Niederbayerische Schotterwerke Rieger & Seil

Niederbayerische Schotterwerke Rieger & Seil is a German granite quarrying and processing company based in Neustift, a district of the municipality of Ortenburg in the Landkreis Passau in Lower Bavaria. The business traces its origins to 1882, when the stonemason's apprentice Georg Seil (1858–1918) discovered an exposed granite outcrop along the Wolfach stream and began quarrying it with his wife and a few helpers. The company has remained a family-and-partner-run private operation for well over a century and is one of the older continuously active natural-stone producers in the region. The firm's core activity is the extraction and refinement of local granite, which belongs to the Bohemian Granite Massif and is described by the company as a fine-grained, tough biotite granite with a dense structure and high frost resistance. From this raw material the company produces railway ballast (Gleisschotter), crushed sand and chippings (Brechsand und Splitte), premium crushed sand and premium chippings (Edelbrechsand und Edelsplitte), as well as frost-protection and base-course material (Frostschutz und Schottertragschicht). These products serve railway construction, road construction and building construction. According to the company, daily output today amounts to roughly 4,000 tonnes of crusher products, and annual extraction reaches up to 700,000 tonnes of granite across five working levels (Bermen). Customers include Deutsche Bahn AG as well as asphalt-mix and concrete producers and public and private construction projects. The quarry's lowest working level lies 243 metres above sea level and is described as the deepest open working point in southern Bavaria. The company presents itself as an important regional economic factor and a reliable employer, with more than 60 employees in recent years (64 according to the German Wikipedia entry). Its stated philosophy centres on first-class product quality, reliability towards customers and a sense of responsibility towards employees. Management is led by managing director Harald Huemer, supported by authorised signatory (Prokuristin) Marion Wagner and operations manager Alois Orthuber, with a sales team and in-house workshops for vehicles, metalwork and electrical work. The company maintains a German-language website with company history, product information, a price list and a company brochure. It remains a privately held, non-listed business and continues to operate the historic Neustift quarry.

The history of the Niederbayerischen Schotterwerke begins, in the company's own telling, with an accident. Georg Seil, born in 1858, was on his way from Neustift to his parents in Aisterham when he stumbled over a stone. Investigating the site, he noticed that a flood had exposed granite rock in the steeply falling water trench along the Wolfach. The stonemason's apprentice decided to exploit the discovery commercially and, together with his wife and a few helpers, began quarrying granite in 1882. The first products were large paving stones and rubble stones of all sizes, transported away by horse-drawn carts. In 1908 the entrepreneur Johann Rieger joined the business, which from then on was called 'Niederbayerische Schotterwerke Rieger & Seil'. In the same year the regional railway line Vilshofen–Ortenburg (the Wolfachtalbahn) was completed, initiating the company's economic upswing. With the opening of the Wolfachtalbahn in January 1908, sales expanded across Germany, including use as railway ballast and road-building material. In 1923 the quarry carried out its first chamber blasting (Kammersprengung) in Neustift — a sensation for the time. One or two tunnels were driven into the rock so that a chamber formed at the far end; this was filled with explosives, walled up and then detonated. Between the world wars the Schotterwerke experienced a boom: by the end of the 1930s more than 200 employees worked in the quarry, with hourly production of about 150 tonnes. During both world wars prisoners of war were also forced to work in the operation. In the following decades the works were continually modernised and adapted to the technical standards of the day. A milestone in this development was the first excavator to enter the works site in 1952. At the beginning of the 1960s more than 400 people worked in the company, and at peak times the operation employed up to 400 staff. In 1988 the operation was fundamentally rebuilt: the crusher that processed the blasted rock was renewed as part of a comprehensive modernisation. Over the course of its more than 125-year history the company transformed from a small craft business into a large gravel works with the most modern technology. By the 2010s the company employed 64 people and extracted up to 700,000 tonnes of granite annually on five working levels (Bermen). The lowest working level lies 243 metres above sea level and is described as the deepest open working point in southern Bavaria. The company continues to supply Deutsche Bahn AG, asphalt-mix and concrete producers, and public and private construction projects, producing roughly 4,000 tonnes of crusher products per day.

• 1988

  The operation is fundamentally rebuilt, including renewal of the crusher.

• 1960

  At the beginning of the 1960s more than 400 people work in the company.

• 1952

  The first excavator enters the works site, a milestone in mechanisation.

• 1930

  By the end of the 1930s more than 200 employees work in the quarry, with hourly production of about 150 tonnes.

• 1923

  First chamber blasting (Kammersprengung) carried out at Neustift.

• 1908

  Johann Rieger joins the business, which is renamed 'Niederbayerische Schotterwerke Rieger & Seil'; the Vilshofen–Ortenburg railway opens, boosting sales across Germany.

• 1882

  Georg Seil begins granite quarrying in Neustift after discovering an exposed granite outcrop along the Wolfach.

Regional specialist producer of high-quality granite aggregates for railway, road and building construction, emphasising product quality, reliability and long tradition since 1882.

• Gleisschotter aus Granit (granite railway ballast)

  Railway ballast produced from Neustift granite, supplied among others to Deutsche Bahn AG.

• Brechsand und Splitte aus Granit (crushed sand and chippings)

  Crushed sand and chippings for asphalt and concrete production and construction use.

• Edelbrechsand und Edelsplitte aus Granit (premium crushed sand and chippings)

  Higher-grade crushed sand and chippings refined from Neustift granite.

• Frostschutz und Schottertragschicht aus Granit (frost protection and base-course material)

  Granite aggregate for frost protection and base-course layers in road construction.

• Großpflastersteine und Bruchsteine (large paving stones and rubble stone)

  Historic first products of the quarry, used for house and bridge construction.

1. 1Niederbayerische Schotterwerke | Startseitendb-schotterwerke.de
2. 2Niederbayerische Schotterwerke | Geschichtendb-schotterwerke.de
3. 3Niederbayerische Schotterwerke | Unternehmenndb-schotterwerke.de
4. 4Niederbayerische Schotterwerke | Ansprechpartnerndb-schotterwerke.de
5. 5Niederbayerische Schotterwerke – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
6. 6Niederbayerische Schotterwerke – Wikidatawikidata.org