Always
well
advised.

Jörg Seiler | Herzog & de Meuron, Basel

Personal advice

At all stages of a project

Here you will find an overview of the relevant topics associated with the planning and production of brick products. You can of course obtain further advice from our Field Service and in-house Service teams. With our many years of experience, we are there at all times to assist you with planning and implementation.

Quality products made from clay

High product quality is essential for the long-term success of every project. Our bricks carry conviction through their genuine coal and salt firing processes. They are colored right through and have no artificial colors applied. Due to the high temperature at which they are fired, our products are frost-resistant, do not bloom and are resistant to UV light. Our products are water-absorbent across a range of 2-6%, with compression strength of greater than or equal to 28 – 60 N/mm². Of course, the precise value for a ceramic element can be requested at any time.

Shaped and corner stones are always produced by us in one piece, and are never glued together. Our building-specific bespoke approach to production means that a full range of colors and formats is always available. All desired colors can be manufactured in all formats, and on request also as small 15 mm brick slips.

We can produce a watercourse look, a rough broken surface or other special surfaces on request. Through our bespoke, building-specific approach to production our high quality standards assure the durability of the facade at all times.

Advice during the draft design stage

We are very committed to being close to, and satisfying the wishes of, our customers. Our experienced team is there to support you right from the initial concept. Right from the draft planning stage, our experts are there to assist you with their many years of experience because there is often a long journey from first draft to final form and color scheme. We can produce sample boards for you, and can also of course assist with the creation of mock-ups — we can produce samples to accompany the planning stage, providing you with a perfect decision-making tool.

Support during the planning stage

We also provide you with professional service support covering all aspects of the planning and implementation of projects. As well as our comprehensive collation of technical details, we can also provide you with text proposals for your product specifications. We can support you with detailed planning of the facade and with your discussions with the building proprietor. Our team of technical specialists also produces structural-physical calculations for projects as well as structural calculations for prefabricated brick elements – GIMA offers a one-stop shop solution with its comprehensive package of services.

Andreas Süß

Developing an
individual brick

Developing

Wherever in the world GIMA ceramic facades or floor coverings are found, they were all developed in the company’s own research laboratory in Marklkofen.

Every enquiry is implemented with absolute perfectionist dedication. The correct color is always achieved through the right mixture of raw materials. In addition, glazes are also developed specifically to suit customer wishes and are matched against our glaze shards to establish their expansion and shrinkage characteristics.

The process of finding the desired color, surface or even touch of the brick material is an exciting one, achieved in large measure through the decades of experience of our team of development specialists.
For subsequent production runs or similar enquiries, the colors of all bricks are measured digitally, as is the composition of raw materials and the data of the firing process, all stored in our in-house database.

+ Samples & Textures + Production steps + Technical knowledge

Creating a ceramic element

Production steps in detail

Discover the individual steps involved in ceramic production. Simply run the house over the relevant production step and learn all the details of the individual processes.

USE OF RAW MATERIALS
A large amount of loess clay can be found in the immediate vicinity of our plant. The type of raw material is decisive for the later coloring of the clay products. The raw material in our region contains iron oxide and therefore tends to burn red. At GIMA, they have always wanted to meet the requirements of the planners and have therefore bought in appropriate types of clay in order to achieve the exact desired color. We currently have around 20 different types of clay in stock.
PROCESSING
Sometimes up to four years pass between sampling and production of an order. In order to compensate for natural color fluctuations in the raw materials, the processing of these is an essential part of the production chain. Starting from the pan mill and across various rolling mills, the raw materials are turned into an even, homogeneous mass, which is then transported in layers into a sump. From here, a vertical layer of ten millimeters is removed and conveyed onto a distributor belt that transports the clay to the manufacturing plant.
SHAPING
Before the shaping begins, a further homogenization takes place by a circular screen feeder, after which the clay mass is conveyed into the extruder. For each specific shape there is an order-related mouthpiece through which the clay mass is pressed. This already results in the basic shape of the bricks. The extruded molding is finally brought into its final shape via the cutter and transported to the drying chamber or the continuous dryer by means of a molding carrier.
DRYING
We use two different forms of drying in our factory. In the continuous dryer, the molding passes through various stages of drying from 38 to 60 degrees Celsius, from high to low air humidity. A drying chamber, on the other hand, is closed: the individual stages of drying take place here inside the chamber.
PLACING
After drying, the bricks are placed on the kiln carriages in our setting systems. Different setting schemes are possible, which in turn have an influence on the final coloring. The fully loaded kiln carriages are pushed from the setting system into the tunnel kiln, which can hold up to 50 carriages.
BURNING
Different temperatures are found in the kiln according to the firing curve. At the entrance of the stove is the fireplace. Due to the prevailing countercurrent, however, the bricks are slowly warmed up before they reach the area with the maximum temperature. At the end of the tunnel kiln, the temperatures are cooler again, the air produced here is discharged and used for drying. For the real coal and salt fire, salt and coal are added during the burning process. No chemical dyes are used for the specific coloring of the bricks.
QUALITY CONTROL
After the oven trolleys have left the oven, they are sorted and checked. First, it is checked whether the produced bricks correspond to the sample board that was agreed with the planner. The bricks are sorted and checked according to the play of colors. Each batch is also checked by our internal laboratory for the requirements of the respective standards. Bricks that have met the specifications or broken pieces are sorted out, ground up again and fed into the combustion cycle according to the color.
OUTPUT OF GOODS
The tested goods are finally palletized, packaged, labeled and stored, whereupon they can be picked up by the client.
Feel free to get an idea of our factory yourself. The wide range of productions is always worth a visit with a personal factory tour. If you are interested, please contact us at any time using our contact form.

Ceramic expertise

Technical details

+ Technical knowledge of facades
+ Technical knowledge of floors

When using our products for floors and facades, a few aspects need to be clarified at the earliest possible stage of the project and this is why our professional team of in-house Service and Field Service staff are always there to assist you with their expertise, in person and in a straightforward manner.

On our technology pages you can already find a few technical details and answers to the following questions: What types of laying patterns and brick bonds are there? How do I plan expansion joints? Which air layer is advisable?

Here you can find initial information about the technical implementation of your project.

When using our products for floors and facades, a few aspects need to be clarified at the earliest possible stage of the project and this is why our professional team of in-house Service and Field Service staff are always there to assist you with their expertise, in person and in a straightforward manner.

On our technology pages you can already find a few technical details and answers to the following questions: What types of laying patterns and brick bonds are there? How do I plan expansion joints? Which air layer is advisable?

Here you can find initial information about the technical implementation of your project.

Weiterlesen

You will find more information in our download area.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

+ Contact