Bauer Resources Constructed Wetlands for Water Treatment
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48 Contents Interview with Prof. Thomas Bauer 4 Status report 6 New members of the Management Board 7 Bauer and airports 8 Mining in Kazakhstan 14 In-house exhibition 2018 18 Civil engineering all over the world 20 Digital building 26 Clean water in Oman 28 Machinery in customer operations 30 Construction sites in Europe 32 Locks on the Mittelland and Elbe-Havel Canals 36 Construction sites in Germany 38 2 A former tar factory in Offenbach is being remediated in several stages, including encapsulation with Mixed-in-Place walls and closure of gaps using the HPI method and sheet piles. Internal news n 2018, there was a major change in in Kazakhstan for ten years. The order the top management of the BAUER books for projects in this exciting country Group. Prof. Thomas Bauer, who are filled for the coming years. Iheaded the company for over 30 years, Digitization affects everyone. BIM (Build- passed the baton to a new CEO who, ing Information Modeling), a technology for the first time, is not a member of being advanced and further developed the Bauer family: Michael Stomberg, by an entire team at Bauer, is now who joined the company in Novem- becoming increasingly important in ber. Bauer Review 48 therefore starts specialist foundation engineering after with an interview with the departing being adopted in regular construction. Management Board. As always, we also report on further The world of airports and the role of projects and special highlights, such as specialist foundation engineering in this the plant-based purification facility of a field is explained in a detailed report Bauer Resources subsidiary in Oman, with examples from selected projects. as well as recent construction projects Mining technology from Schachtbau and the in-house exhibition of Bauer Nordhausen has been used successfully Maschinen. 3 "There's a time for everything in life." Interview with Prof. Thomas Bauer rof. Bauer, after 32 years at the So you've been planning your depar- Did your career go as you imagined? head of the BAUER Group you ture for a long time? Thomas Bauer: I joined the senior Phave decided transfer leadership Thomas Bauer: Ten years ago, I told our management of our company very to someone younger and, for the first Supervisory Board Chairman Dr. Ing. early on. When I returned to Germany time, someone outside of the family. Reinhardt that I wanted to retire at 63. from the US, I was 27. Two years later I How did you make that decision? It's my responsibility to ensure that the joined the management team, and two Thomas Bauer: There's a time for every- transfer of leadership goes smoothly. years after that I was the sole managing thing in life. School, college, work, the Basically, it's a combination of many director. That was in 1986, when I was different phases of a career. But at some things, because it was also time for a 31 years old. It was due to the situa- point you have to pass on your responsibil- change on the Supervisory Board. And tion at the time. My father was in poor ities. This is a natural process that you have the timing is also good. The last few health. But it wasn't my plan. I would to play an active role in. It's unaccustomed years were difficult, the company was have preferred to gradually work my to retire after 32 years, but a company in a crisis. But now we are recovering, way into the company, starting with five needs change, and it needs to be pre- things are getting better. Assuming new years of accounting, then the whole pared in good time. I don't want things to leadership in the current situation is business side of things and so on. I reach the point where people are saying certainly easier than having a new team also wanted to spend time with my little I'm done and have nothing new to offer. start in the middle of a crisis. kids. But that's not how it went. 4 Your son Florian has been with the But Bauer has still grown despite the of many different nationalities. I think company for many years and he be- difficult global economic situation? Bauer has become a role model in this came a member of the Management Thomas Bauer: During the first ten area. Company culture is one of the Board in early 2018. But he didn't years, it was an immense challenge most important factors for success. And want to replace you as chairman? for me to keep the company on its feet our company culture is down to earth, Thomas Bauer: Leadership succession during the international expansion and sensible and passionate about technol- isn't automatic. It was important to the start of our professional mechani- ogy. The way we present ourselves in me to keep someone from the family cal engineering operations. We didn't our in-house exhibition is extremely well in management. My son Florian has always do everything right, but mistakes received by customers. The same goes been preparing for many years, but he in one country were often compensat- for the way we interact with each other, didn't want to do things exactly like his ed for by good results in another. We the way employees communicate with- father did. At that time it was an insane grew out of fear of not having enough in and between different departments, amount of work. I've always been very work. But in fact we always had enough for example through BAUERnews. Of relaxed, but assuming responsibility for orders, which led to our growth. So you course you can't be great at everything, a company like ours is an enormous could say that we've grown as a result that's not possible. But overall Bauer is burden in and of itself. You don't wish of the crises of those years. very special. Our employees know that. that on your son at a young age. I think it's very reasonable that he didn't want A important event was happening in Even with your workload, all your to become chairman at the age of 36. Germany at the time: reunification. tasks and responsibilities, you still So it was only logical that we hired How did that historic turning point found time to get involved socially. some one from outside the company. affect the company? Mr. Bauer, how did you manage to do The new chairman has a few years Thomas Bauer: It was important to that? more experience, but he's still young us in management that Bauer, as a Thomas Bauer: I wonder myself how I enough to get to know our company West German company, contribute to managed to find the time. It takes very and settle in here. re unification. Unfortunately, for many disciplined time management, good West German companies, reunification organization and you have to clearly sep- The company has changed a lot led to a kind of Wild West mentality. We arate work and family. My sons learned under your leadership. Over the past started by forming Spesa, a joint spe- early on that they had to make an ap- 30 years, our workforce has grown cialist foundation engineering company pointment with me if they wanted to from 1,000 to 11,000 employees with Schachtbau Nordhausen. When do something with their father or go to worldwide. we acquired Schachtbau, we were all the toy store. I took these appointments Thomas Bauer: A company grows in very euphoric about what we could ac- just as seriously as an appointment with stages. The DNA of our company was complish together. Today we know that the CEO of a major construction com- created mostly under my father's lead- was a huge risk. The market in the east pany. Organization is the key. I'm used ership: specialist foundation engineer- part of Germany collapsed again in the to completing a task as soon as it's pre- ing, the mechanical engineering that mid-1990s. We had taken over a difficult sented to me. That way you can accom- goes along with it, and our first efforts company in what was by then a difficult plish a lot, not get stressed and enjoy to gain a foothold abroad. But then you market situation. Schachtbau would your work at the same time. I enjoyed always reach a point where the orga- have never survived without Bauer. But holding offices such as chairman of the nization and structure of the company local managers also played a signifi- wage bargaining committee, treasurer are no longer viable for the future. That cant role in the company's survival. We of the CSU, president of the Bavarian was the case when I assumed leader- stood by our East German managers, and German construction industry as- ship. A lot needed to be changed to unlike most other companies, which sociation and others. Very often, the make the company fit for future, at a replaced East German with West Ger- duties of one office entail responsibili- time when the market situation was man managers. We weathered every ties in another office. As a result, I've very difficult. In the mid-1980s, all storm, through many successes and chaired or at least vice-chaired almost large-scale construction companies failures. The construction sector has every possible office in our industry in in Germany were looking for a new experienced a large-scale decline in the Germany.