START-UP AREA AT DACH+HOLZ INTERNATIONAL
Around 20 up-and-coming companies presented pioneering innovations and solutions in the start-up area at DACH+HOLZ International. At the trade fair, the start-ups were able to use a short pitch to impress the audience with their product. The expert jury made its decision and presented one company with the "Start-Up Award". This was presented on Thursday, March 7 at 11 a.m.
THE START-UPS
These start-ups presented their companies and products at DACH+HOLZ International 2024
WINNER OF THE START-UP AWARD
Gramitherm Europe SA from Belgium (Sambreville) has managed to convince the expert jury with its innovation and prevail against the competition. The young company is now delighted to receive the award.
Haidl GmbH & Co KG
A snow scraper that belongs on a flat roof - many roofers may already be familiar with the family-run company Haidl from Passau and its products, perhaps even from the Start-Up Award, which was presented at the DACH + HOLZ trade fair in 2022. At that time, the "ProfiTube" downpipe system was awarded first place.
"That was an incentive for us to develop the system further," says Johannes Haidl. The result is the cheaper "ProfiTube Light" downpipe system, which is connected to a standard drainage pipe on the construction site and drains the water away from the gutter (for pitched roofs) or from the parapet. "With the ProfiTube light, all trades have the opportunity to create a safe drainage system during the construction phase," says Johannes Haidl, who runs the Haidl company with his father Johann. The company, which manufactures products for roof tradesmen, emerged from the tinsmith business. "My father is a tinkerer, always with an eye for what is needed on the construction site and what doesn't yet exist," explains son Johannes. This principle is also the basis of the company motto: "We invent what we need and we only sell what we use ourselves."
The flat roof scraper, for example, is one such product that was not directly invented by Haidl GmbH, but has been further developed and is now being marketed. Originally, the scraper came from the fire department to clear up accident sites or push away snow. Senior boss Johann Haidl discovered the scraper at a fire department trade fair where Haidl GmbH itself was exhibiting and was certain: "I need this for flat roofs! "We then developed the gate valve further and fitted it with a higher aluminum shield and foam rubber. The scraper is our constant companion when working on flat roofs - to clear away mud and gravel residue for repairs, for example," says Johannes Haidl.
It is not yet certain which product the inventors will enter for this year's award. But one thing is certain: Haidl GmbH's products are used by roofing professionals and their suitability is tested very carefully in the company's own tinsmith business. The Haidl Products store offers products from professionals for professionals.
MAXE PROFILE
Clean finishes - Ali Reis is a master plumber and for him there is nothing better than clean façade finishes. "Sheet metal that matches the color of the façade and forms a good finish looks classy," says the Hamburg native.
To simplify profile cutting on the construction site, Ali Reis and his company Maxe Bedachungen have developed a special aluminum profile. "The corner rails with cut edge coverings are currently available in plastic, but these are not UV-resistant," says Reis. The aluminum profiles, on the other hand, have a 40-year color guarantee and are normally supplied in anthracite, black and red. "Other colors are possible, but the standard colors are cheaper," says Reis, who uses aluminum profile sheets from the manufacturer Prefa.
The profiles are 2.50 meters long, so they fit in any van. However, a length of 4 meters is also planned for the future. If other lengths are required, the profiles can simply be placed on top of each other to make them rainproof and thus extended.
The master tinsmith has had a machine built specifically to produce the profiles in series. "I can theoretically equip Europe with it," he says and laughs. 100,000 meters a year would be possible. However, the machine is still far from reaching its capacity limit. However, Ali Reis does not want to give up his job as a master plumber with his start-up company. He enjoys being a craftsman, but is currently building up a second mainstay with corner rail production.
Airteam Aerial Intellegence GmbH
Drones help with the energy transition - the story of the Berlin-based company Airteam (generating 3D data by flying drones) is firmly linked to Thomas Bücheler's entrepreneurial spirit. Bücheler - who actually has a background in business administration - was enthusiastic about flying drones ten years ago. "I was fascinated by all the things you can do with them," says the company founder. His first attempts were drone videos for friends, then he got into the real estate business. He photographed buildings for sale from above. That was also his entry into the building and construction sector. "My motivation was and is to avoid accidents at work and to do my bit for the energy transition," says the entrepreneur, who is primarily focused on the photovoltaic business. The still young company - founded five years ago - provides roofers and solar installers with planning software as a measuring aid for creating photovoltaic systems on roof surfaces.
According to Bücheler, the use of drone flights in planning saves between one and four hours per project. The fact that roof measurements are taken with drones is now well known and proven, but the innovation that Airteam offers with its software is that the digital data is provided for the preparation of quotations and can be imported directly into common industry software such as MF Dach, PV Sol, Sunny Design and Autocad. "We also use AI (artificial intelligence) to teach the computer what a roof looks like and which parts and areas it has," explains Bücheler. In this way, distances to the eaves and ridge are directly observed for PV planning, ridges are recognized, skylights are left out and shading is taken into account. The company not only sells drones, which are then flown by the customers themselves, but customers also have access to a large network of pilots (with 1,500 drones in Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
"Larger companies based in cities are particularly keen to take up this offer," says Bücheler. "The combination of 3D graphics and AI is what's new," says the entrepreneur. The user flies over the building with the drone, takes pictures, uploads them to the company's cloud and then receives the 3D data, which can be used further.
LeiKoSi GmbH
Safe on the roof - Udo Heyl is a master roofer with heart and soul and his own company in Kaiserlautern. As an apprentice, he had an accident while cleaning a gutter with a ladder. He was lucky at the time - the fall left him with a concussion. This and another accident involving a ladder prompted him to develop a safety system. “Out of necessity,” he remembers, ”because I was not satisfied with the current systems.” His development for securing ladders had to be quick to install and easy to use. The result was his ladder head safety device called Leikosi (stands for: ladder head safety device), which is mounted on the ground and hooked into the gutter. “It is important that the ladder protrudes one meter above the gutter,” explains Heyl. As the crossbar of the ladder head safety device rests on the gutter brackets, it can also be used with plastic gutters; the weight is transferred to the gutter hooks.
Heyl began development in 2013, and it was a long process from invention to series production. But it was worth it. Heyl has now sold around 3,000 units of his product. The ladder head safety device is DGUV-tested (the label of the German statutory accident insurance) and is subsidized by the employers' liability insurance association by 50 percent. “This makes the safety device a module with which you can earn money,” says the master roofer with 40 years of professional experience. “I'm satisfied and the customers are satisfied, because work on the roof is simply much quicker and always safe with this safety system.”
Rooffox GmbH
The cutting fox for flat roofs - Tobias Büttgen worked as a roofer for a long time and often wondered why it was so difficult to cut bitumen sheets when working on flat roofs. “It's often very tedious and cutting with a hooked blade also carries a risk of injury,” says Büttgen. He gave himself the answer to his questions and invented the “Flat Roof Fox”, the cutting fox for flat roofs. After presenting an initial prototype at the DACH+HOLZ trade fair in 2022, he went back to work on the design based on the feedback from the trade fair.
“The response to the device was very good,” says Büttgen. Reason enough to continue building, adapting and bringing the prototype to series production. In contrast to the prototype, the device is now operated via a display on the device or via a cell phone. Whereas in the past, operation was still tied to an extra box on the device, measuring 50 x 50 x 20 cm and weighing 40 kg, today a 12 x 12 cm circuit board takes over this task. For operation, the bitumen roll is placed on the cutter and the dimensions for the corresponding section sizes are entered. The cutting process then runs automatically. The device can be easily carried by two people, or alternatively with a pallet truck and forklift. It is easy to move from A to B on the roof using four castors. It is mainly used for connection work on the roof edge at the parapet or for roof penetrations.
Significant time savings can be achieved thanks to the automation of the work steps and the ease of operation. The machine has been ready for series production since November 2023 and will be presented for the first time at the trade fair.
Noreiks
Secure mounting point on the flat roof - Christoph Noreiks is a sales representative and deals with many different products from the construction sector. The question of a good and, above all, secure fastening for PV systems on flat roofs came up again and again. “Rubber mats are often used for this and exposed aggregate concrete slabs for balancing against wind suction,” explains Noreiks. Due to the considerable roof load involved, this relatively complex method is not permitted on many roofs. The solution that Christoph Noreiks has developed and now manufactures in a small workshop is a ballast-free mounting system that weighs just 600 grams per attachment point. The heart of the system is a stainless steel disk. With a diameter of 200 mm, the forces can be transferred to the roof over a large area. A sleeve - bitumen, plastic or EPDM, depending on the roofing membrane - is used to weld the disk to the roofing membrane.
The system has a lift-off safety of 50 kilos (equivalent to 500 newtons) per plate point - better than all similar systems on the market to date. The plates, which are fitted with a screw fastening, are manufactured by hand in a small factory, a garage workshop. In other words, a genuine start-up company that aims to produce 100% of its own products. However, the stainless steel plates are currently laser-cut and supplied by a supplier. The bracket, which is marketed under the name Ampix (www.ampix.online), is suitable for all technical systems on flat roofs, i.e. PV systems, solar thermal systems, air conditioning units and also antenna technology.
MeinZimmerer-App
Practical carpentry app - Marco Heine and his brother Daniel had the best prerequisites for developing an app for carpentry businesses: The two (Marco is a software developer, Daniel works as a carpenter in his parents' business) come from a family of craftsmen. In his parents' carpentry business in the Black Forest, there was often a problem at the employee/accounting interface. “My mother does the commercial side of things, we had to keep looking for timesheets, leave requests were created by hand, the documentation on the construction site lagged behind and mountains of paper piled up,” reports Marco Heine looking back.
The idea of Marco Heine developing a private app just for his own company (based in Bollschweil-St. Ulrich in the Black Forest) quickly led him to think on a different scale - why not offer an app that would benefit many carpentry businesses? No sooner said than done. Daniel came up with feedback from the field, which Marco quickly implemented in new functions in the app. “We wanted an app that is easy to use for everyone and that is simple and not distracting,” says Marco Heine about the main concerns. “The app was very quickly well received in our parents' business,” says Heine, ”which motivated us to develop it further and make it public.” Now, three years after the launch, there are already 450 companies working with it. As the recruitment options are vast,
“Many companies say that we have developed a very practical app,” says Heine. “That makes us happy, of course. We get feedback directly from users on the construction site, which can then be implemented quickly.” His brother Daniel is also close to the field and knows where there is room for improvement. Motivated by the good results, Marco Heine developed the “MeinDachdecker-App” and the “MeinHandwerker-App” in addition to the “MeinZimmerer-App”. These apps have similar functions, but have their own label.
Other companies at the START-UP AREA
In addition to the companies mentioned, there are other companies in the "start-up area" that will be presenting themselves and their products to the public at the trade fair.
- planbar app - the digital solution on the construction site
- Stexon - innovative ideas for timber house construction
- Wir bauen digital GmbH - the digital construction company
- Aurnhammer Bedachungen GmbH - solutions around the roof
- BuildingPoint Germany South GmbH
- infrasolute GmbH
- Plancraft GmbH
- Gramitherm Europe SA
- Fixpod GmbH
- Nebesys a.s.
- TECHNIgreen GmbH
- smart roof solutions GmbH
- ModuGen GmbH
- heygrün GmbH
- Arduvi GmbH
- OVER EASY SOLAR AS
The Start-Up Area is an interactive and openly designed community area. Each exhibitor will have their own individual area, an island stand with
approx. 5m² of stand space. The marketplace in the middle of the start-up area can be used jointly by all exhibitors.
There is space here, for example, for additional exhibits or for exchanging ideas with customers.