1923
In 1923, Therese Girnghuber handed over the reins of the company to her son Ludwig Girnghuber. This photo shows the workforce back in 1928. To the left of the picture is Ludwig Girnghuber senior as well as his son Ludwig Girnghuber, third from the left in the lower row.
1972
In 1972, Ludwig Girnghuber senior handed over the company to his son Ludwig Girnghuber. He ran the company together with his wife Maria, and was awarded the Bavarian Founder Prize in 2017 in the Life Works category (source of photo: Film of the 2017 Bavarian Founder Prize – Life Works category, sponsored by the Sparkasse regional savings bank)
1996
In 1992, he began collaborating with Erlus AG in the roof tile sector. In 1996, Ludwig Girnghuber finally handed over the reins of the company to his son Claus Girnghuber, who has been running GIMA ever since, and who has also been running its subsidiary, MOEDING Keramikfassaden GmbH, since 2001.
“We like to be the first to do things, and we are committed to giving our customers precisely what they wish for. My father laid the groundwork for this customer-oriented production of bespoke solutions back in the late Fifties. Until then, the company was a normal brickworks that primarily served its local region. Right up to the present day, this early willingness to innovate still runs like a golden thread through the success story of this company.
At GIMA, we listen attentively to the questions that planners put to us. Rather than simply get the job done, we seek to provide solutions that reflect the intended spirit of the proprietor, the architect and our own sense of purpose. Regardless of whether this involves new sizes, shapes, colors, surfaces or technical properties: our development team learns something new from each bespoke order, and gains in expertise in the process. We provide an ideal mix of artisan and industrial production. On many projects, this is the decisive factor”.
Claus Girnghuber
Behind the scenes
High-tech production
Discover our very latest computer-controlled production line in our new video. We explain the entire ceramic manufacturing process – from clay pit to the storage area in our project advice section. We are always pleased to welcome visitors to our plant and invite everyone to get an idea of the diversity of our production facilities.
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Sustainable
environmental philosophy
We want to manufacture long-lasting products from natural raw materials and with resource-saving production. We therefore always strive to operate sustainably with the most modern technology and to achieve maximum efficiency. This applies not only to the operation of our systems, but also to the energy required for it.
The positive properties of this valuable construction material, one of great value to the lives we live and to cost-effectiveness, are augmented by the ecological added-value we create. Today, this aspect is more important than ever, given the growing significance of environmental factors such as the exploitation of raw materials, energy consumption, air pollution, the greenhouse effect and ground contamination.
Local sources provide the vast majority of the clay and sand used as raw materials to make ceramic products. Once these raw materials have been extracted, the excavated sites are recultivated. Specifically, this means that the areas of land involved are restored and replanted to their original condition or are transformed into valuable biotopes in consultation with environmental bodies in local government*. The ceramic manufacturing process produces almost no waste products because broken bricks and slabs are used for path-building or are directed back into the production process.
*The picture right at the top shows an existing clay pit alongside the surrounding fields which have already been restored to their natural condition.
For us, energy is an important production and cost factor. This is why the brick-making industry has always endeavoured to reduce the amount of energy it requires.
At GIMA, additional measures such as
• improved combustion technology
• generation and use of energy from renewable sources
• greater efficiency with the drying of blanks
• in-house heat recuperation
• other forms of improvement to the process technology
enabled us to leverage the scope for saving energy in our production operations to a very significant extent.
The specific energy consumption per kilogram of brick has been reduced by about 40% since the mid-Seventies. A huge reduction in the emissions from energy generation through the combustion of fossil fuels has also been achieved. The reduction of air pollutant emissions was achieved not only by the reduced specific energy needs per kilogram of ceramic but also through the simultaneous use of the very latest air purification technology and use of low-emission natural and liquefied gas as a power source.
An EPD describes building materials, building products or building components with regard to their environmental impact on the basis of life cycle assessments and their functional and technical properties. This quantitative, objective and verified information relates to the entire lifecycle of the construction product. Therefore EPDs form an important basis for the sustainability assessment of buildings. When it comes to sustainable construction, buildings are considered and assessed with regard to their ecological, economic and social aspects. Thanks to EPDs for building materials, building products and building components, the ecological aspect can be included in the sustainability assessment of buildings. *
The current EPD for our products can be found via the following link:
EPD for bricks, pavers and brick slips
*= Source: EPD Programm | IBU – Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (ibu-epd.com)
Every year, we undergo DEKRA testing and our energy management system (EnMS) is certified in accordance with ISO 50001. We are also connected to the Interzero disposal system, registered as number 25055. Calculations show that the recycling of our materials has been saving 277 tons of resources and an additional 36,245 kilograms of greenhouse gases each year (as stated on our certificate for 2023).
The current certificate can be accessed via the following link:
