Pommer Spezialbetonbau

Pommer Spezialbetonbau GmbH is a German construction company based in Leipzig that specialises in reinforced-concrete (Stahlbeton) construction, concrete repair and protection, injection and grouting, carbon-concrete and cathodic corrosion protection (KKS), coatings, and work on mills and silos. Its roots go back to 1898, when the Leipzig architect and building contractor Max Pommer acquired the licence to execute the Hennebique reinforced-concrete system in Saxony and founded the firm Eisenbetonbau Max Pommer. That makes the business one of the pioneers of industrial reinforced-concrete construction in Saxony and Germany. The company today presents itself as a specialist across several fields: concrete structures, concrete restoration, and floor coatings. A particular focus is the repair and refurbishment of mill buildings and silo cells used for grain, flour, bran, pellets, maltings, sugar and feed. Its service portfolio also includes injection and grouting, carbon-concrete and cathodic corrosion protection, and coatings. The firm describes itself as carrying on a more than 125-year architectural, industrial and corporate history. Ownership and leadership have remained in the Pommer family across generations. After the founder's death in 1915 his sons Hans and Max (II) took over; the company was expropriated in the GDR era, and Dieter Pommer re-founded the present GmbH in 1991 after German reunification. Since 1997 Michael Pommer, son of Dieter Pommer, has been with the company and became sole managing director in 2000. The company is a private limited company (GmbH) and is not publicly listed.

The company's history begins with Max Pommer, a sought-after Leipzig architect at the end of the 19th century who built city villas in the most prestigious locations and commercial buildings for successful entrepreneurs. In 1898 he received the licence to execute the Hennebique reinforced-concrete system in Saxony. The system consistently realised the monolithic idea of construction: the floor slab and the load-bearing longitudinal and transverse ribs formed an inseparable unit, and it allowed spectacular roofing of areas up to 10,000 square metres. Pommer built, for example, the carriage halls of the Great Leipzig Tramway, and the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is regarded as an outstanding masterpiece of his art of construction. The immediate trigger for Pommer becoming a building contractor himself was a commission he received in 1898 from the music printing firm C. G. Röder in Leipzig for an extension building. Pommer wanted to build the printing works in reinforced concrete but found no construction firms willing to execute this novel structure according to his plans. The office of Martenstein & Josseaux in Offenbach was Hennebique's German main licensee, and Pommer carried out the work himself under their direction, with them also supplying the structural calculations. The building application was submitted on 28 February 1898, revised plans followed on 26 April, and the building permit was granted on 7 May 1898. The shell inspection took place on 24 September and final acceptance on 23 December; production in the new rooms began on 7 January 1899. The printing wing in Leipzig's Perthesstrasse is thus the oldest building in Germany — possibly even in Europe — with a complete multi-storey reinforced-concrete structure according to François Hennebique's system. Because Martenstein & Josseaux also had the right to pass on concessions to other sub-licensees, Pommer negotiated with them for the award of the Hennebique concession for Saxony. The contract was signed on 13 June 1898, and this day is regarded as the founding date of the Max Pommer construction company. Pommer was thus the first Saxon civil engineer to hold a licence for reinforced-concrete construction. As early as the following year he executed five further buildings using Hennebique constructions. When Hennebique had the utility models cancelled in 1901, Pommer dissolved the contract and could from then on plan and execute reinforced-concrete structures himself. He still ran the construction business within his architectural office, which was located in his home at Hillerstrasse on the corner of Plagwitzer Strasse (Haus Pommer). Through its specialisation in the then-young field of reinforced concrete, the company achieved high renown and was substantially responsible for the beginnings of industrial construction in Saxony at the end of the 19th century. By 1905 the company had grown so much that Pommer had to move his office to Weststrasse 65. On 28 December 1906 he had his firm Eisenbetonbau Max Pommer entered in the commercial register. Until the end of 1912 he continued to run his architectural office alongside. Since the turn of the century the number of construction firms in reinforced-concrete building had grown rapidly; in Leipzig three other firms were now competing with Max Pommer. At the beginning of the First World War the Pommer company counted 100 employees and had branches in Halle, Chemnitz and Dresden. After Pommer's death in 1915 his sons Hans and Max (II), whom Pommer had already taken on as partners in 1907 and 1910, took over the management of the company, which, however, existed only on paper as a result of the war. After both returned from the war in 1918 they began to rebuild the business, but the order situation at that time was very modest. From 1934 the number of orders grew by leaps and bounds, so that the company soon again had more than 600 employees. In 1934 Max Pommer (III), who had studied civil engineering in Munich and Dresden, joined the company, and in 1936 he became authorised signatory. When Hans Pommer died in 1939, Max Pommer (III) took the position of personally liable partner. During this period the company was an important operation for the war economy, with orders for barracks buildings and for the armaments industry. From 1941 it received the first orders for the construction of air-raid shelters. The company also used forced labourers in the office and on construction sites. After the Second World War, following the American occupation, the Pommer company very soon received orders for the reconstruction of railway bridges and Leipzig Hauptbahnhof. After the change of occupying power it survived the first waves of expropriation in the Soviet occupation zone. In the 1950s the creeping expropriation of private businesses in the GDR began. Because of economic reprisals, the owner Max Pommer II converted the company into a firm with state participation. In 1967 the grandson Dieter Pommer joined as head of the project planning department, and in 1972 the firm was expropriated. Father and son were allowed to remain as employees. After German reunification, Dieter Pommer re-founded the present GmbH in 1991 under the old name and committed to the company tradition. Since 1997 Michael Pommer, son of Dieter Pommer, has been with the company; with the year 2000 he became sole managing director. Today the company presents itself as a specialist for mills and silos, refurbishing mill buildings and silo cells for grain, flour, bran, pellets, maltings, sugar and feed, and offering services in concrete structures, concrete restoration and floor coating.

• 2000

  Michael Pommer becomes sole managing director.

• 1997

  Michael Pommer, son of Dieter Pommer, joins the company.

• 1991

  After German reunification, Dieter Pommer re-founds the present GmbH under the old name.

• 1972

  The company is expropriated in the GDR; father and son remain as employees.

• 1967

  Dieter Pommer joins as head of the project planning department.

• 1941

  First orders for the construction of air-raid shelters.

• 1939

  Hans Pommer dies; Max Pommer (III) becomes personally liable partner.

• 1934

  Orders grow sharply; the company again has more than 600 employees. Max Pommer (III) joins the firm.

• 1915

  Max Pommer dies; his sons Hans and Max (II) take over the company.

• 1906

  On 28 December the firm Eisenbetonbau Max Pommer is entered in the commercial register.

• 1905

  The company has grown so much that Pommer moves his office to Weststrasse 65.

• 1901

  Hennebique cancels the utility models; Pommer dissolves the contract and can plan and execute reinforced-concrete structures independently.

• 1899

  Production begins in the new reinforced-concrete printing works wing on 7 January.

• 1898

  Max Pommer signs the Hennebique concession contract for Saxony on 13 June; this date is regarded as the founding of the construction company.

• 1898

  Building application for the C. G. Röder printing works extension in Leipzig-Reudnitz, the oldest multi-storey reinforced-concrete building in Germany.

Specialist contractor for reinforced-concrete construction, concrete repair and mill/silo refurbishment, building on a company tradition of more than 125 years.

• Reinforced-concrete structures

  Design and construction of reinforced-concrete buildings and structures.

• Concrete repair and restoration

  Repair and restoration of concrete structures, including industrial buildings.

• Injection and grouting

  Injection and grouting services for sealing and stabilising concrete.

• Carbon-concrete and cathodic corrosion protection (KKS)

  Advanced methods for strengthening and protecting reinforced-concrete structures.

• Coatings and floor coatings

  Protective coatings and industrial floor coating systems.

• Mill and silo refurbishment

  Specialist repair of mill buildings and silo cells for grain, flour, bran, pellets, maltings, sugar and feed.

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3. 3Pommer Spezialbetonbau - Wikidatawikidata.org
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