Material ropeway in Dotternhausen, Germany

In Dotternhausen, between Balingen and Rottweil in Baden-Württemberg, Holcim operates a cement plant. Since 1942, limestone «Weisser Jura» has been transported from the Plettenberg to the cement plant by means of a material ropeway. In September 2020, Bartholet successfully implemented a ropeway project which achieves a conveying capacity of 450 tonnes per hour over the 2.3 km route using 138 buckets. Despite an unchanged weekly extraction volume on the Plettenberg, weekend operation of the material ropeway was discontinued. To achieve this, the conveying capacity was increased from 300 t/h to 450 t/h, resulting in a reduction of the daily net operating time from approx. 13.5 to 9 hours.

This high conveying capacity enables Holcim to achieve savings in operating personnel due to the reduced operating time. In addition, the ropeway is capable of automatically folding away the guide structures required for material transport at the mountain and valley stations, making it possible to operate a combined system with both buckets and four 4-seater cabins simultaneously. This allows, when required, the transport of personnel to the Plettenberg quarry, for example miners or visitors.