DokaXlight provides inspiration for day-to-day work on construction sites

The smaller the creature, the more astonishing its carrying capacity. An ant, for example, can carry 30 to 50 times its own weight. This is the equivalent of a human lifting a small van. But that is not necessary at all with the DokaXlight. At 22.6 kg per main element, the DokaXlight is a true lightweight and can easily be carried by just one person. It is to the contractor, what a pine needle is to the ant: a universal tool.

Love at first sight

Ever since Doka launched its compact hand formwork tool last year, many have been using it to build their own nest – or a swimming pool, or a garage.
This is also the case for Alexander Knop, an experienced contractor from the Bergisches Land region. When his brother – who also works in the construction industry – showed him a flyer describing the DokaXlight system, he was hooked right away. He immediately purchased the starter set – 100 m² of wall formwork including accessories. This means with well-timed formwork cycles, he can now complete the concreting of a double garage in a single go. Whether slab edges, foundations or entire houses – Knop enjoys the flexibility that the aluminium elements provide. At a time when the construction industry is suffering from a scarcity of raw materials and high wood prices and is therefore forced to plan far ahead, Knop is not fazed even by spontaneous change requests from customers. The material is in stock, and at a maximum size of 0.75 x 3.00 m per element, he can quickly deliver the complete formwork in his van to the construction site; especially now that Knop has upgraded and is approaching the 200 m² mark.

The DokaXlight highlight

In the past, reports the managing director, he had to fiddle around with all sorts of squared timber, boards and slats until the construction was ready. Today, he simply sets up the DokaXlight, mounts the tensioners – and he’s done! Knop estimates that he is able to save up to 30% in time compared to earlier concreting sections of the same area; not to mention the wood required and all the legwork he had to do. “And when it comes to construction work on existing buildings where single-sided formwork is required, I can also combine the DokaXlight with the Supporting Construction Frame AL.”

Easy to clean and replace

If a formwork sheet is worn out, Knop can perform an initial “renovation” himself in no time: drill open the rivets, turn the sheet and fix it again. The whole process is more like a relaxed version of a Formula 1 pit stop. In addition, Knop no longer has to extract nails from boards, clean or even sort them out. He simply reaches for the high-pressure cleaner when the elements of his DokaXlight need a spring clean.

These are some of the features that have made Knop a die-hard fan of DokaXlight and cause him to enthusiastically claim: “We literally ‘live’ Doka!” It is therefore quite possible that his hardware collection will continue to grow. A few external corners or tensioners are quickly at hand, and now there are even integrated element connectors available to make his work even faster.