More than 100 hours of work, 14,000 individual parts, a length of 1413.67 metres, and lots of item products – the perfect conditions for a world record.

Klaus Peter Beier is a man with a passion for world records. Hailing from Alpen in the Lower Rhine region of Germany, he has already collected 15 in his career – for everything from the largest paper boat to the longest domino run of CD cases. In many instances, these records required physical effort – like when he completed 100 rounds on Europe’s highest wooden roller-coaster. For the marble run record he set in Bremen in 2014, on the other hand, he needed a lot of patience, a steady hand for precisely positioning the numerous components, and a suitable framework from item.

Marble run record at Universum Bremen

The Universum Bremen science centre was chosen as a suitably high-profile venue for the record attempt, though its limited footprint meant the only way to beat the previous world record track length of 1288.58 metres was to build upwards. In the end, the construction reached a height of 17.5 metres. Of course, building a marble run of this height entirely on site would have taken far too long and presented an enormous technical challenge.

In this case, as with many construction tasks, the solution to the problem was to adopt a modular approach. The record-breaking marble run was constructed in several units ahead of the event. These were brought to the venue in a lorry and then just had to be put together and connected with the start area at the top and the finishing line at the bottom. The official length of the marble run as measured for the Guinness Book of Records was an impressive 1413.67 metres.

Basic construction using Profile Tube System D30

To ensure the steel ball would run smoothly over the track for the entire 45-minute duration of the record attempt, everything had to fit perfectly during the assembly of the individual elements. This is where our Profile Tube System D30 with its durable fasteners was able to prove its worth. Beier had already worked with item components before his world record attempt in Bremen, as his employer has used them in various projects.

The steel ball made to the end of the track without any problems in the test runs observed by a notary, thus fulfilling the official conditions for the world record. Unfortunately, this success was not repeated at the public show that followed. This was probably due to the humidity in Universum Bremen, which was significantly higher than during the test runs thanks to the high number of visitors and the smoke machine that was used.

Raising the profile of a good cause

However, it’s not those few moments in the spotlight that matter most to Beier, anyway. Much more important for him is that his records – some of which appear very bizarre – provide a fun counterpoint to society’s tendency to chase after ever better performance at all costs and often with deadly seriousness. This is also why his world records always take the form of little events that raise funds for a good cause – usually for the benefit of children.

If you would like to see Beier in action, you will have the perfect opportunity in Esens-Bensersiel on 10 September 2017. This spa town on East Friesland’s North Sea coast has so far only published a brief statement about the record itself.

One thing is for sure, though, children will be the real winners again. This time, the work of helpers and sponsors will benefit a children’s hospice that urgently needs a mobile ventilator, among other things. Through his official website, Beier is therefore always on the look-out for new ideas, cooperation partners and sponsors for new world records.

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