The fact that people in Salzburg were able to take a relatively relaxed view of the flood situation in the spring of 2013 – and keep their feet dry as well – was due not least of all to the BLOBEL flood barriers, which provided effective protection in critical areas. Along the Elisabethkai promenade, for example, and in the city’s Josephiau district, passersby and local residents were able to gaze in amazement, with no risk to themselves or their property, at the mass of mud and water flowing past them down the River Salzach.

Since inception of BLOBEL Germany in 1991 BLOBEL prides its self of not having had a single flood barrier system failure. While there are various Standards out in the market place and we make sure that we meet and exceed these, we are also conducting our own test. With our own flood barrier testing facility we test and push our systems beyond specifications and limits. Our customers therefore can rest assured when the next flood occurs. Our motto is, testing, testing and more testing. 

The trade fair in São Paulo was very well attended, and the same can be said of our booth. Once again, the focus of interest was primarily on flood protection, drawing visitors not only from São Paulo and surrounding areas, but also from further afield – in fact, some of the visitors who travelled from other federal states, such as from Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, had to cross up to two time zones to take part in the fair.

AThe Blobel stand was also able to welcome and advise interested parties from neighbouring Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru. What makes it worth our while to keep participating in this very costly and organisationally demanding trade show in Brazil are the promising contacts we make there.

We would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to Silvia Kühl, our newly acquired representante no Brasil, and look forward to a close and successful cooperation.

The dam that protects Kurtinig from the River Adige broke some years ago, with the result that parts of the village and the nearby town of Salurn fell victim to flooding. Flood simulation has now shown that the Bahntrasse could serve equally well as a dam if only the road’s underpass were not a perfect conduit for a mass of water to flood into the village.

This prompted the competent Province of Bolzano to take action. The eight-metre-wide underpass has been equipped with stationary side rails, and an additional vertical support post will be mounted when the time comes to assemble the barriers. Municipal road service workers have already practised installing and locking into place the 25 or so barrier sections, which are fitted with seals.

Conclusion: Thanks to the speed and ease with which they can be installed, BLOBEL barriers offer effective protection against flood water. The plan is to get neighbouring communities along the Bahnstrasse to follow suit, so that their underpasses also receive the same level of flood protection and thus safeguard the various localities.

This elegant and modern luxury-class hotel on the island of Sylt is spectacularly situated between the dunes, tideland, beach and the North Sea. To ensure that the elements “remain firmly outside” even when weather conditions are less than pleasant, BLOBEL barriers have been installed to protect sensitive areas against flooding.

The HDS barrier system is designed to seal off the salt-water wellness spa and connecting swim channel that form part of the 3,500-square-metre spa area, as well as the guest corridor and the various openings and passageways used, for example, as delivery entrances. Accesses to the basement are, in fact, safeguarded against flooding on all four sides – that is to say, all the way to the top.

In view of the increased stress that salt water and salty air place on materials, the U-shaped posts for the barriers are made not of the usual high-quality V2A steel but of V4A, a particularly resistant premium steel.

At the in-house contact fair organised by the Technikerschule Augsburg in March of this year, BLOBEL presented itself to the technical engineering students as an attractive regional employer. The fair brings together first-time employees and companies. We had a number of interesting conversations with enthusiastic young people, and we now look forward to receiving job applications from this year’s graduates.

Our newly-created training area: a hive of activity

Following our first training course for distributors back in July, the first in a series of training courses for technicians was held on 28 September for our team in Switzerland.

This training day was organised and conducted by Norbert Blobel Jr. and Sebastian Prestel. The morning consisted of theoretical lessons on the subject of Blobel barriers, followed by an afternoon of practical work in the showroom. Topics covered included special mechanical features, fully automatic barriers and the various types of switch cabinets. This gave participants an opportunity to practise setting up and adjusting barriers, troubleshoot faulty switching under the guidance of the instructors, and ask questions related to their daily work. At the end of the day, the many questions posed by the participants were compiled – along with the relevant answers – into a set of practical FAQs.

The high level of interest shown was more than ample confirmation that our current training options are exactly what distributors and technicians need. We’re convinced that their newly-acquired skills, along with the sound knowledge they already possess, will help to provide our colleagues with greater on-site competence and assurance – much to the benefit of our customers. Before leaving for home, the Swiss team were handed certificates of attendance hot off the press.

After a late arrival in Brazil because of technical problems with the flight to São Paulo, things really got going for Gabriele Blobel. As a “one-woman trade fair team”, and with the active support of her tried and tested translator, Frau Daniely, the company boss spent the next three days working under great pressure. For Norbert Blobel was unfortunately unable to travel to FIMAI as planned because he was needed at several construction sites on the other side of the world.

Nevertheless, everything went well: even the plasma TV that had been ordered especially to show our new trade fair film was quickly replaced after first being stolen. The assistance offered by locals, combined with an obviously effective sign language, ensured that the Blobel stand was soon fitted out with sample barriers. Dismantling the stand proved just as unproblematic thanks to the reliability and thoroughness of the helpers and the haulage company.
Although lots of people visited our stand on the first day, there weren’t many trade professionals among them. But this did provide us with ample opportunity to engage in casual conversation as a way of gearing up for the open, communicative and very friendly Brazilians.
The second day brought with it many interesting technical discussions. Our stand was also visited by a number of trade associations, who offered their help in establishing contacts. The third and last day proved to be a very lively one for us, with plenty of specific inquiries. All in all, we were delighted with our participation at the fair and attendance at the joint Bavarian stand. Our new trade fair film was very well received and attracted a lot of interest, and so we’ll be expanding and lengthening it for future use.

On the relaxation side, the programme once again included a feast for the Bavarian exhibitors, this time at a Brazilian steakhouse, where the waiters carry the meat to your table on skewers and slice it straight onto your plate. At the same time, we were able to broaden our horizons with regard to caipirinhas, which are drunk in numerous variations here in its country of origin. There’s the classic de Limão version, but also de Morango e Jabuticaba, de Caju, de Lichia, de Tangerina, Tropical …

 

The 17th BLOBEL Europe Meeting was held at our plant in Gersthofen on 6 July 2012.

Taking part in the sales training at the new BLOBEL training room on this hot July day were our business partners from Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Denmark and Australia, who had gathered for an update on latest developments in containment systems and flood protection. Time constraints had already obliged our French business associates to attend a separate sales training session weeks earlier.

Based on the experience gained in previous projects, technical director and engineer Joachim Blobel and design engineer Sebastian Prestel did more than take a close look at the features and functionality of the new, fully automatic HWS-K retention barrier. Participants were also given the opportunity to try out the other fully automated models, so as to familiarise themselves with the specifics of the various barrier types – an essential prerequisite for those expected to conduct qualified sales meetings and consultations with interested parties and clients back home.

Of course the training session in Gersthofen also dealt with the somewhat “drier” topics of day-to-day business. These included the many directives and their varying requirements concerning tightness: DIN 19569-4, VdS 2564, Bavaria’s LGA test guidelines, FM approvals, Flood Protection Association ... Here at BLOBEL, we’ve summed up all these different permissible leakage levels into a clear overview for our distributors. All relevant aspects were explained and discussed in detail.

And finally, our export specialist, Elisabeth Wackerl, briefed participants on important changes concerning shipping.

Drastic changes in world trade: starting from 25 March 2013, the status “known consignor” will no longer be valid. Companies must update their certification in time if they wish to obtain the new required status of “approved known consignor” from Germany’s Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt).

EU intra-Community exports to become more complicated: the current “proof of shipment” is to be replaced by “certification of entry”. Companies failing to provide the necessary documentation will face further taxation on their sales tax or value added tax.

The meeting naturally also provided the perfect setting for relaxed and personal conversations and shop talk. All in all, it was an intensive, informative and entertaining day that ended on a convivial note with an evening of food and drinks.

Sydney: Blobel barrier protects underground garage from flooding

An unexpected sight awaited the residents of the Moreton by the Park housing complex in Redfern, Australia, as they looked out of their windows on the morning of 8 March this year: the streets of this Sydney suburb were knee-deep in rainwater. And yet none of them had any cause to worry about their cars, the lift shafts or other sensitive fixtures in the building’s underground garage. Installed at the entrance to the garage more than a year previously, the BL/HWS-K Blobel flood barrier ahad – not for the first time – proved its reliability by automatically moving into position to prevent the basement level in this block of flats from flooding.

In fact, Blobel has installed six other barriers around Redfern Park – and at the entrance to the catacombs of Redfern Stadium – to safeguard against flooding.