New landmark for the Main metropolis – WOLFFKRAN luffing cranes in skyscraper project in Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main – August 2012. Since April last year a new high-rise has been reaching for the sky in Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt. Ed. Züblin AG is building the 170 meter TaunusTurm on Neue Mainzer Straße which will accommodate offices, apartments and restaurants. The company has worked together successfully with German premium manufacturer WOLFFKRAN for many years now. A pack of red WOLFFs is therefore also at work on this project.

Züblin rented two WOLFF 355 B luffing cranes and two 180 B cranes for this construction site. The location in the center of Frankfurt’s banking district presented a number of challenges. “The cranes have an extremely limited working radius due to the adjacent high-rises and, in particular, the busy Neue Mainzer Strasse, over which the cranes are not permitted to swing,” explains Florian Rehklau, project manager at WOLFFKRAN. The proven WOLFF 180 B and 355 B models are the perfect solution for the skyscraper construction project. The luffing jib enables them to freely swing over one another and to climb independently from each other. Due to the small rear tail swing radius of the cranes – only about 7 m in each case – these WOLFFs are ideally suited for a construction site with such restricted conditions. The maximum loads of 18 t or 28 t in combination with the powerful 60 kW (180 B) or 75 kW (355 B) hoisting winches with lifting speeds in each case of up to 185 m/min. are a huge advantage for all structural work on the construction site.

Peak performance all the way to the top

Not only the special location calls for tailor-made solutions. In the Taunus Turm project the WOLFFs must lift loads of up to 14 tons up to a height of 170 meters. In order to maintain stability they are anchored to the building from a height of 51 meters upwards. With the aim of infringing on the construction work as little as possible, each crane will have a maximum of four ties to the building. “A structural engineering challenge that we were able to solve in an elegant way with the advanced WOLFFKRAN HT 23 tower system,” says Rehklau. With an external diameter of 2.30 m the HT 23 is as strong and sturdy as a tower system with 2.90 m outside dimensions, but much slimmer and thus ideal for the constricted site.

Reliability and flexibility day and night

WOLFFKRAN demonstrated its high degree of reliability already during the set-up of the cranes at the end of 2011. The adjoining main road could only be temporarily closed at night and on Sundays for the delivery of crane parts and set-up work. “Because of the very tight time slot, we had work several night and weekend shifts,” explains Rehklau. Besides the exceptional flexibility of the WOLFFKRAN team, the WOLFF cranes, with their transport-optimized design and the low assembly weight of individual components, proved to be an optimal solution in view of the limited space available and strict timetable.

New skyscraper for Mainhattan

Recently the façade construction company Ruppert App also rented a WOLFF 180 B for its work on the construction site. Five red WOLFFs will therefore be a distinctive feature of the Frankfurt financial district until September 2013. The 40-story TaunusTurm is due for completion by mid-2014. With its transparent glass façade, the imposing structure in the heart of Mainhattan will from now on be part of the Frankfurt skyline.

About WOLFFKRAN:
With a tradition of over 150 years WOLFFKRAN is one of the leading manufacturers and rental companies of high-quality tower cranes in central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, North America, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. The worldwide rental fleet comprises more than 550 WOLFF cranes. With its corporate headquarters in Zug (Switzerland) and manufacturing plants in Heilbronn and Luckau (Germany) and its international subsidiaries, the company employs a global workforce of approx. 450.

Press contact
Sarah Spitzl-Kirch
Rumfordstr. 5
D-80469 München
Tel + 49 89-23 23 90 91
Fax + 49 89-23 23 90 99
spitzl-kirch@headline-affairs.de
www.headline-affairs.de

This release was published on openPR.