Old Europe: spiers of Gothic cathedrals, tiled roofs, neat brick facades and clinker-paved streets that flow down to picturesque squares. Entourage over which time has no power. The clatter of hooves, cabs huddle against the walls to make way for the important carriage. And now cars are buzzing with horns to the shouts of boys selling fresh press. Broken windows, soot on the walls, tank columns crawling along the same pavements. A pile of signs, trays, traffic jam, general vanity. And at dawn, a brand new minivan moves along a deserted, perfectly clean street - in several takes, for a new advertising clip.
The bright clinker on which the car is rushing remembers the tracks of tanks and the clink of horseshoes …
Until the 19th century, European streets were paved with mostly natural stone. Those that are post-status are cobblestones, the rest are cobblestones. The labor of stonecutters is expensive and ineffective, and in the era of the formation of industry and the commercial boom, the need for communications and appropriate infrastructure has increased many times over. The shaking cobblestones, requiring constant maintenance, could not solve the problem. However, a holy place is never empty: first, the Danes, and then the Dutch and Germans, were able to create a clinker stone - a heavy-duty brick (and from German Klinker literally translates as "brick"), perfect for paving streets. Germany has huge reserves of highly plastic clays, which form the basis of this building material, and therefore quickly took a leading position in the production of clinker paving stones.
The clinker, in comparison with the products of stone cutters, turned out to be much cheaper: handicraft production (and then there simply did not exist) could be organized in the immediate vicinity of the road under construction, the ideal geometry of the blocks simplified and accelerated the laying process. At the same time, man-made stone is not inferior to natural stone in terms of strength, frost resistance, abrasion resistance and other parameters. Moreover, clinker paving stones are devoid of microcracks, which are always present in the rock, increase during mechanical processing and lead to cracks when the moisture that gets inside freezes. And it does not "phonite", unlike most hard rocks, for which an increased level of radiation is considered normal.
It should be noted that in order to obtain high-quality clinker, very precise adherence to the technology is required. Combination of different types of clays, thorough grinding, uniformity of mixing, absence of foreign inclusions, molding, drying, firing mode. Ordinary brick acquires the necessary strength at a temperature of 900 ° C (for a building brick, 700 ° is often enough), and in order for the clinker to become sonorous, the firing temperature must reach 1100-1250 ° C, when the mineral mass melts, filling the smallest internal voids, and sinters into a monolith … As a result, a product is obtained that surpasses concrete in strength and is comparable to granites and dolerites, has a water absorption of 2-3% (the indicator is lower only for porcelain stoneware and glass) and a very beautiful surface texture.
If we talk about today, then in the price range among products intended for road surfaces, clinker paving stones are in the "premium" segment. In the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev completely curtailed the clinker production as unprofitable; today, local officials on the sidewalks and in recreation areas are changing the asphalt to colored figured concrete tiles on a grand scale. It looks acceptable, it is very inexpensive, the volume of shipment is limited only by production facilities. However, clinker, unlike typewriters or cassette recorders, has not become part of history. On the contrary, every year the range of paving stones is expanding, and the demand for it does not fall even during the crisis …
The Hagemeister plant was founded back in 1870 in Germany as a family business. In those days, manufactories specializing in the production of road clinker in Europe multiplied like mushrooms after a rain. Fierce competition and the development of industrial technologies at the beginning of the twentieth century forced many to leave the market. However, Hagemeister kept up with the times, updating the equipment, expanding the range - in addition to paving stones, the production of clinker and clinker tiles was put on the conveyor here - and found new color-texture solutions. From generation to generation, not only the secrets of craftsmanship were passed down, but also the ability to feel, unmistakably predict what is interesting and what will be in demand by architects, developers, homeowners in the near future. 150 million Hagemeister clinker bricks find their customers annually in Germany, other EU countries, and Russia. And this despite the fact that the plant is among the leaders, but is by no means a monopoly on the clinker market.
Clinker paving stones are preferred by those who want to create a stable path once for a lifetime. In Europe, you can find streets and squares that were paved a century and a half ago and still do not require renovation. Such longevity is only possible with cast-iron pavements (which, for various reasons, have not become widespread), but not asphalt or concrete. Ordinary paving slabs wear out and crack very quickly, because concrete tends to weathered and is very fragile to break. The concrete is erased from regular loads, forming a rut, crumbles from the spikes of winter rubber, and is chipped off with snow scrapers and brushes. Concrete comes into chemical contact and breaks down from various reagents, oil, fuel oil. It fades in the sun and loses its original color, since the color pigments do not have a single structure with the "supporting structure", while the dirt absorbs into the depth of the tile, leaving stains that can never be removed. As a result, in a few years, or even just in the coming spring, the paths lined with concrete tiles will require serious and laborious repairs. And clinker in the same conditions is able to retain its shape and color for decades. In appearance, the paving stones will be indistinguishable from those that have just left the factory. That is, the initial investment, in fact, becomes final. Moreover: the clinker can be reused, for example, in the case of redevelopment of the landscape environment.
Clinker paving stones look harmonious in any environment. Created from natural ingredients, it does not try to compete with the natural environment. Brick or clinker-faced walls become vertical continuation of the paths; solid log houses can sprout from clinker formwork, artistically speaking. Hagemeister offers dozens of color options for paving stones. These can be strict classic options "like a brick" - muted matte or, on the contrary, juicy and bright - "showing the way." There are variegated collections, where each tile has a unique pattern with transitions from one color to another, often keeping traces of high-temperature firing.
There are light sand, almost white, or even anthracite-black, merging with the ground and the trunks of age-old trees. The front side of the paving stone can be smooth and glossy, or rough (natural or soldered onto the surface of coarse sand) - respectively, anti-slip. In addition to traditional "bricks" of different formats, the manufacturer offers trapezoidal bars that allow you to easily arrange a round platform or turn the walkway in the desired direction.
To the advantages of the road clinker offered by Hagemeister, it is worth adding a wide range of auxiliary elements: slopes, curbs, steps combined with paving stones. The manufacturer has a huge number of ready-made solutions that allow a dream or a complex design idea to be converted into high-quality world-class ceramics … In products that will outlive customers, but will keep the memory of their creators for posterity. It is worth noting that Hagemeister, realizing the growing demand for its products in our country - among private customers, professional architects, non-committed developers - has a Russian-speaking consultant on its staff who is ready to quickly assess the technical feasibility of implementing any completely exclusive idea. Moreover, in the presence of even the simplest graphic sketches, the plant will undertake the manufacture of patterns and the release of a limited batch of clinker - according to the needs of a particular client.
Kirill has been cooperating with Hagemeister for many years. The products of the German plant meet not only the most stringent European requirements, but also the Qbriks standard adopted by us. We maintain a sufficient number of products from Germany in our warehouse in Moscow, which are in constant demand among leading Russian consumers. And we are open to cooperation with you!
