Natural stone: Sustainable building material from Altmühlfranken

03/18/2022

The mining of Solnhofener Plattenkalk, Jura limestone and dolomite is not only an important source of income for the Altmühlfranken region, the stones also convince with a good ecological balance. Not everyone in the region is aware of this. That wants to change the network natural stone Altmühlfranken (NNA) through its work.

The largest limestone deposit in Germany is located in the south of Central Franconia. Solnhofen slab limestone and Jura limestone - more commonly known as Jura marble - have been quarried there for decades. This traditional product is still in great demand today: the stones are used, among other things, for facades, window sills, floor and wall coverings, and in gardening and landscaping as masonry stones for dry stone walls, pavers and floors. Depending on the layer height, these are used as ornamental and retaining walls in the home garden and also as slope support in town crossings, highways and railroad lines. They are also indispensable as crushed stone and chippings in road construction. Because of their versatility, natural stones "made in Altmühlfanken" are also so popular that they are also used worldwide for prestigious construction projects, for example, for the Hudson Yards skyline in New York and the Al Hamra Tower in Kuwait.

Natural product with a convincing ecological balance

However, limestones are not only convincing in terms of quality, but also in terms of sustainability: unlike other building materials, stones are a natural product that does not first have to be manufactured at high energy cost. They also have a high recycling rate. According to the Bundesverband Baustoffe - Steine und Erden e. V. (German Federal Association for Building Materials - Stone and Earth), the cost of energy consumption for working and processing natural stone is only 3.3 percent of the production value. Regionality is also an important sustainability factor. Long transport routes are eliminated if the natural stones are used for local construction projects. The renaturation of disused quarries also plays an important role in biodiversity: different animal and plant species, some of them endangered, settle there and enrich the local ecosystem. The quarries become habitats for bird species such as peregrine falcons, eagle owls, common ravens, wallcreepers and jackdaws. Small bodies of water are also regularly created during quarrying operations. They take on important functions for biodiversity and are habitats for Becher's blue damselfly, yellow-bellied toad or Alpine newt. The disused quarries therefore do not become wasteland, as nature reclaims these areas.

Netzwerk Naturstein: Gemeinsam mehr erreichen

The fact that a true treasure lies on their doorstep is well known to the municipalities and stone-processing companies in the region. In order to raise public awareness of natural stone as a quality product and to ensure the future viability of the industry, they joined forces in 2015 under the leadership of the Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen district to form the Naturstein Altmühlfranken Network (NNA). On the one hand, the regionally based stone companies Franken-Schotter, Schotter- und Steinwerk Weißenburg, Solnhofen Stone Group GmbH, Max Balz GmbH & Co., the Vereinigte Marmorwerke Kaldorf GmbH and the Förderverein Ausbildung für moderne Natursteinausbildung in Eichstätt e.V. On the other hand, the STEINreichen5 communities of Langenaltheim, Mörnsheim, Pappenheim, Solnhofen and Treuchtlingen, the market town of Titting, the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen and the district of Eichstätt. The network is coordinated by the New Materials Cluster of Bayern Innovativ GmbH, which, as an innovation and business promoter, brings plenty of expertise in network management.

But can a network of competitors work at all? "Yes of course", network coordinator Sabine Thümmler of Bayern Innovativ is convinced. "In order to ensure a positive perception of the natural product stone and to attract potential young talent, the companies and communities have to work together. Together, you are simply more successful." After all, she says, not everyone in the region knows that the natural stone deposits are unique and that the associated industry is a sustainable one.

Traveling exhibition 2022

In order to exchange ideas, the participating communities and companies meet regularly and plan high-profile activities. For 2022, for example, a traveling exhibition is planned in which different natural stones as well as their processing and areas of application will be presented. The exhibition will start at the Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen district office and then stop at various locations in the region. As suitable exhibition places the organizing have among other things schools as well as publicly frequented places in the two districts in the view: After all, the aim is to attract the interest and enthusiasm of young people in particular.

Become part of the Natural Stone Network

Is your company or organization active in the stone industry and based in the Eichstätt or Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district? Do you want to join us in promoting a positive perception of the natural product and secure the future of the industry? Then contact our network coordinator Sabine Thümmler or the respective local business development office. We look forward to active support!