German discount supermarket chain, Lidl, has built a brand new headquarters on a 4.6ha area with a gross floor area of 130,000m2 in Heilbronn, Germany. The project involved the construction of an office building, meeting rooms, a reception facility, cafeteria, underground parking facilities, fitness centre, logistics facilities and outdoor parking facilities.
Part of the development included a requirement for a façade sun protection cladding system for the multi-storey staff car park. Main contractor Leonhard Weiss subcontracted this building element to Colt International, a specialist cladding designer and installer. The challenge was to find a suitable method of connecting the cladding system to the steel structure on the car park, and one that was easy to install.
The engineers at Colt International designed a T-shaped steel bracket with an end plate incorporating four pre-drilled holes. Lindapter Type A Girder Clamps with M12 bolts were specified for the end plate connection to achieve the required tensile resistance and safe working load.
A hot dip galvanised (HDG) finish was also specified for the Girder Clamps to provide a high level of corrosion protection. The decision to use Lindapter Type A Girder Clamps was influenced by independent technical accreditations, which include the CE mark (ETA-13/0300), TÜV and Lloyd’s Register approvals.
Installation
Secondary steel sections were fixed onto the existing concrete façade in preparation for the T-shaped brackets to be installed. The brackets were connected to the steel sections using Lindapter Type A Girder Clamps through the end plates in a four-bolt configuration. Installation was quick and easy as each bolt is simply inserted into the pre-drilled holes with the Type A on one end and nut on the other.
The recessed top of the clamp holds the bolt captive while the nut is tightened with a torque wrench to the recommended tightening torque. This arrangement provided the necessary standoff distance between the original structure and allowed the large cladding panels to be attached to the other end of the T-shaped brackets and complete the installation.
Result
Lindapter Type A girder clamps provided a drilling and weld free connection onsite that was quick and easy to install. The clamps are fully adjustable which gave the contractor the ability during installation to manoeuvre the brackets into their final positions before fully tightening them.
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
