste dis-posal of Shenzhen’s Long-gang area, including accepting 1,600 tonnes of waste daily. The expanded area’s lining system was initially designedwith a double-lined base, but geological analysis foundthat an existing clay layer of 2.3m – 5.9m with low

permeability could act as a secondary barrier. The pri-mary liner, though, needed to be a high-quality geo-synthetic solution. HDPE geomembrane was specified, with 1.5mm and 2.0mm thick geomembranesselected for use in variouszones. The project engineersused numerous guidelines in making their material characteristic and thicknessdecisions, including the CJ/T-234 Guideline on High Den-sity Polyethylene (HDPE) forLandfills and the GB16889-2008 Standard for Pollution Control on the Landfill Site for Municipal Solid Waste.Carbofol® HDPE geo-membranes were utilizedthroughout the site.At the base, a smooth Carbo-fol® liner was selected whilean embossed, structuredsurface Carbofol® geomem-brane was chosen for the sloped areas over co-ex-truded or sprayed-on struc-tured surface geomem-brane. The advantages of interface friction perfor-mance is i.a. due to struc-ture and homogeneousness of the membrane surface.

The use of this HDPE geo-membrane also provided theoperational and constructionbenefits that the design en-gineering team wanted: highstress crack resistance, a high Melt Flow Rate to en-able strong welding perfor-mance, excellent chemical resistance, etc. Drainage netting was usedas the leak detection layerand as a drainage layerbelow the aggregate. These drainage layers also have a dual function of protecting the Carbofol® HDPE geo-membrane from potential puncture damage. Addition-al protection was providedby a robust geotextile layer situated between the HDPE geomembrane and the thick clay subgrade. The construction works at the Hong Hua Ling Landfillwere executed on a very tight schedule, due to the pressure for the fast-grow-ing area to have the mas-sive expansion in oper-ation as soon as possi-ble. The initial works wereperformed with 50,000m2 of geomembrane from an-other manufacturer, but then

the remaining 250,000m2 ofrequired geomembranes weresupplied by NAUE GmbH. This created a point of cau-tion where the differing manufacturer HDPE formu-lations needed to be welded together. The agreement inthe Melt Flow Rate was crit-ical, and analysis found the MFRs of the materials to be similar enough to prevent panels breaking apart. Furthermore, air pressure tests were conducted on the panel

joints to verify weld tightness.Another area on which the contractor and consultant hadto pay extra attention regard-ing the construction method-ology used with the curvedslopes. The budget was con-strained, which meant strict control of materials. The teamfound that constructing the slope with panels parallel to the slope could save on mate-rial, as some of the rolls that were cut could be used at the curve given the panels were

cut in a shorter width with less wastage on the cutting. The downside of this approachwas that it required greaterfield welding of materials, but these welds were all monitored and verified by theconstruction and CQA team to ensure weld quality.

The Hong Hua Ling Landfillexpansion will provide a total capacity of 2,080,000 tonnes of waste storage.

GCL-sealed detentionbasins enable town to continue growing

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The information contained herein is the best to our knowledge, true and accurate. There is no implied or expressed warranty. ©2017 by NAUE GmbH & Co. KG, Espelkamp-Fiestel, Germany · All rights reserved.Editor: Management. Implementation: Department for Marketing. Circulation: 450, Design/Production: TwoTypes. Alsweder Straße 19, 32312 Lübbecke, Germany. Reproduction, including extracts, may only be made with the prior permission of the publisher.

Temporary and final coverdetails from the Halle-Künsebeck II landfill nearBielefeld, Germany.Landfills go through phases: Filling, closure, settlement, fi-nal cover, and recultivation. Geomembranes make impor-tant contributions to thesephases – including, in this case, the ability to be reused on an additional site. The Waste-Dis-posal Company of the Gütersloh district (GEG) sold the tempo-rary geosynthetic cover of the Halle-Künsebeck landfill on to another project, as the geo-membrane was still fully func-tional. This high-quality cover was manufactured by NAUE; so, it went without question that NAUE materials were also used in the final cover system.GEG decommissioned the main Halle-Künsebeck II landfill in Bielefeld in 1999. In 2000, the rear area of the landfill was temporarily sealed with a 2.0mm thick Carbofol® geo-membrane to prevent ingress of precipitation and to min-imise seepage water at the landfill’s base. Any leachate had to be transported by tank-er to a treatment plant 40km away. Preventing leachategeneration became a priority.A geosynthetic temporarycover could easily achieve this. As such, the time for the amortization of the temporary

seal was short and numerous leachate transports were saved.The final cover system was implemented in two stages between 2015 and 2017, af-ter settlement had abated. The three-layer final cover fully complied with Landfill Regu-lations. It consisted of:

• Bentofix® NSP 4900, a geo-synthetic clay liner (GCL), also known as bentonite mat, cer-tified in accordance with the LAGA (Waste Commission of the Federal States) requirements• Carbofol® 507 2.5mm Mega-Friction/MegaFriction, a BAM-certified geomembrane • Secudrain® RZ 331 WDZ 701 RZ 201, a BAM-certified pro-tection and drainage mat

Cost-effective andquick to installThe geosynthetic cover was specified because the client, GEG, already had been con-vinced by the performance of the recultivated landfills Wes-terwiehe 1 and 2. The deciding factor was that the geosynthetic surface sealing is cost-effective and quick to install.The first phase of construction, from April to November 2015, amounted to over 26,000m² of cover materials. The second phase, from February 2016 to October 2017, involved another 63,500m². In both cases, the

contract was awarded to NAUE sealing and the procedure was the same for both phases.The temporary cover system was first removed to allow the areas to be graded. Here, GEG had the 15-year-old, still fully functional geomem-brane Carbofol® 406 2.0mm cut out at the welded seams and sold on as a temporary cover for another landfill.Grading was carried out by Su-den GmbH from Dorsten using GPS-controlled bulldozers.

Three-layer cover systemThe sealing system with the Bentofix® GCL, the Carbofol® geomembrane, and the Secu-drain® drainage composite was then installed on the graded area. In the area of the berms, Secutex® RZ 2221 was placed as a geotextile protection layer on the geomembrane. The en-tire system was covered with a 20cm thick sand layer on which the final cover soil was placed.To ensure the cover blended vi-sually into the Teutoburg Forest landscape, the site was then covered with a soil layer with limestone content from the neighbouring Müller quarry. This erosion-resistant cover soil proved to be resistant to severe rain events and required only minimal maintenance.General maintenance costs for the landfill operator have been easily managed.The final cover system for the Halle-Künsebeck landfill was designed by consultants As-mus + Prabucki Ingenieure Beratungsgesellschaft based in Essen. Third-party inspection was carried out by S.I.G. - Dr.-Ing. Steffen from Bentwisch.

Exhibition and seminar schedules January06.-09.01.18 Philconstruct Manila, Philippines10.-12.01.18 InfraTech Essen, Germany16.-17.01.18 11. Kolloquium Bauen in Boden und Fels Ostfildern/Stuttgart, Germany18.-19.01.18 48. IWASA & 6. Siegener Symposium Aachen, Germany25.01.18 BAUTEX, 13. Bautextilien-Symposium Chemnitz, Germany

February26.02.18 VDEI-Geotechnik Kolloquium Neustadt/Weinstraße, Germany

March06.-07.03.18 14. Leipziger Deponiefachtagung Leipzig, Germany12.-15.03.18 19. Bayerische Abfall- und Deponietage Augsburg, Germany

April17.-19.04.18 Mining World Russia Moscow, Russia

May14.-18.05.18 IFAT Munich, Germany

August24.-26.08.18 Construct Colombo, Sri Lanka30.-31.08.18 Deponietechnik Hamburg, Germany

September12.-14.09.18 Deutscher Straßen- und Verkehrskongress Erfurt, Germany16.-19.09.18 11th International Conference Coex, Seoul, South Korea on Geosynthetics (11ICG)18.-21.09.18 InnoTrans 2018 Berlin, Germany26.-29.09.18 35. Baugrundtagung Stuttgart, Germany

October15.-19.10.18 WasteCon 2018 Johannesburg, South Africa17.-18.10.18 28. Karlsruher Deponie- und Altlastenseminar Karlsruhe, Germany

November06.-08.11.18 27. Windenergietage Linstow, Germany07.-08.11.18 25. Sächsisches Altlastenkolloquium Dresden, Germany

Competence and visionAfter nearly 27 years, Thomas Knuffinke is retiring from the senior management team of

NAUE GmbH & Co. KG at the end of this year at his own request.

After su ccessfully comple-ting his studies in busi-ness administration, ThomasKnuffinke started his careerin 1981 with the auditors TREUVERKEHR in Bielefeld(now KPMG). Three years later he qualified as a tax

consultant and af-ter a further threeyears was ap-pointed qualified auditor and au-thorized company signatory. His con-tact to NAUE datedback to the early1980s, when ThomasKnuffinke, then anaudit assistant, wasinvolved with theformer E.A.H. NAUEGmbH & Co. KG. Later, in his role asAudit Manager, he

audited NAUE Fasertech-nik GmbH & Co. KG, which had been made legallyautonomous in 1984. In acounselling discussion withthe owners Helmut and Fried-rich Wilhelm Naue, and Ge-org Heerten, then manag-

ing director, he suggested that the rapidly expanding NAUE Fasertechnik required a commercial director. When he made this suggestion he had no idea that he would soon receive a call from the NAUE brothers asking him whether he could imagine taking on responsibility for the commercial managementof NAUE Fasertechnik. Both parties had known eachother for many years, andthe relationship was char-acterised by a great deal of trust and the NAUE brothershad been impressed not onlyby his in-depth expertise,but also by his pragmaticapproach to problems and their solution.In 1991, Thomas Knuffinkejoined NAUE Fasertech-nik as commercial director.

From the outset, his con-tract of employment includ-ed a 10% share-purchase option. He took advantage of this option in 1996 and thus became, alongside GeorgHeerten, managing partnerof NAUE Fasertechnik. To-gether, the managing part-ners were instrumental in the development and expansion of NAUE Fasertechnik. The major milestones were the acquisition and restructuring of the facility in Adorf, whereSecugrid® reinforcing grids have been successfully manu-factured since 1998. The purchase of the ITB Insulationcompany for Tunnels and Buildings mbH in Tönisberg secured access to the business of geomembrane produc-tion and installation. Global sales of Bentofix® products were driven by joint-ven-ture companies in Canada and Australia. And the es-tablishment of Bauberatung Geokunststoffe GmbH & Co. KG in 1998 achieved the strategic objective of being able to offer the entire rangeof geosynthetic services, from consulting through

production to installation.The founding of NAUE AsiaSdn.Bhd in Malaysia in 2011 marked the start of the first wholly owned pro-duction subsidiary. Anyone who has worked with Thomas Knuffinke knows that every action is not only planned, but also thoughtthrough to its conclusion -including any tax implica-tions and consequences for the individual or group finan-cial accounts. Since 2010, as the only external shareholder among the NAUE partners, his professional and in every respect unbiased opinion has always been in demand and appreciated. As a cost-con-scious businessman he hasalways followed the motto “a good horse only just clears the jump”. His work philoso-phy is based on the principle of the ‘respectable business-man’ and is characterized by a strong sense of responsibili-ty for the company, for soci-ety and for the environment.And if, on occasion, Thomas Knuffinke is not completely down-to-earth, then only inhis free time. Since 2000 he

has held a private pilot's license and enjoys fl ying as a compensation to his business activities. But even in the air he remembers the company, and sometimes overfl ies our sites and inspects inventories from a bird's-eye perspective.Thomas Knuffinke originallyintended to retire from activemanagement at the age of60. At the shareholders’ re-quest, he postponed this departure date to be ableto provide close support tothe large-scale project “relo-cation from Tönisberg to Es-pelkamp-Fiestel”. Now that this project has been success-fully completed, the time is right to say goodbye. His successor in top manage-ment, Ralph-Friedrich Peter, has already been active in the company for over a year and is thus completely integrated.

The shareholders, the man-agement, and all employees owe Thomas Knuffinke a great debt of gratitude forhis extraordinary commitmentand dedication, which have always been to the benefit of the company.

»Dear Thomas,You have shaped and successfully expanded the company in the past 27 years. We wish you, and your wife Ulricke, good health and now, at last, the time to travel to different countries or to explore them in your plane. Thankfully the bonds are not completely severed, since you are continuing your connection as a managing partner with the Company. We can thus continue to benefit from your experience.«

Landfill temporary cover geo-membranes reused on another site

consultant and af-ter a further threeyears was ap-pointed qualified auditor and au-thorized company signatory. His con-tact to NAUE datedback to the early1980s, Knuffinke,audit assistant, wasinvolved with theformer E.A.H. NAUEGmbH & Co. KG. Later, in his role asAudit Manager, he