Girnghuber GmbH
Long tradition in brick manufacturing using the most advanced technology for brick production with up to date ecological high standards are the success of Gima, as very important manufacturer and supplier in Germany, Europe as well as around the world. Quality, colors, surfaces, had made of Gima materials become language that talks architecture, and provides wide spectrum to Architects, Landscape architects, Designers & Developers to gain success.
Over 100 years of experience passed in the Girnghuber family since 1903, to bring up tradition in the manufacturing of clay building materials of very high quality from own clay pits.
Girnghuber GmbH, better known as Gima is based in Marklkofen in the lower Bavarian valley about hour drive from Munich. Lower Bavaria has been a preferred location for brickyards due to its outstanding clay and loess loam deposits, since Roman times. Water and wood which were necessary raw materials for brick manufacture in earlier days were also available in abundance in the Vilstal area and in the nearby hilly countryside.
Today at Gima almost all the bricks are manufactured fully automatically under computer control. It would be difficult to find an industry where conversion from manual labor to computer controlled operation, and the consequent concentration of fewer and larger companies progressed as quickly as it did in the manufacturing of brick.
The Brick Museum sponsored by Gima in the Lower Bavarian town of Flintsbach provides a good overview of historic brick production technology.
Today 250 skilled people are employed at the Marklkofen plant. The entire company premises are organized into individual autonomous production facilities in which the company manufactures bricks for walls, floors and roofs.
Environmental Philosophy
Gima’s task commitment and serious allegiance to maintain men’s environment worth living in, for ourselves and for future generations, means organizing our interventions in the ecosystem, occasioned by the manufacture and use of goods, in such a way that irreversible damage to the natural equilibrium of this networked system, man-animal-plant-soil-water-air-climate, are avoided.
The environmental philosophy based upon reduction of significant environmental influences like decomposition of raw materials, energy consumption, air pollution, greenhouse effect, and soil contamination are serious concern at Gima’s order of day.
The raw materials, clay and sand used for the klinker production involve local occurrences of raw materials. After extracting the raw materials from own pits the excavations are re-cultivated, i.e. the extraction surfaces are replanted in their original condition or are transformed into valuable biotopes in coordination with local environmental authorities, looking to respect the bio-ecological implementation rules.
Energy use and emissions
Ecological demands for friendly environmental world demanding decrease of heavy energy consumption within the production cycle corse ha been achieved by Gima through various implementation measures such as:
- improved firing technology
- higher efficiency in drying blanks
- plant-internal thermal reclamation
- further process/technical optimization work
Official statement by Gima official’s states that since mid 70’s have been lowered the specific energy consumption per kilogram of brick by 40%. A drastic reduction was even achieved in the emissions from energy generation from fossil fuels. The reduction of air pollutant emission was not only achieved by lower specific energy consumption per kg clinker, but also through the concurrent use of the latest air cleaning technology and the lower emission energy sources, natural gas and liquefied gas.
Partial list of manufactured products include:
Facing klinker – brick facade
- Klinker facing bricks
- Euro-module Klinker
- Klinker facade Bar format
- “EDEL-Brand” facing klinker brick façade
- Terracotta facades
- Acoustic bricks
Flooring klinker bricks & Klinker tiles
Sizes & Forms
Wide selection of facing klinker materials for brick facadeand flooring klinker bricks & klinker tiles can satisfy and requested project.
Colors
Wide colors selection for facing klinker materials for brick facade and flooring klinker bricks & klinker tiles can satisfy and requested project.
Technical data
Gima production materials satisfies applicable DIN standards and is resistant to alkaline solutions, absolutely frost-proof (in accordance with DIN 18 503), resistant to road salt, pH resistant, resistant to high pressure, abrasion-resistant (in accordance with DIN 52 108), foot-sure, anti-skid slip resistant and depending on the structure of the substrate is suitable according to the selected material, for light, medium-heavy, and heavy traffic for pedestrians and cars and heavy lories, free of deleterious ingredients or blooming ingredients.
Gima’s goal is to set accents in the building landscape in close cooperation with Architects, Landscape architects and Designers to support their creative work. Forms, colors and shads with particular finishes are important target collaboration to create particular projects.
Century of valuable clay manufacturing had left building projects as important sign in Architecture and Arts spread in Germany and around Europe as else where over seas.
