Fifteen patents in 20 years is a total to be proud of. Research and development play a leading role in the north of Saxony-Anhalt. Five employees at the rubber factory KRAIBURG RELASTEC GmbH in Salzwedel research and tinker around, looking for possible new uses of rubber floor coverings. They also have contact with colleges and universities incorporating the potential on offer in them. "We invest almost a million Euros each year on developing new solutions," explains Director Georg Stockhammer. And so the theory of the former East Germany simply being a business outpost of western Germany is refuted once again.They currently have another patent application pending. Stockhammer doesn't give much away when discussing the innovation in the area of paper. 2012 will see the production of floor panels that aren't only made out of recycled materials, but are also equipped with heating elements. These surfaces can also be heated via photovoltaic elements. The details on this solution remain a secret. "We're on the ball but we want to stay one step ahead of time," ensures the Director. His company has also been planning other projects using renewable raw materials for a long time. Conservation of resources is a matter of course.KRAIBURG Holding has never regretted its move to Salzwedel. When the Berlin Wall fell, the company began looking for a new location where it would be able to expand its production business. In the Altmark region they found a company which during the days of the GDR would turn old tyres into granulate, so-called raw flour, for use in new applications. On privatisation, KRAILBURG moved in and the 50 jobs that this plant supported were saved, ensuring no interruption to production took place. To date, roughly 25 million Euros have been invested in refurbishing the factory, with 2 million alone in 2011. It would not be wrong to describe it as a success story. Today, 175 employees work in production and administration. Roughly 85,000 tons of apparently useless old materials are processed into new products every year. The effective for different floor coverings has become our main business. The procedures are from in-house, the necessary specialist machines are often developed with companies in the region.Our close links with our surroundings are part of our company philosophy, ensures Stockhammer. He gives express praise to the sound collaboration with local councils, district councils and the state government. Short distances and rapid decisions at an official level had made a lot of things possible. They serve as a shining example for other locations. The RELSTEC range now contains more than 300 different products. Customer requirements are of special relevance in this context. "We respond to different requirements and seek technical solutions that secure wide ranging applications," explains the Director. The balancing act between variety and short delivery times has not always been easy to manage. It is nearly always possible to complete orders within eight days, however, made possible by storage space stretching over 30,000 square metres.Sports and elastic flooring, footfall sound insulation, fall protection panels for playgrounds, mats for building protection and cargo securing, safety mats for rail systems – all form part of the product range. And the products are sent to over 60 countries, worldwide. All in all, the export ratio of the rubber factory totals 78 percent. These products can be found in the United Arab Emirates as well as the USA and throughout Europe. The Porsche Arena in Stuttgart uses floor coverings made in Salzwedel, as well as Dubai International Airport and the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Qatar. More can be found on Sydney Harbour Bridge, with a span width of 503 meters, and in the Reichstag building in Berlin.RELASTEC is one of the biggest suppliers of fall protection products in the world, for example on playgrounds. The high-stress rubber strips are used for both tunnel seals and in dampening the vibrations of machines and systems. And horse and cattle breeders, who want to equip their stalls to the optimum level, are also among the buyers of floor coverings from Salzwedel.The Salzwedel company is part of KRAIBURG Holding GmbH & Co. KG which is based in Waldkraiburg, Bavaria. The group employs a total of 1,800 employees and in 2010, generated an annual turnover of 380 million Euros. It manufactures products at 13 global locations. Then there are sales offices in Italy, France, India and China.Author: Klaus-Peter Voigt Gummiwerk KRAIBURG RELASTEC GmbHFuchsberger Straße 429410 SalzwedelPersonal contact:Georg Stockhammerph: +49 (0)8683 / 701119E-Mail: georg.stockhammer@kraiburg-relastec.comWeb: www.kraiburg-relastec.com