Andreas Spector

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RÖHRIGgranit invites to coffee and pastries in Advent

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Good tradition. Since the late 1980s, Granitwerke Röhrig has been inviting associations to have Advent coffee and cake. Senior boss Gerhard Röhrig installed the pre-Christmas event in the company to provide the associations with a treat. Junior CEO Marco Röhrig continues this tradition. A small circle has now turned into a large table: 24 representatives of associations, as well as local mayors, took their seats at the festively laid table. For the Röhrig family, the exchange with the associations is important. They would like to thank all volunteers, and express their appreciation for their voluntary work. The associations invited receive a donation for the promotion of the young generation. Röhrig explained that also Mayor Rainer Burelbach was invited, however, he was not able to come. A larger donation is to be submitted to him for the planned projects of the civic endowment, Röhrig informed.

Source: Starkenburger Echo, issue of December 7, 2018

Röhrig granit informs citizens about expansion plans

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Around 250 citizens accepted the invitation to the RÖHRIG granit information event on November 20, 2018. The topic was the planned extension of the quarry toward the south. The concrete plans were presented in the village community center in Sonderbach. Local residents, neighbors, suppliers, and customers from the region also had the opportunity to discuss their questions directly with company representatives and other experts.

And this is how the planning looks like: after the necessary preparatory work had been carried out in recent years, the application for the expansion is expected to be submitted in spring 2019. Before submitting the application, it was essential to inform the interested public about the project, and to answer their most pressing questions and concerns. At the beginning of the event, Managing Director Marco Röhrig welcomed the guests and underlined the importance of the expansion project for the company. In order to be able to continue production at today’s level, an expansion would be necessary. With the protection of the site also the 90 jobs, the raw material supply of the region, and the supply of the customers with the high-quality products from the refinement plant could be guaranteed for years.

Afterwards, project manager Martin Buschmann from the Aachen engineering company SST presented the concrete plans for the expansion. The plan is for an additional area of 6.2 hectares in a southerly direction.

In the second part of the event, the citizens had the opportunity to obtain information about the company, the expansion project, and its activities in the fields of blasting technology, dust, noise, and protection of species at various information stands. In addition, the company explained all measures to reduce dust and noise emissions, as well as further steps to keep the vibrations at the same or similar level as today. Company representatives and external experts, including from the Nature Conservation Association (Nabu), answered questions at various information boards. Many interested parties used the opportunity for an intensive personal exchange – before, during, and after the event. Topics included the measurement of vibrations and dust emissions, long-term corporate planning, and nature conservation issues.

If you were unable to attend the event, you will find the most important information about the project here. At the end of the event, Marco Röhrig offered again to continue the dialogue with the citizens if there are further questions regarding the enlargement.

These are the contact details:

steinbruch@roehrig-granit.de
Tel. +49 6252 7009-0

Contacts:

Horst Gottmann, Stefan Koob & Marco Röhrig

Röhrig Granit wants to expand quarry

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The Röhrig Granit company in Sonderbach plans to expand its quarry toward the south. This was announced by managing director Marco Röhrig at a press conference on Tuesday. The reason for the expansion? “Otherwise, we will have exhausted the capacity of the quarry in a few years’ time”, Röhrig said.

He represents the fifth generation to run the family business with its current 90 employees. About 6.2 hectares of protection forest have to be cleared for the project, and some hiking trails have to be relocated. “We are reforesting the forest in another place, and are taking care of the relocation of the hiking trails”, promises Marco Röhrig.

A maximum of two blastings per week

The distance to the Juhöhe settlement south of the quarry should also remain at least 400 meters. “It is not a question of increasing production – mining should continue at the same level as before”, Röhrig stressed. The number of blastings and the number of trucks transporting the material should also remain the same, as should the noise level. “As before, there will be a maximum of two explosions per week”, said Röhrig. “By using new blasting technology, we will only reach ten to fifteen percent of the permitted noise limits, and that should remain so”, he added.

FOR RESIDENTS

At an information evening in the village community center in Sonderbach on Tuesday, November 20, at 6.30 p.m., residents can get an idea of the planned expansion for themselves. Among other things, posters on the status of the plans will be shown, and questions will be answered. (rori)

The new site is to supply granite for the Lampertheim mineral materials plant for around 30 years. However, the expansion of the quarry also involves an enormous amount of work: In addition to the forest and the hiking trails, the viewpoint “Gerhard-Röhrig-Rast”, which is currently on the edge of the quarry, will also have to be relocated. There is also a sea of rocks in the area that has been designated a natural landmark. “We will also relocate the sea of rocks, i.e. move the stones to another location and create an artificial sea of rocks there”, explained engineer Martin Buschmann, a specialist from the consulting firm SST. He accompanies the application to the responsible regional council in Darmstadt. The project has been planned since 2014. “The application is to be officially submitted in spring 2019”, he said. However, it will probably take another two years before the final decision is made. In addition, a second sea of rocks in the surrounding area is to be declared a natural landmark as a substitute.

Also the protection forest is not to suffer from the development: As compensation for the deforestation of the 6.2 hectares of protection forest, further areas to the south that have not been under special protection so far will be declared protection forests. “Fortunately, the forest is not a breeding area, but only a hunting area for bats”, he explained. The company has also been cooperating closely with Nabu Heppenheim for years – also to protect the special fauna of the quarry.

According to Buschmann, the quarry in Sonderbach is so important for the company because a unique granite quality can be extracted here. And Röhrig added: “It doesn’t matter for road construction, but niche products are becoming increasingly important for us – for example, for use in rubber, laminate, composite materials, children’s modelling clay, or as a base material for aquariums.

“We regularly publish information on our website, will name a contact person for the citizens, and also want to set up a box where the residents and neighbors can submit suggestions and questions”, said Florian Weisker, managing director of the “Vom Hoff” communications agency, which is responsible for public relations for the project. “We take our responsibility as a family business in the region seriously – in contrast to the quarries in the surrounding area, which are all in the hands of large corporations, we promote cultural and social institutions in the vicinity”, said Röhrig.

Further information can be found on our website at Expansion projects in Sonderbach.

Photo: Sascha Lotz | Quelle: https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/bergstrasse/heppenheim/heppenheim-rohrig-granit-will-steinbruch-erweitern_19167934

Students from Kirschhausen’s Eichendorff School visit the quarry

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Going on an excursion right after the holidays – that was to the taste of the girls and boys of class 2a of the Eichendorff School in Kirschhausen. In fine weather, the group, together with teacher Angelika Klammt and social pedagogue Ramona Maas, hiked to the quarry of the Röhrig family in Sonderbach – a teaching excursion that is part of the school’s standard program.

Birgitt Bauer was already waiting for the class, then the children were first dressed: each of the children was fitted out with a bright yellow warning vest and a helmet, and finally, they entered the quarry adventure. Past gigantic machines and vehicles, which caused the children to marvel, it went uphill.

The primary school children were also impressed by the steep walls of the quarry: “Whoa, that’s high”, they were impressed. Bauer wanted to know how old the granite was. The fingers rocketed high: “Ten years”, “50”, “20,000 years”, the children estimated. As much as the girls and boys thought about it, they were wrong. The granite was 320 to 340 billion years old – and thus older than the dinosaurs, Bauer said. She explained that the granite was formed after a volcanic eruption, and that it was almost as hard as a diamond. Sarah remembered that she had studied a stone in class that crumbled easily – that was not granite, but a sandstone, which also exists in the region. We walked to a huge pile of split. There, the joy was great when the children learned that they could now slide to their heart’s content. They didn’t have to be told twice. And after everyone had emptied their shoes for the umpteenth time, they were taken off without further ado, and all continued on stockings. “Hey, that tickles”, the children said. Grit instead of a ball pit. “Just pretty dusty”, a girl ranted. Eight-year-old Dziuga even performed a cartwheel down the grit hill, and Jonna (8) thought it was a good idea “that we all took off our shoes”. Finally, the entire group was allowed to take a seat in a huge excavator shovel – the entire class fitted in easily.

Afterwards, we went into the stone crusher, which also gets huge granite chunks small. If the blasted-off pieces are too big for the crusher, they are smashed while still in the quarry with an – at the beginning of the year – about seven metric tons heavy iron ball. Over the months, this ball wears off more and more, weighing only half at the end of the year.

Young eagle owls make themselves comfortable on the machines

Nature and the environment are the issues at the “environmental school” in Kirschhausen. And there are the visits to the quarry, to a piece of Earth’s history in which many rare animal species live such as the eagle owl, the yellow-bellied toad, and the smooth snake.

The girls and boys were fascinated as Bauer told them that they would discover a young eagle owl every once in a while on one of the machines in the morning. According to Bauer, the animals have adapted to the work and the explosions, and feel comfortable. Otherwise, they would not breed there year after year.

A refuge for nimble reptiles

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Twelve-year-old Jette is curious. Will the biotope that she has just built with the other children really become a habitat for common wall and sand lizards next spring? She definitely wants to come back and see for herself. Paul is enthusiastic about playing and working in the nature. “Always this work”, jokes ten-year-old Jule, who is taking a short break with Marie. The others are picking up apples.

The steeply sloping terrain on Sonderbach’s Werkstraße, which Röhrig Granit has bought, is around 600 square meters in size. The quarry is not being extended here. Together with Nabu, the company once again wants to set an example in terms of nature conservation and sustainability. On Tuesday, industrious helpers between the ages of seven and twelve are busy turning the large meadow into a paradise for animals and plants. It’s workshop time again for children.

Elaborate chaos of stones and branches

There were more than 180 registrations in the summer for the one-week holiday experience, but only 85 children can participate due to lack of space. Those who didn’t get a chance had the opportunity to spend two exciting and instructive days on nature and nature conservation during the autumn school holidays. A total of 33 girls and boys from the district were enthusiastically participating. They were looked after by Günther Hagemeister of the Nature Conservation Association (Nabu) of Heppenheim, and the experienced Röhrig team, consisting of Birgitt Bauer, Marco Röhrig, Jovita Röhrig, Mario Helfert, Rüdiger Hamann, and Nicole Schroeter.

There, they first had to schlepp stones and small trunks: not far from the bee colony and the richly bearing apple trees, a habitat for all kinds of small animals was created. What at first glance looks like a pile of stones and branches thrown together is built with a lot of know-how. Because if you do something wrong, the lizards do not accept the construction, and stay away. Heat islands were created, a substructure of sand and rock gravel for laying eggs, grass sods for frost-free wintering. On wood, the nimble, change-warm little animals are better camouflaged. On the outside, plants are seeded to provide food for butterflies. During his foray across the large meadow, Hagemeister was quite surprised to see the rare dusky large blue fluttering there. They are usually found where there are marsh meadows. The small butterfly is characterized by the fact that it lays its eggs in the buds of the burnet; the larvae fall to the ground, are carried by ants into their den, where they feed on the ant brood.

The children planted four trees together to start a meadow for orchards: pear, apple, cherry, and quince trees. More will follow in November. There are fewer and fewer orchards, Hagemeister explained.

In the afternoon, the children pressed their own juice from the apples they had harvested themselves. Even more “wild corners” are to be created over the next few months. In September, a delegation from the Hessian Ministry of the Environment examined the terrain, found it suitable, and praised the joint commitment of Nabu and the company.

A ROLE MODEL

Günther Hagemeister explains that the Röhrig quarry plays a pioneering role for the whole of Germany in terms of protecting an active quarry as an FFH area – a flora-fauna habitat – and in terms of reconciling mining and nature conservation. Whether eagle owl or yellow-bellied toad, for which the children have created three pools, protected animal species prove that it works. In the meantime, some quarry operators have followed suit. They have now also realized that nature conservationists are not enemies – and vice versa. Hagemeister himself finds the view into the history of the Earth that such a quarry provides extremely exciting. (rid)

On Tuesday morning, after having had breakfast together, we started to create things, including nesting boxes, which were later hung up. Then, we went into the terrain.

 

https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/bergstrasse/heppenheim/refugium-fur-flinke-reptilien_19112565 (October 10, 2018)

An award for systematic safety

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Our employers’ accident insurance association offers an audit for occupational health and safety management systems. Since we have been operating a good occupational health and safety system for years, it was time to systematize and structure it. The aim was to integrate occupational health and safety into these systems analogously to our ISO 9000 and EMAS management systems. Two colleagues of our employers’ accident insurance association examined our system, and came to a positive decision. On August 10, 2018 we received a certificate.

Fun and excitement in the holiday camp

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Exhibits as far as the eye can see: the mile of presentation at the big farewell party of Granit Röhrig’s holiday camp is long. Parents, brothers and sisters, and guests of honor walk around in amazement, admiring what the seven- to twelve-year-olds have achieved in the past five days. Just by looking at the picture frames, beeswax candles, nesting boxes, board games and, and, and, it becomes clear: this week there was everything but a boring experience.

Movable walls with photos document what the girls and boys have experienced besides handicrafts. This is where you can see them with colorful helmets and capes in the visitor mine in Schriesheim, “where it was really cool and cold”, a boy remembers with pleasure in view of the current high temperatures.

Shooting with bow and blowpipe

Then a snapshot of children in the granite plant Röhrig in Sonderbach, where they slide and roll down a pile of gravel.

Friederike looks over her shoulder: “I am satisfied. It was often very warm, but in the forest, it was quite pleasant. I would join in again immediately – if I weren’t twelve already”, regrets the girl from Kirschhausen. “The archery was awesome”, calls a boy and explains that he has also learned to shoot with the blowpipe. “You have to take a deep breath”, he announces, and disappears.

Questionnaires lie around on the tables in the large tent behind the House of Associations. “What did you like most about your child’s stories”, it says. “Everything”, sums up one mother. “And the week with a child who came home tired, satisfied, and balanced”, adds another. There can’t be much more praise.

The younger CEO Marco Röhrig also gives praise to all those who made the camp possible – from the caregivers, mainly from our own staff, to the two patrons, First City Councillor Christine Bender and Chairwoman of the City Council Susanne Benyr, to the various cooperation partners and associations. Many VIPs came to the celebration, even Bundestag delegate and Secretary of State Dr. Michael Meister (CDU) is there. And of course, not to forget, Birgitt Bauer, who once again organized everything so wonderfully. Meanwhile, the children are not interested in the “big-headed people” at all. They sit on the red carpet, waiting for their turn. They do this surprisingly patiently and quietly. It becomes loud as Marco Röhrig, as well as his sister Jovita active as a caregiver, recalls the trips in the “party bus”.

“The week was enriching, cordial, friendly, and unique”, Bauer sums up. And for the city, it is a stroke of luck to be able to accommodate such a socially committed company, as was heard from a responsible source. The Nature Conservation Association (Nabu) is pleased to receive a donation of 2,550 euros from the participation fees. Environmental education is a top priority in and around the Sonderbach quarry. And the children have learned a lot.

Children step up to the microphone to tell stories

One by one, some children tell what they have handcrafted and tinkered on the microphone. Some do this briefly and concisely, others have meticulously taken pages and pages of notes. “First of all, good evening here”, Thomas welcomes the crowd in a cool way. Mara and Mia are putting on an advertising block for Röhrig. One of them explains in detail how iron ore was once mined at the Otzberg, and how cannonballs were made from it. And Friederike thanks the company Rettig, which fed the children for five days. “The six ladies even got up for us at 5 o’clock”, she says, impressed.

And finally, there’s a delicious warm and cold buffet for everyone: for the children, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, guests of honor, and caregivers. Soundman Dirk entertains with music. And the parents of the children, who answered the question “What was it like?” with a detailed “Good!” every day, learn a little more about what was going on in the camp.

EVERY TWO YEARS

Eighty-five children had a lot of fun in the Röhrig Granit holiday camp for five days from early morning to late afternoon. There were well over 100 applications. Those who were unable to attend received a voucher, and can now join a day workshop in autumn. And maybe they will be back at the next camp, which will take place in 2020. (rid)

 

Source: Starkenburger Echo

New employees for sales and marketing

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(from the left: Yann Odiot [sales], Nicole Schroeter [marketing], Mathias Stephan [sales manager])

We cordially welcome our new employee Nicole Schroeter in the marketing department, and our new sales representative Yann Odiot, and wish them a good start in our company.