New facilities aim to serve amateur and professional soccer players and swimmers.

In Germany, public health and athletic activity are very much in style, with local governments and private entities investing in state-of-the-art centers to promote athletics. CEMEX has contributed to two different fitness centers for football (soccer) and swimming, catering to professionals and amateurs alike.

A swimming center is currently under development in Potsdam on a plot of 18,000 square meters (roughly 193,750 square feet), one of the largest construction sites in Berlin’s Metropolitan area. The new building will have five floors, two of them underground, and will include a 50-meter pool with 10 lanes according to the International Swimming Federation’s standards. The final structure will also include a teaching pool, leisure pool and a children’s pool in addition to changing rooms and leisure areas. CEMEX is supplying more than 17,000 cubic meters (roughly 600,350 cubic feet) of ready-mix concrete for the foundations, interior and exterior walls, ceilings, columns, beams and water basins.

"Just for the production of the bottom plate, the construction site requested 5,250 cubic meters (roughly 185,400 cubic feet) of waterproof concrete requiring large boom pumps capable of pumping from a distance of up to 52 meters (roughly 170 feet)," explains Torsten Schiller CEMEX Key Account Manager in Germany. “The technical demands on the concrete were exceptionally high.”

Schiller further explains that the most challenging building components in terms of design and construction materials will remain hidden from the eyes of bathers. In the utility floor below the pool are large raw water reservoirs that hold, treat, and clean part of the water volume contained by the swimming pool. This water tank is made from a high-strength concrete, which, due to hygienic concerns, needed to have as smooth a surface as possible to prevent germs from settling into cracks and pores.

The admixtures team in Germany and our ready-mix concrete specialists adjusted the required consistency of the product with utmost precision. "In order to meet all developer requirements, a high degree of sensitivity was required to adjust the concrete," says Jörg Hölzgen, CEMEX Head of Concrete Testing in Potsdam. “As part of our self-monitoring process, this concrete was subjected to a particularly high level of scrutiny." CEMEX’s solution eliminated the need for an additional, costly coating for the tank.

Less than two hours away from Potsdam in the city of Leipzig, the professional RasenBallsport Leipzig soccer team has moved into a new sport and training center. CEMEX supplied approximately 13,600 cubic meters (roughly 480,280 cubic feet) of ready-mix concrete for the center which is located by the arena where the footballers play their home matches for the bundesliga, the professional German league.

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries. Celebrating its 110th anniversary, CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through innovative building solutions, efficiency advancements, and efforts to promote a sustainable future.