Hidden power on the roof
Pluvia and the Baltic States
The warehouses of the main supermarket chains in the Baltic markets have one thing in common: Geberit Pluvia on the roofs. A visit to two construction sites in Lithuania and Latvia.
If you drive through the immediate surroundings of the capitals Vilnius and Riga, both of which have more than 500,000 inhabitants, you will come across numerous mega construction sites. These are logistics centres, warehouses and office buildings belonging to large, well-known supermarket chains. “You will find Geberit Pluvia on practically all these roofs,” explains Tomas Baranauskas, member of the Baltic sales team responsible for the Lithuanian project business.
The benefits are compelling
It is precisely this kind of logistics centre that is being built halfway between Vilnius and Lithuania’s second-largest city, Kaunas, in Elektrėnai. The expansive roof features Pluvia roof outlets as far as the eye can see – more than 100 of them. Selnova toilets and urinals are also being installed in the building.
It is not easy to land such projects, explains the sales representative. But with perseverance, proximity to the project and training, Geberit repeatedly manages to convince those responsible of the benefits of the system.
Helping people to help themselves
His Latvian counterpart is Ivars Grantins, who is responsible for project business and Technical Advisory Services. He is one of two Geberit employees who together look after the whole of Latvia. In this Baltic market, more emphasis is placed on the empowerment of planners. “Because we only have one employee who does all the Pluvia calculations for the three Baltic countries, we are training the planning offices so that they can take care of them themselves,” he explains. This seems to be working well, as the many projects in and around Riga show. In future, 150 Pluvia roof outlets on the roof of the new logistics centre will ensure efficient drainage of rainwater.
Know-How installed
The Geberit Pluvia syphonic roof drainage system uses small pipe dimensions which fill up completely with water during heavy rain. This creates a closed water column in the pipe, leading to natural negative pressure and at the same time ensuring a high discharge rate.
Header image (©Jurga Urbonaite)
