So in 2007, he came up with the idea of bringing the fathers something for their children. But it shouldn’t be just any toy – it should have a close connection to Haver & Boecker and the father’s professional environment. A children’s book explaining what cement is and how it’s made seemed like a worthwhile task for Dr Festge. He was able to get the then 16-year-old student Lina Stahnke to design it.
With cheerful, colourful and exciting pictures and short explanations, the book introduces the young viewer to a completely new world of technology. Step by step, he walks through a cement works with the main character of the book, a small child. His journey begins in the quarry, where the limestone is blasted away. He then follows the route taken by the stones – which are crushed and transported on conveyor belts to a large mill. Further stations are the heat exchanger, the rotary kiln, the cooler and the clinker silo. From there, the bricks – which are then called clinker bricks – go back into a large mill, where cement is finally produced. Of course, the main character also provides information on how and where the cement is stored and packaged until it is finally used on the construction sites.
Even before the Chinese book entitled “Xiao Shi in the Cement Works” was completed – Xiao Shi translates as “small stone” – the idea of offering this book to customers in North and South America came up. Three editions in Chinese, Portuguese and English were produced within a few months. A German edition with the title “Lukas im Zementwerk” was published in 2008.