Fastening expertise at the plant

In more than 160 years, the factory site has developed its own structure. Two complete building blocks and other buildings are spread over an area of around 20 hectares, some of which are nested. Some of the buildings date from different eras and have varying structures.

The administration and research centre dates back to the 1970s. The high-rise building was renovated from July 2017 to the end of 2018 and upgraded in terms of fire protection. The floors were constructed with Robertson steel cell ceilings. Simply put, the steel trapezoidal sheets are filled with concrete and provided with 5 to 6 cm thick concrete. The concrete filled into the beads of the trapezoidal sheet is difficult to compact in the existing building. Therefore, an unknown concrete strength must be assumed. Steel cell ceilings can only be used in multi-storey buildings if they are protected from fire by underside cladding. This was implemented during the renovation by a two-layer Promat cladding.

However, a disadvantage of Robertson ceilings with fire-resistant cladding is that utilities are barely possible within the suspended ceilings. The project-executing agency was all the more impressed by the concept proposed by fischer: fischer’s fastening systems anchor carrier strips of the two-layer Promat cladding for fire protection. A fischer installation rail grid system FUS is mounted underneath, which serves as a carrier system for all other installation systems.

Further distribution rails are fixed crosswise on the FUS rails. This special design ensures maximum flexibility. This is because cables can now be routed down and retightened at any point. Otherwise, the supply lines would have been routed between the Promat panels and the panels would have had to be “perforated” at individual points. The fire protection of the ceiling could no longer be guaranteed.

Thanks to the special rail geometry and the clever, pre-assembled connection and fastening elements, the FUS system enables easy and particularly fast installation. With a “click” mechanism and 90° rotation on the pre-assembled fastener, the multifunctional components are almost snapped into place with a single hand movement. The system is fire tested and can therefore also be used in fire and rescue routes. For example, fischer offers a coherent concept with smart products. One of the three floors of the existing building is currently being fireproofed with the solution.