Our GRP products –
as efficient as we are
The fibre composite GRP is considered to be an exceptional load-bearing composite. It is unique due to the wealth of its features and applications – no other material offers such a versatile combination of benefits.
GRP is indispensable for many industries:
- Mobile phone network
- Traffic engineering
- Telecommunications
- Plant construction
- Energy technology
- Fire protection and fire water storage
- Agriculture
- Water management and municipal infrastructure
More and more industries rely on the advantages of this material, and the range of applications is continually expanding. Our newest product field shows this: from the winding technology we have used for four decades to manufacture antenna cylinders, smokestacks and special vessels, large-volume water tanks from 15,000 to 100,000 litres have emerged – for fire water storage, agriculture, industrial processes and municipal tasks.
As an innovation leader, we orientate ourselves according to new ideas, developments and tasks. Talk to us about your ideas and wishes.
GRP water tanks and fire water storage
Water in reserve
Fire water supply has to be demonstrated in the building application. Dry spells are getting longer and heavy rainfall arrives in ever shorter bursts. Data centres, production plants and agricultural businesses need water that is available when it is needed. Over recent years water has moved from a marginal question to a planning task – and demand for large-volume, permanently functioning tanks continues to grow.
IBK Fibertec manufactures these tanks using the filament winding process: with the same technology and the same engineering expertise we have applied for around 40 years to antenna cylinders, smokestacks and special vessels. Volumes from 15,000 to 100,000 litres, diameters of 2.0 to 4.0 metres, lengths of up to approximately 15 metres – single-piece, above or below ground, horizontal or vertical, and arranged as a cascade of several tanks where larger capacities are required.
Every tank is designed for the specific project. We do not supply catalogue products, we supply calculated load-bearing structures.
Applications
- Fire water storage in industry, commerce and logistics – logistics centres, production halls, data centres, commercial parks, battery storage and photovoltaic installations. Design to DIN 14230, extraction connections, pump sump and dome solutions.
→ More information - Fire water on agricultural holdings – livestock buildings, machinery halls, biogas plants, riding and equestrian facilities. Frequently triggered by a building application, a fire protection concept or an insurance requirement.
→ More information - Irrigation and sprinkling – field irrigation, fruit, vegetable and speciality crops, frost protection sprinkling. Holding a reserve creates independence from abstraction restrictions during dry periods.
- Rainwater and heavy rainfall – large roof and hall areas deliver considerable volumes in a short time. A tank retains what would otherwise burden the sewer system and makes the water available for later use. Retention and use in a single structure.
- Process, cooling and utility water – buffer tanks in industrial plants, cooling water, cleaning and utility water. Designed with regard to the medium, temperature and structural loading.
- Municipal and public infrastructure – stormwater retention, fire water in outlying areas, accompanying measures for rail, motorway and tunnel projects.
- Emergency and reserve water – security of supply during outages, interim and construction site supply, intermediate storage during conversions in ongoing operation.
- Replacement of existing installations – where concrete tanks crack or steel tanks corrode through, replacement with GRP is often less expensive than refurbishment.
The list is deliberately open-ended. Wherever large quantities of water have to be reliably available, a filament-wound GRP tank is an option – including for applications not yet listed on this page. Talk to us.
Why filament-wound GRP
- Corrosion-free – no rust, no internal coating, no recurring corrosion protection cycles. Also resistant to standing water, condensate, chloride-bearing environments and ammonia-laden stable air.
- Wound to suit the load instead of built to be massive – circumferential fibre layers for internal pressure, axial portions for bending moments, ring stiffeners and local reinforcements exactly where earth load, traffic load and uplift act.
- Single-piece up to approximately 15 metres – no segment joints, fewer interfaces, shorter construction time.
- Low weight – smaller lifting equipment, simpler logistics, reduced foundation requirements.
- Low creep tendency – decisive for buried installation under sustained load, where standard PE reaches its limits.
- Long service life – several decades with proper design and proper installation, repairable by laminate rework.
Design features
Inspection opening (manhole DN 600–800 mm, top or side, optionally with dome extension) · connection flanges compatible with DIN/EN 1092 · measuring nozzles for fill level, temperature and sampling · ring stiffeners · saddle supports and cradles · pump sump.
Normative classification
Design is carried out on a project-specific basis with reference to the relevant codes and standards, including DIN 14230 (fire water tanks), DIN EN 13121 (GRP tanks), DIN EN 1991 (Eurocode 1), traffic loads SLW 30 / SLW 60 as well as groundwater and uplift situations. Structural engineering, design and manufacturing are all in-house, and the verifications belong in the offer package. Quality management to ISO 9001:2015.
Two ways to go deeper
GRP storage for fire water and industry → Fire water storage, process and cooling water, normative classification, project process.
GRP large water tanks for agriculture → Fire water on the farm, rainwater harvesting, irrigation, utility water.
We are happy to support you as early as the design or approval phase. Request planning documents
GRP structural components
for rotor blades
Gone with the wind...
Rotor blades of wind turbines are now too large to be transported over roads to construction sites. They are therefore manufactured in two parts and assembled at the construction site. The internal structural component is manufactured by IBK-Fibertec by means of a winding process.
This is the inside blade of an E115 by Enercon:
www.enercon.de
www.wind-turbine-models.com
GRP antenna cylinders and panels
A worldwide success for IBK-Fibertec
Professional antenna systems are installed all over the world on high transmitter masts and towers.
As a radome (radar dome), GRP offers decisive advantages for transmitters:
- The highest degree of transparency in relation to electromagnetic radiation
- Protection of the antennas from environmental influences such as ice, snow, rain, wind and dirt
- Protection of antennas and brackets from corrosion
Regardless of the weather conditions, the antenna systems can be inspected, upgraded and extended at any time.
GRP radio masts
Three times better
For three key reasons, GRP for mobile phone masts is the optimal alternative to steel and reinforced concrete:
1. Low weight reduces material and logistics costs
GRP masts weigh less than a third of reinforced concrete masts. This saves expensive access development in hard-to-reach areas, reduces the cost of foundations and minimises deployment costs, resulting in significant savings regarding material and logistics costs.
2. High degree of electromagnetic transparency
GRP is transparent to electromagnetic waves. With this high degree of permeability, GRP is therefore the ideal material for the cladding of antennas. In addition, due to its minimal attenuation, it also allows for antenna installation inside the masts.
3. Extensive freedom from maintenance
GRP masts are exceptionally resistant to weather and corrosion. Even in climatically demanding areas with high weathering requirements, regular costly maintenance is no longer required.
GRP support towers
Resistant in all kinds of weather
IBK has developed and manufactured a GRP support tower for its partner SPL for the coastal train in Ostend, Belgium. It is a worldwide innovation, since the mast provides both stability and insulation. Other advantages include corrosion resistance in the difficult weather conditions on the North Sea, as well as longevity. For the contact wire, insulators can be completely dispensed with, since the mast adequately acts as an insulator.
IBK-Fibertec engineering and design
From development to realisation
We support our customers in the planning, design and production of high-strength and high-quality products made of fiber composites.
In order to be able to help them efficiently in all phases, we offer complete performance from a single source:
- Construction on modern 3D-CAD workstations (with SolidWorks to shorten development cycles)
- Static and dynamic calculations
- Laminate calculations using our own specialist software
- Structural design, including building applications
- FEM analysis
- Vibration measurements
Our GRP special components –
instead of standard solutions
The application of fibre composite technology has made extraordinary progress in recent decades. New applications and areas of use are being developed regularly. IBK-Fibertec has played a key role in this dynamic innovation process. Many years of experience and advanced expertise form the solid foundation for the design, development and production of individual and specific solutions. Our newest product field has emerged from exactly this process: the large-volume GRP water tanks.
GRP pressure vessels and special vessels
Keeping our promise
GRP vessels are resistant to corrosion and acid, dimensionally stable and extremely durable. IBK-Fibertec manufactures special vessels to requirement in terms of size, pressure and medium – including for aggressive chemical media where coated steel reaches its limits. Design and verification are carried out on a project-specific basis, including to DIN EN 13121.
For pressureless water applications from 15,000 to 100,000 litres, you will find the relevant section further up the page: GRP water tanks and fire water storage.
GRP smokestacks
The chemistry is right
Smokestacks made of GRP are resistant to corrosion and acid in relation to aggressive chemical media. IBK-Fibertec offers self-supporting GRP smokestacks with diameters of up to 3 m and lengths over 50 m.
GRP lighthouses
Bring light into the darkness
Lighthouses made of fiberglass are completely weather resistant, seawater resistant and sustainable.
GRP bumpers
They can handle a lot
GRP vibration absorbers
Tranquillity itself, even during hurricanes
Vibration absorbers serve to absorb building vibrations, particularly those caused by wind. They keep transmitter masts, for example, stable even in high winds and guarantee unrestricted transmission power. IBK-Fibertec develops vibration absorbers coordinated with antenna cylinders and transmitter masts from our own production.
GRP structures
Steles for the route of the industrial culture in NRW
Originally, prominent points of the route were marked by stainless steel steles. The material corroded after some time, though, so it was decided to replace them with GRP steles. With stability for traffic safety and the longevity of the material, GRP offers decisive advantages for sustainable use.
