As part of the measures for upgrading the "Aacher Strasse" in Glatten, where J. Schmalz GmbH resides, the road builders started to lay the new kerbstones on Tuesday, 31 May 2005.

For the ergonomical and safe handling of these granite kerbstones, they used a product of J. Schmalz GmbH almost directly in front of the company premises: a vacuum-tube lifter Jumbo unloads the stones from a truck and lays them in the intended positions. The device can be operated easily and ergonomically by a single person, with little physical effort and a correspondingly low risk of injuries. Each kerbstone is 14 cm wide, 25 cm high, 1 m long and weighs up to 150 kg.

With the vacuum-tube lifter Jumbo, the stones can be gripped, lifter, lowered and positioned easily at a rate of up to 300 running metres per day. The lifting device was mounted on a wheeled front-end loader which can carry a complete packet of kerbstones for distribution.
The Schmalz lifting device was made available as a laying aid by Messrs. Probst Greiftechnik in 71729.

The upgrading work comprises widening of the "Aacher Strasse" in order to make access to J. Schmalz GmbH by trucks and cars easier. The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of June.