Vorstand des
Gützeschutzverbandes Betonschalungen

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Motzko,

Vice President, Executive Director, Institute of Construction Management, Technical Uni­versity of Darmstadt. A graduate in civil engineering, Christoph Motzko joined GSV (Committee B) in 1998 and has served as Chair­man since 1999.

Other appointments: Advisory Professor at Tongji University, Shanghai, PR China; Member of the Supervisory Board, HOCHTIEF Polska SA.; Member of the Board of Directors of “Kassel-Darm­städter Bau­betriebs­semi­nar” (Kas­sel-Darmstadt Con­struction Seminar); Member of the Board of Trustees of the “Stiftung Bauwesen” (Building Foundation); Expert Consultant for the “Alexander von Hum­boldt-Stiftung” (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation).

Martin Hemberger
 

Martin Hemberger, CEO of Hünnbeck Deutschland GmbH.

Hemberger has been Deputy Chairman of GSV since 2006.

Dr.-Ing. Olaf Leitzbach
 

MEVA Formwork Systems, Inc, he is responsible for the areas of materials development and patent law, he is also the quality management officer for the entire company. A graduate process engineer,

Olaf Leitzbach has worked in GSV Committee A since 1996 and has been its head since 2008

20 years of Güteschutzverband Betonschalungen

Working successfully to promote high quality and safety in formwork technology

GSV Güteschutzverband Betonschalungen e. V. can look back very positively on twenty years of intensive work. Since its inception in 1992, the association has grown to become a respected authority for quality assurance in the international formwork industry. The “GSV geprüft” (GSV-tested) quality seal launched by the association is a recognised quality mark for formwork products.

The GSV Güteschutzverband Betonschalungen e. V. has set itself the goal of promoting a spirit of partnership between formwork suppliers and users to further develop formwork technology and to ensure its quality. In short: the association develops standards for formwork practice that enable users to work safely and achieve high-quality results.
Five formwork manufacturers came together in Germany in 1992 with the joint aim of providing formwork users with reliable, objective guidance based on uniform criteria. Now the association has 26 members - renowned international manufacturers of formwork systems and components as well as European formwork users.

Avoiding conflict

Since it was founded, the GSV has consistently tackled controversial topics relating to formwork technology and attempted to clear up areas of potential conflict by making objectively verifiable and comparable criteria available to all parties. Over the twenty years of the association's work, numerous practical rules, guidelines and codes have been developed for the construction, design and use of formwork for concrete (in English too). These publications are especially helpful to those who deal daily with formwork.
Within the first few years, for example, the association produced the GSV instructional booklet “Rental formwork”, a binding guideline applicable to all manufacturers that brings transparency to the relationship between formwork hirers and rental companies in the rapidly growing formwork rental business. With this document and the “Quality criteria for rental formwork”, which describes a recognised vendor-independent standard for the technical condition of rental formwork, the GSV has laid the groundwork for fair cooperation of providers and users. The GSV guideline “Handling and maintenance instructions for formwork systems” offers further practical advice intended to help users achieve high quality results.
Other publications of the association are dedicated to the major issue of safety. These include, for example, the GSV guideline “Important information regarding the intended use and safe application of formwork and falsework” and the “Recommendations on the preparation of a risk assessment for the use of formwork”. Both documents help construction companies and subcontractors fulfil their statutory liabilities with regard to safely.
In addition, the GSV also regularly comments on current events, issues and needs of the market and is involved in interesting projects in research and development. The association continues to be involved in national and international standardisation, committed with its GSV Academy to education and training, and offers a platform for the professional exchange of information through various events co-organising with the Institute of Construction Management of the University of Darmstadt and conferences with BetonMarketing West. The GSV is also co-organiser of the Kassel-Darmstadt construction seminars on formwork technology.

Quality seal “GSV-tested”

One of the GSV's greatest achievements is the “GSV-tested” quality seal, which has become synonymous on the market with high-quality, safe formwork products since its introduction in 1995. Compliance with the GSV guideline “Guideline for granting the GSV quality seal for frame formwork for vertical components” is an essential step in obtaining the GSV quality seal. The award is granted on a product-by-product basis after the successful completion of an application procedure and testing in accordance with consistent guidelines by an independent expert. Construction drawings, material composition and structural analyses must be submitted for examination. The quality seal gives the user the assurance that the use of the certified formwork will comply with the required dimensional tolerances (load capacity, deflection, concrete pressure etc.) in building construction.
The protection of the EU individual mark “GSV Güteschutzverband Betonschalungen” and the EU collective mark “GSV geprüft Güteschutzverband Betonschalungen” has the force of law.
The examples show that: the GSV can consider its efforts to promote high quality in formwork technology as consistently successful and beneficial. On the anniversary of the association, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Motzko of the TU Darmstadt and Chairman of Güteschutzverband Betonschalungen can therefore be extremely satisfied: “Our association can look back on 20 years of successful work.” He summed up: “We have been able, to the benefit of all stakeholders, to bridge the gap between manufacturers, users, research and science. In this way, we will also continue to move forward in the future.”
The challenges facing an authority seeking to inform and promote quality are, according to the association, more important today than ever before: Formwork manufacturers from various regions are an increasing threat with their inferior-quality formwork and copied products on the formwork market. This piracy not only harms the reputation of reputable manufacturers. Worse still: on construction sites, the use of inferior formwork products also leads to safety risks and quality issues. “We need to fulfil our commitment to educate and inform formwork users objectively and continue to ensure high standards in formwork practice. Therefore we will continue to work throughout Europe to promote quality assurance and participate actively in the production of German and European standards,” says Professor Motzko in outlining the future tasks of the association.

All companies involved with the development, design, manufacture, distribution and/or use of formwork, with the exception of those companies which are exclusively active in the field of sales and trading, are entitled to become members of GSV Güteschutzverband Betonschalungen e. V. Furthermore, natural persons who are researchers in the field of construction, design and/or use of formwork can also join the association.

The names of the members of GSV can be found here.