weber.therm circle
Saint-Gobain Weber GmbH
Full-mineral thermal insulation systems such as weber.therm circle offer numerous advantages, including fire, heat and sound insulation characteristics, a vapour-permeable structure, algae protection without biocides, and versatility in the surface design. In conventional systems, the components are permanently bonded, making recycling practically impossible. The unique aspect of the solution from Saint-Gobain Weber is the ability to sort and return all components to the raw material cycle following deconstruction or demolition.
Award winner 2019 in the category »Produkt«»Germany alone uses five million cubic meters of insulating materials every year. These are often permanently attached to the building, meaning that they cannot be recycled. The recyclable heat insulation system weber.therm circle from Saint-Gobain Weber GmbH is an excellent innovation that aims to tackle this problem, and is an important step towards higher resource efficiency in the construction industry. The system also has other positive properties, including exceptional robustness and the fact that it does not require biocides.«
Dr. Bettina Rechenberg (in Vertretung für Maria Krautzberger)
Three questions for the designer
Can you remember the moment when you first had the idea for weber.therm circle?
The initial spark came when I was on the phone and simultaneously peeling an orange. The conversation was centred around composite thermal insulation systems (ETICS), which became instinctively linked with the activity of the peeling, and an idea suddenly flashed up: “The shell offers protection, always stays in place and can still be detached relatively straightforwardly.” The next thought was: “We could also apply this idea to an ETIC system.” However, it took several years for this idea to become a marketable and patented system.
What was your personal highlight in the development process of weber.therm circle? Was there a low point?
One of the high points was when we first applied the system to a building under real conditions, then removed it again and separated it into the various components. Namely, when it became clear that it was functioning as expected. It was a bitter disappointment that despite intensive preliminary work, and although all the values had been checked and verified, the general building inspection approval was not granted in time for the all-important BAU trade fair.
Where do you see yourself and your project in the next five years?
Now it is a matter of turning the general acclaim for the system into concrete purchasing intentions. Novel systems are always slow to assert themselves. One of our ETIC systems received a Federal Ecodesign Award back in 2012. Since then, the biocide-free AquaBalance plasters used in this system have been a huge success. weber.therm circle is likewise arriving at the right time and we are convinced that the market share will rise significantly over the coming five years.
