Hölscher Projects
Paper and Cardboard Factory in Varel
At a cardboard and paper factory, we successfully drilled a new well under challenging space constraints – whilst production continued as normal. Thanks to precise planning, compact equipment and seamless cooperation with the client, the project was completed without a hitch and on schedule.
Maximum precision during ongoing operations
We are delivering a turnkey well for steam generation to our customer at a paper mill site. Working within extremely confined spaces and while the plant remained fully operational, we constructed the well from start to finish – from obtaining the necessary water permits and carrying out the exploratory drilling through to the completed wellhead. Hölscher delivers bespoke precision engineering.
Services and technologies used
Preparatory work and monitoring points: the foundation for successful well construction
Several months before the actual start of the project, we carried out important preparatory work:
To obtain the water law permit, an existing monitoring point on the foreshore was refurbished and an additional monitoring point, 160 metres deep, was installed to detect the boundary between salt water and fresh water.
To ensure the water supply during the construction phase, we also carried out extensive refurbishment of existing wells.
Bespoke well construction under challenging conditions
At the site of the new well, we carried out an exploratory borehole to a depth of 77.5 metres. The soil samples obtained were analysed in a geotechnical laboratory and evaluated by our team. The results formed the basis for the project-specific well design, which we developed in collaboration with the consulting geologist.
Due to the extremely confined conditions on the factory site, drilling could only be carried out using a cable excavator and telescopic casing. The well was ultimately completed with 20 metres of DN 400 stainless-steel wire-wound screen. A double gravel pack ensured optimum adaptation to the geological conditions.
To provide long-term protection for the aquifer, the upper section was sealed to a depth of 18.5 metres using a bentonite-cement slurry, processed in a specially developed Hölscher mixing tank.
Completion, handover and site reinstatement
Following successful well development, sand removal and a final pumping test, the well was fitted with a bespoke stainless-steel wellhead. Our team also installed the submersible pump and riser pipe.
Once the new well had been commissioned, the existing Well 4 was professionally decommissioned. The work was planned in accordance with DVGW Code of Practice W 135, closely coordinated with the Lower Water Authority and carried out in full compliance with the applicable standards.
Only by deploying a compact cable excavator from our own fleet were we able to complete the well professionally despite the extremely confined site conditions.
Equipment and machinery used
Sennebogen 624
+ Transport truck equipped with a loading crane
+ Service-Caddy